TORONTO (TIP): After Justin Trudeau decided to step down as leader of the ruling (though minority) Liberal Party and Prime Minister, Canada decided to go for a snap poll. On the recommendation of Mark Carney, the Governor-General ordered the next federal elections to be held on April 28 in a bid to end the impasse of minority governments in the country.
Canada already had 13 such minority governments in a little more than the last 100 years. The incumbent Liberal government, incidentally, had the longest tenure in office. In the current centennial, it was Paul Martin (Liberals), who presided over a minority government from 2004 to 2006, followed by another minority government between 2006 and 2008, led this time by the Conservative leader Stephen Harper. Stephen Harper headed his second minority government between 2008 and 2011. Since 2019, the present minority Liberal government has been in office.
Besides fighting a tough “tariff” war with its big brother and largest trade partner, the US, Canada is witnessing an interesting ideological war that will determine its political future. The new Prime Minister, Mark, faces the arduous task of leading the Liberals in the battle of political survival with the Conservatives breathing heavily down their necks. Though in the outgoing House of Commons, the Liberals, after earning the distinction of heading the longest-serving minority government in the country, had 153 members, it now wants to browse the majority target of 170, in the House of 337.
Conservatives (120), Bloc Québécois (33), NDP (25), Independent (4), and Green (2) were the other major players in the dissolved House. After taking over from where Justin Trudeau left, Mark Carney, a financial wizard, promised, set upon himself the arduous task of restructuring the Canadian economy that has been on the brink ever since Donald Trump, after taking command for the second innings, rolling out new policies and “tariff” plans that are proving detrimental to Canadia in general and its manufacturers and exporters in particular.
After wresting the initial advantage that saw a steep rise in its popularity in opinion polls, the Liberals have started showing signs of cracking under pressure from the Conservatives, and in their desperation to surge ahead, have unleashed a powerful campaign attacking Mark Carney for shirking to make his asset disclosures and other issues. Mark Carney has also made some announcements to woo the voters, including relief for domestic consumers on the carbon fund, besides a slew of other benefits. The battle lines have been drawn for a rare battle of the ballot in April. Technically speaking, the election becomes due in October. The new Prime Minister, facing his first-ever electoral test, has decided to contest from Nepean in Ottawa after revoking the candidature of sitting MP Chandra Arya, who was incidentally among the first to declare his candidature and get rejected in the Liberal Party leadership race. Now, he has lost his riding to the new Prime Minister. Ruby Dhalla, like Chandra Arya, who was also a candidate in the Liberal Leadership run, came out in support of Chandra Arya after the revocation of his candidature.
Ruby Dhalla, a former Liberal MP, and Chandra Arya were the only candidates of Indian origin in the run to become Canadian Prime Minister. Both were disqualified on technical grounds by the election and expense committees of the Liberal Party. Ruby Dhalla’s protest was rejected as she accused the party leadership of creating a “sham” for electing a new leader, as she maintained that it was all planned for the “coronation of Mark Carney”. What Canadian voters have to say about their political future will be known by the evening of April 28 when results of the next federal elections start pouring in.
(Prabhjot Singh is a Toronto-based senior journalist. He can be reached at Prabhjot416@gmail.com)