Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement that he will step down following a Liberal leadership race has created a political storm that promises to rage for months to come.
With parliament shut down until March 24 and an election likely to follow when the new Liberal leader tables a throne speech, Canadians shouldn't expect to head to the polls until late April, at the earliest.
What impact the political chaos will have on the district's agriculture, oil and gas, and forestry industries remains anyone’s guess.
With the incoming U.S. president now threatening to impose crushing tariffs on Canada, is there any doubt that having a paralyzed and lame-duck parliament at this time is anything but bad news?
For her part, Premier Danielle Smith says Canadians “need and deserve a prime minister and federal government with a clear mandate won from the Canadian people to negotiate with the incoming U.S. president and his administration on one of the most important international negotiations we have ever faced as a country.”
She is calling on MPs to trigger an election at the first available opportunity and "give Canadians the opportunity to pick a party and a leader to represent their interests at this critical time.”
Other leaders and stakeholders have echoed Smith’s comments about the need for strong federal leadership.
However Trudeau’s decision to shut down parliament means that any hope of an election being held in a few weeks, instead of months, has been dashed.
By the time parliament returns in late March and an election is finally held, the new prime minister may well find himself or herself leading a county on the verge of economic crisis due to the threatened U.S. tariffs.
No doubt Justin Trudeau has made many mistakes and missteps over the past decade.
Yet his decision to step aside and prorogue parliament at a time when the nation needs strong federal leadership as never before may go down as one of his most damaging and dangerous decisions.
Dan Singleton is an editor with the Albertan.
