‘Canadians deserve their say’: Justin Trudeau calls a federal election for Sept. 20
OTTAWA-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plunged Canada into a snap summer election on Sunday after Gov. Gen. Mary Simon agreed to dissolve Parliament and set voting day for Sept. 20.
The official start of the 36-day summertime campaign ends weeks of speculation about whether Trudeau would pull the plug on the 43rd parliament he called dysfunctional" while claiming he did not want an election until Canada got through the COVID-19 pandemic that is now seeing a fourth wave of infections.
The decisions your government makes right now will define the future your kids and grandkids grow up in," Trudeau said outside Rideau Hall, the official residence of the governor general where he met with Simon for more than an hour on Sunday morning.
He said the current moment is the most important" in Canadians' lifetimes, and called on other parties - who accuse Trudeau of calling an election to win more power through a majority government - to explain why they don't believe voters should cast ballots at such a pivotal time. He pointed to questions about how to manage the remainder of the pandemic, the desire for economic growth, the crisis of climate change and the need for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
The government and indeed parliament needs an opportunity to get a mandate from Canadians," Trudeau said. Canadians deserve their say, that's exactly what we're going to give them."
Moments later, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole accused Trudeau of playing political games" for his own benefit and that Canada should risk progress against the pandemic with an election.
I hope that his decision doesn't cost Canadians too dearly," O'Toole said, and accused Trudeau of trying to get voters to reward his government for doing the bare minimum" to make life more affordable since it won power in 2015.
In Montreal, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also said Trudeau is wrong to call an election and alleged the Liberal government no longer wants to continue in a minority parliament where New Democrats pushed for more generous benefits during the pandemic.
And Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, also in Montreal on Sunday, echoed criticism that Trudeau is only seeking a majority and said he is rejecting the minority mandate he was given less than two years ago in the 2019 election.
It is perfectly within the prime minister's power to go to the voters because minority governments are not bound by the fixed election date law.
In May, Trudeau voted with nearly all MPs against a pandemic election. At that time he said nobody wants an election before the end of this pandemic."
Yet despite Canada's public health agency confirming the fourth wave of the pandemic is underway, the campaign - Trudeau's third as Liberal leader - is on.
The Liberals put out their first slick campaign video ad Saturday, featuring Trudeau invoking slogans summoning Canadians to rally behind him: Let's think even bigger, Canada. Let's be relentless. Let's keep moving forward. For everyone."
In 2019, Trudeau's electoral fortunes dropped from winning 184 seats (and 39.47 per cent of the popular vote) at the 2015 election to 157 seats.
He returned to Ottawa with a minority government and just 33.12 per cent of the popular vote.
But it was a stable minority. And although Trudeau never formalized any coalition with other parties, he governed with the support of Opposition parties - usually the NDP - on a case-by-case basis.
In fact, despite a rocky start in 2019, Trudeau's minority Liberal government was able to pass sweeping economic measures to aid Canadians and businesses and spent more than $350 billion to respond to the global health crisis.
In the late summer last year, Trudeau briefly hit pause on parliamentary business as he came under fire over a plan to hand over a $500 million student volunteer program to the well-connected WE Charity organization. He lost a finance minister amid it all but Trudeau was ultimately cleared of any ethics violation.
By June, however, as the Liberal government faced aggressive Opposition tactics in committees to force a deeper probe of its handling of issues like the procurement of vaccines and sexual assault in the military, along with delays in passing certain bills like legislation against conversion therapy, Trudeau complained of a level of obstructionism and toxicity in the House that is of real concern."
The NDP says that's just a pretext.
Its leader, Singh, pledged to support the government to enact measures that would continue to help people through the pandemic. Singh says it is selfish" for Trudeau to call a needless election now, as a fourth wave is underway.
The Conservatives, too, are balking at an election, criticizing Trudeau in early ads saying it's a power grab by a Liberal leader who simply wants a majority.
Elections Canada estimates the cost of holding a pandemic election, with more mail-in ballots and advance polls, at more than $500 million, and expects all results may not be known until the day after Election Day.
The Liberals agree Trudeau must explain why he needs to go back to voters now and a senior Liberal official told the Star he plans to meet that narrative that Trudeau just wants a majority' with yes, we do because we want to do this, this and this. And we need a strong majority for it.'"
Trudeau, who turns 50 this year, will not simply point to his past record of how his government handled the pandemic, but to the need for a majority to do bold" things in the future.
We're going to run on what we've done and what we want to do," the source said, adding it feels good to be on offence."
On Sunday, Trudeau repeatedly refused to say whether he would resign if the Liberals fail to win a majority, stating only that he would continue to try and support Canadians through the pandemic.
