Trudeau’s resignation ‘changes nothing,’ John Nater says

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his impending resignation Monday, after calls for him to do so had increased in recent weeks, Perth-Wellington MP John Nater says the move changes nothing for the Conservative Party.

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“It doesn’t matter who the leader of the Liberal Party is. They’ve committed to a set of policies over the last nine-and-a-half years that have not benefited Canadians, particularly when it comes to the cost of living, when it comes to the carbon tax, when it comes to cost of housing, when it comes to the debt and the deficit. . . . Regardless of who the Liberal leader is, they have to wear that legacy,” said Nater, who suggested Trudeau’s decision “kind of felt like an attempt to try to avoid accountability.”

Nater said his assessment still applies even if Mark Carney, the former Bank of Canada governor who said he’s “considering” a run for Liberal leadership, takes over, despite him not currently being a sitting member of Parliament.

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“Mark Carney has been advising the Liberal Party on economic issues for the past number of months. He spoke out in favor of, you know, the Liberal carbon tax and a number of other issues. So, you can’t escape accountability by simply not going down that road,” he said.

Along with his resignation, Trudeau also announced that Governor General Mary Simon had granted his request to prorogue Parliament until March 24. Not only does this shut done the House of Commons, but it also puts a halt to all existing bills and parliamentary committees. Nater was traveling to Ottawa when the news dropped, meaning a non-confidence motion he was set to put forth in the public accounts committee will not go ahead.

This shutdown also prevents the government from responding to upcoming challenges, such as the potential tariffs from south of the border, Nater said.

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“It really does handcuff the House of Commons and Parliament from being able to respond to some of the emerging issues that are going to be happening in the next two-and-a-half months,” Nater added.

In his comments reacting to Trudeau’s announcement, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh indicated he would still be voting against the government in a non-confidence motion, but Nater expressed his doubts.

“I’ll believe it when I see it. He has stated that, but we’ve seen in the past government that he has voted with the Liberal time and time again throughout. . . . So he has said he’s going to bring down the government when the House of Commons resumes at the end of March, but I guess the short answer is, time will tell on that one,” he said.

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In the meantime, southern Ontario Liberal politicians are thanking Trudeau for his time in office, with London West MP Arielle Kayabaga saying on X that the prime minister “will be remembered to be one of the most consequential progressive leaders in our country.”

Peter Fragiskatos, the MP for London North Center who had joined the calls for Trudeau’s resignationalso posted on X some of the Liberal accomplishments under the prime minster.

“His thousands of initiatives include the Canada Child Benefit that lifted kids out of poverty, a national childcare program, dental care, groundbreaking environmental policy, and emergency supports that helped sustain individuals, families and businesses during the pandemic,” Fragiskatos said.

Trudeau’s resignation comes at a time when the Conservative Party of Canada has a massive lead in the polls. According to the recent Jan. 5 update on 338’s aggregate of polls, the Liberals are polling at just 20 per cent, while the Conservatives are more than double that at 45 per cent.

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