COLUMN: On Parliament Hill – Trudeau resigns…kind of: Everything changes…and nothing

On Monday, after weeks of internal pressure, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated it was his intention to resign as soon as the party elected a new leader.

I will start this piece on Trudeau’s resignation—one that I and millions of Canadians have eagerly awaited for years—with the caveat that Mr. Trudeau is human. He is a man, and while he has been disastrous in his tenure as Prime Minister, that is not to say the job has not cost him and his family a great deal. Being the leader of a country requires everything of those who are entrusted with and take up that mantle. Mr. Trudeau’s many failures do not negate that toll and sacrifice. Nor can it be easy to step aside and hand over power, especially when it has been so clear that is the opposite of what he wanted to do. While I cannot quite bring myself to thank him for his service to Canada, I do want to recognize the sacrifices he and particularly his family have made, and applaud him for making a wise decision that is in the best interest of the nation.

Justin Trudeau has resigned…kind of.

Rather than do the honourable thing and step down immediately, Justin Trudeau has chosen to enjoy two more months as prime minister. A lame duck to be sure, but also one with zero accountability and nothing to lose.

This was a move that was characteristic of Trudeau’s entire tenure. To put himself first over the country. To blame everyone but himself for his current situation. To quit before Canadians could fire him.

That said, this is still a day that Canadians have been waiting for for a long time.

It is a day that I and my colleagues and staff have worked towards for nearly a decade, and it was somewhat surreal and very satisfying to see the end to his premiership of Canada in sight.

Canadians, desperate to turn the page on this dark chapter of our history, are understandably relieved. Justin Trudeau has done immense and widespread damage to the social fabric of our nation, to our economy, and to our standing in the world.

With Trudeau’s resignation, everything changes—and nothing changes.

Trudeau may be stepping down, but until Canadians have the opportunity to elect a new Conservative majority government, the fight is not over.

Every Liberal MP in power today and every potential Liberal leadership contender fighting for the top job helped Justin Trudeau break the country over the past nine years.

Every Liberal MP actively worked to pass into law the dishonest, job-killing, inflationary carbon tax (and non-MP front runner Mark Carney is one of the strongest proponents of carbon pricing).

They all voted for and actively supported Trudeau’s out-of-control spending and debt.

They all helped him break Canada’s immigration system.

They all supported Trudeau’s housing policies that have doubled the cost of homes.

They all supported his decriminalization and government supply of hard drugs to those struggling with addiction.

All Liberal MPs supported and helped pass Trudeau’s catch-and-release bail and house arrest for violent repeat offenders; policies that saw violent crime increase by 50 percent, gun crime by 116 percent and hate crimes by 250 percent.

All but one stood by him and supported his draconian COVID measures including using the Emergencies Act to trample his political opponents.

They all stood by Trudeau when again and again he flouted ethics laws and put surviving his own scandals ahead the well-being of Canadians.

The list goes on and on.

Would any one of these radical yes-men and women (to be discussed in future pieces) bring any real change?

Not likely.

They don’t disagree with Trudeau or his policies. Their only beef with Trudeau now is he lacks the popularity to keep them in power and privilege.

While the leaderless Liberals focus on saving their jobs and fighting each other for power the country continues to spiral out of control.

Soon, Canadians will finally have their say. A choice between the NDP-Liberal costly coalition that taxes your food, punishes your work, doubles your housing costs and unleashes crime and drugs in your community, or common sense Conservatives who will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.

Canadians can take back control of their lives and their country.

Take back control of our border, take back control of immigration, take back control of spending, deficits and inflation.

Take back control of our streets by locking up criminals, banning drugs, treating addiction, and stopping gun smugglers. Conservatives will cap spending, axe taxes, reward work, build homes, uphold family, stop crime, secure borders, re-arm our Canadian Forces, restore our freedom, and put Canada first.

Now that Justin is leaving, Canada’s Conservatives have one mission: to bring home Canada’s promise that every hardworking Canadian gets a powerful paycheque and pension that buys affordable food and homes on safe streets; where we are all united for the country we know and love.

Let’s bring it home.