O'Toole, too, pledged the Conservatives would manage the recovery from pandemic while being more prudent with government spending.
The election is about the future, and the choice is this: who do you trust to secure your economic future?" he asked.
Singh, meanwhile, argued Canadians can't trust the Liberals to do what the NDP argues is necessary - increase taxes on the ultra" rich and spend on programs like pharmacare, construction of more affordable housing units and better services for Indigenous peoples.
Polls this past week paint a conflicting picture of the electorate's mood. One showed Canadians don't want an election now. Another showed the Liberals won't pay a price for it. Other surveys suggest that while Trudeau's personal approval ratings are nowhere near as high as when he swept to power in 2015, voters largely approve of his government's handling of the pandemic.
However, the Liberal insider said unlike past incumbent governments which go to voters with an appeal for stability, the Liberals want to showcase their desire to do more to lead the recovery."
Currently, the Liberals hold 155 of 338 ridings, and to reach the coveted majority mark, they need to reach 170. Those extra 15 seats will be tough battles for targeted ridings right across the country.
The Conservatives held 119 seats and a Conservative MP held the only seat that was officially vacant when the House of Commons rose.
The NDP have 24 seats, with only one MP in Quebec, and are banking on Singh's likability, and perception of authenticity" to draw voters disillusioned with Trudeau, and those for whom social and economic concerns and affordability" are a motivating issue. Trudeau has been prime minister for six years, not two years, and in that time he hasn't really delivered the kind of change we'll be talking about," said a senior NDP official.
The embattled Greens, whose rookie leader Annamie Paul, 48, faced internal dissent and lost an MP to the Liberals, holds two.
There were five seats held by Independent MPs, including former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould who is no longer running and will publish a book entitled 'Indian' in the Cabinet" just six days before Election Day.
The Liberals say they have nominated 256 candidates to date, and the party will present substantive proposals for how to spend up to $101 billion earmarked in the budget last spring for economic stimulus to put Canada on the path to a sustainable economic recovery.
Roughly $30 billion of that is already pledged for a pan-Canadian child-care framework which the Liberals pitch as not only a social, but also an economic imperative.
Trudeau's pitch to voters, in a summer marked by forest wildfires, extreme heat warnings and smoky urban skies will also focus on climate change, an issue the Liberals believe remains a challenge for the Conservatives.
On pandemic management, Liberal cabinet ministers emphasized last week that Canada's vaccination campaign is leading the G20, with enough doses to vaccinate everyone delivered two months ahead of schedule.
More than 82 per cent of Canadians aged 12 and older have had one dose and 71 per cent have been fully vaccinated. Yet a Delta variant of the novel coronavirus is driving a fourth wave in Canada largely among unvaccinated Canadians.
The Liberals this week said they will introduce in early fall" a vaccine passport for outbound Canadian travellers going abroad, and by the end of October, federal regulations will require all passengers using commercial flights, interprovincial railways or overnight cruise ships to be fully vaccinated.
Vaccine passports are good policy but also good politics," the Liberal insider said.
The need for proof of vaccination, and Friday's announced travel restrictions on unvaccinated federal-sector workers and travellers may become a wedge issue in the campaign, if the Conservative party's early reaction - largely silence - is any indication.
O'Toole, 48, has strongly encouraged Canadians to be vaccinated, and a Yukon candidate who opposed vaccine passports said he'd been dumped but the party would not confirm that. O'Toole has not yet wholeheartedly endorsed passports or workplace vaccine mandates.
As he heads into his first campaign at the Conservative helm, O'Toole has struggled to exercise leadership over his party, and faced criticism from some MPs over an online ad deemed dumb and embarrassing on the weekend. But the party has a full war chest going into the campaign, and 293 candidates nominated, more than the Liberals' 256 at this date.
O'Toole will address Trudeau's decision to call the election on Sunday, from a television studio the party has constructed in an Ottawa hotel suite.
Party spokesperson Cory Hann said the leader will outline the party's economic recovery plan, and later in the evening, O'Toole plans to participate in two virtual townhalls with thousands of Canadians."
The New Democrats say they have more than 200 candidates nominated to date. Leader Singh, 42, will attend the closure of Pride month in Montreal Sunday and then hits the road to travel to targeted ridings through the week, heading to Toronto Monday then west, travelling to Edmonton, Saskatoon and B.C. in week one.
Green Leader Paul will hold a rally in Toronto-Centre, the riding she's making a third bid for.
Trudeau was to head to Montreal Sunday afternoon before travelling to Markham in the evening. He is expected to then head out West for events this week.
Tonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc
Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @aballinga