If lame-duck Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hadn’t been channeling the indecisiveness of Hamlet in delaying a decision about his political future until the worst possible moment, we would not be in the political mess we’re in today.
If Trudeau had put his country ahead of his ego, he would have quit months ago as most Canadians and even many Liberals wanted him to do.
In that case, there would have been a federal election by now and we would know who speaks for Canada when it comes to dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump in his campaign of open economic warfare against our country.
Instead, we have lots of politicians vying for attention but no one with the electoral mandate to speak for the country.
Not Trudeau, who everyone — including Trump — knows is a dead-man walking, politically speaking, and thus can easily be dismissed and mocked, as the U.S, president has been doing.
Not Canada’s premiers whose electoral mandate is to speak for their provinces and territories, not the country.
While we didn’t get the federal election we needed, we did get an an unnecessary one from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, claiming he needed a strong mandate to take on Trump, which was absurd since he already has one from Ontario voters until June, 2026
In fact, Ford’s political seconds had been hinting for months that Ford might call an early election, long before Trump won the November presidential race.
That said, we are where we are and Mark Carney, the frontrunner in the race to replace Trudeau as Liberal leader, is now saying he may call an early election if he’s elected Liberal leader on March 9, which would automatically make him prime minister as well.
Carney is obviously eyeing polls that show him cutting into the lead of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre so of course this is yet another example of personal political opportunism.
But that said, we need a federal election as soon as possible, so if Carney wants to call one given the scenario he’s talking about we say do it and let the chips fall where they may.
The time for Canadians to decide who they want to lead their country is long overdue and it is now.