Somewhat by fluke and on very short notice, I wound up on Parliament Hill on Sunday January 5th of 2025. The next morning, it was a very different place the next morning when Justin Trudeau resigned.
It’s a bad situation–the Liberal Party of Canada has never done succession very well, and Justin has left us in a place where an election is likely in April with a freshly minted but not well organized Liberal leader. It’s hard to see a result that doesn’t give us Pierre Poilievere at 24 Sussex (even if that’s metaphorically speaking.)
The problem is there’s a better path, and I’m a bit shocked that more people don’t get it. The mainstream press has been ignoring this possibility, and it’s one that would: delay the seeming inevitability of a Conservative majority; give Liberal Party time to choose a leader in an orderly fashion and potentially build some profile, and; give Jagmeet Singh’s NDP a chance to shine. I’ve suggested to several people that the Liberals should formalize a coalition with the NDP and make Jagmeet PM, but Sean Speer has a deeper more nuanced look at the details.
The fact that the Globe, the Post, the Star and their ilk hasn’t published this story speaks strongly to how badly mainstream news rooms have been cut more than anything else. In a publish or perish world, nuance and insight of get dropped. It doesn’t bode well, especially given Poilievre’s threats against the CBC.
I am not, frankly, looking forward to the next few years. The Sentient Cheeto was bad enough but I can just avoid the States: this affects me directly. Pierre Poilievre doesn’t represent my Canada, and I’m not sure what to do if that happens.