The Trudeau government treads water, gasping for air. Their desperation has led to consistent, aggressive overreach into provincial jurisdiction, creating a constant looming threat to the constitutional balance of power in Canada.Every year, the inner ring of Ottawa’s power players — cabinet — heads off to a quiet part of the country in order to devise the future direction of the country. At last years’ cabinet retreat, the federal government was plotting its recovery in the polls, trying to fend off a new political threat in the surging Conservatives and Pierre Poilievre.As is usual with Justin Trudeau and his cabinet, their plans went awry. It didn’t seem to matter which massive social program they announced. Each major climate initiative they rolled out was met with opposition.There was no recovery in the polls. Bummer.This year’s cabinet retreat was earlier this week, and Trudeau’s inner circle met in Halifax to, once again, try and figure out what is going wrong in Ottawa. This year, however, the cabinet retreat was overcast with doubts about the future of Justin Trudeau.Calls are growing for Trudeau to take a “walk in the snow,” and step aside.June’s by-election in Toronto-St. Paul’s, which saw the Conservatives’ steal a seat in the heart of the Liberal’s “Fortress Toronto,” was a blow to party confidence. It was a seat the party had held since Jean Chretien swept to power in 1993, when he (and the Reform Party) reduced the Progressive Conservatives to just two seats.The Liberal candidate was a long-time Liberal staffer who had served under Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who just so happens to represent the University-Rosedale riding located just south of Toronto-St.Paul’s.The next electoral test for the Liberals’ is the fast-approaching by-election in Montreal’s LaSalle–Émard–Verdun on September 16th.If the early reports from the cabinet retreat are any indication, the Liberals have no plans to turf Trudeau — despite the corner they’ve put themselves in. In fact, it appears that the government is going full steam ahead with their radical, divisive, and expensive agenda that has been the central cause of their collapsing poll numbers.The Globe and Mail reports: “Major changes in direction are not on the agenda. Instead, the focus is on delivering what Mr. Trudeau has already promised Canadians, with an eye to what the Liberals can still get done before the next federal election, scheduled for October, 2025.”According to federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller, Canadians want to see more Trudeau: “They want to see a prime minister that cares about his country and doesn’t spend his time shooting off his mouth,” he said Monday.Howard Anglin, former deputy Chief of Staff to Stephen Harper, summed it up nicely: “I’m not sure who will be more disappointed by Justin Trudeau signalling that he intends to stay on as prime minister after the cabinet retreat in Halifax: Canadians as a whole or his would-be successors in the room. If he is going to step down before the next election, this was just about his last chance to do it.”There are some backbench Liberal MPs calling for a shakeup, though — at least according to CBC News:“CBC News spoke to six MPs who say they want to see cabinet agree on several measures: a major cabinet shuffle, simplified public messaging, an effort to market the Liberals as a team and a more aggressive communications campaign contrasting the party with the Conservatives.”“I think he just needs to shake things up a bit and be fresh again, because right now we're looking like an old and tired government,” said one of the dissidents. Some MPs are even calling for accountability, hoping Trudeau will publicly admit what went wrong.But, accountability and Trudeau are two words that aren’t put in the same sentence often.So, despite the voters of Toronto-St.Paul’s sending a clear message to Ottawa, Trudeau stubbornly moves forward, determined to force his radical agenda on the electorate regardless of the political ramifications.That means that we can anticipate a continued expansion of social programs and climate initiatives that are leading to increased taxes, compounding inflation issues, draining our pocket books, and violating the constitutional jurisdiction of the provinces. Meanwhile, Ottawa is asleep at the wheel when it comes to dealing with rising crime rates and a staggering economy.As Trudeau clings to power, his desperation will inevitably grow. This makes the federal government, under his direction, incredibly dangerous.We expect to be bombarded with legislation this fall that aggressively violates provincial jurisdiction and, by extension, the constitution.We, as Canadians, must understand that the best way to defend our interests is to inform ourselves, present articulate arguments, and continue to do what we do best — change people’s minds.The federal election is just over a year away.In the meantime, we cannot allow Justin Trudeau to destroy the constitutional foundation of this country. Our premiers, more often than not, are united against the federal government on a whole host of issues. They understand that the division of powers between the federal government and provincial governments exist specifically to ensure that no single branch of government has absolute power.Who would have thought, five years ago, that the policies of Justin Trudeau would unite the entire country against him?We did.We were prepared.We understood that the Trudeau government’s relentless push to centralize power in Ottawa was not only unconstitutional but also unsustainable. Our unwavering defence of federalism, central to the constitutional order of Canada, has become the calling card of provincial leaders across the country.We will not stop defending provincial rights.It’s working.
