Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MP Doug Shipley says he wished Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in a bigger hurry.
Trudeau announced Monday morning that he will resign as Liberal Party leader, and as Canadian prime minister, after his party has selected its next leader.
Trudeau has been Liberal Party leader since 2013, and prime minister since 2015.
“It really changed nothing,” Shipley said of Trudeau’s announcement. “There’s some large, looming issues facing Canada right now. We (Conservatives) wish there would be an election quickly instead of just postponing the inevitable, but it is what it is and we can’t control that.”
Trudeau met with the governor general earlier Monday and Parliament has been prorogued until March 24.
Shipley says that could mean a federal election in the spring.
“It depends on whether the NDP sticks with their word again (to no longer support the minority Liberals) or they flip-flop again,” the MP said. “Did I expect (Trudeau’s announcement)? No, but we’ve all had our inclinations for a while.
"My own personal inclinations were that he would resign, in January," Shipley added. “I kind of always said, with his mentality and ego, he would want to go out saying he was the prime minister for 10 years.”
Shipley won his riding in 2021 with 45.1 per cent of the vote, while Liberal candidate Tanya Saari was second at 30.9 per cent.
Saari could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Conservative John Brassard had 47.7 per cent of the 2021 vote in Barrie-Innisfil, with Liberal candidate Lisa-Marie Wilson second at 28.9 per cent.
Wilson said she agreed with Trudeau’s decision to resign.
“I’m definitely grateful for what he’s done to this point for the country,” she said. “I do believe, though, that it was definitely time for him to step aside.
“He’d basically lost the confidence from not only the cabinet, but Canadians, from what I’ve been hearing,” said Wilson, who also ran for the Liberals in 2019. “But we’re going to have some really strong candidates that will put their name forward (for the Liberal leadership)."
She said hopefully that would renew the Liberal Party and "provide it with better direction.”
“(Trudeau) has a lot to be proud of and I do believe he has done a lot for us, as a country,” Wilson said. “But in the same breath, it’s time for him to step aside and let some of the other leaders emerge who can take the country into the direction that we need to go.”
Wilson was non-committal when asked if she would be a candidate in the next federal election.
In a statement, Brassard said Trudeau’s resignation changes nothing.
“Justin Trudeau’s resignation announcement today may bring some sense of relief to Canadians, but let’s be clear. Changing the leader will not solve the deep-rooted problems the Liberal government has created,” he said. “Every Liberal MP and leadership contender supported everything Trudeau did for nine years.
“Let me be frank. The issues facing Canada go far beyond one individual. The entire Liberal Party is responsible for the chaos and dysfunction we are now enduring,” Brassard added. “Instead of calling an election and letting Canadians decide the future direction of our country, Justin Trudeau has prorogued Parliament — shutting the House of Commons and committees down entirely."
By doing so, Brassard says Trudeau has "ensured there is no oversight and no accountability" of the government.
“While Canadians have been demanding an election, Trudeau’s actions make it clear that his only interest is a desperate self-preservation stunt at keeping the Liberals in power," the veteran MP added. "This stunt is not in the best interest of the country. Its sole purpose is to avoid an election and desperately hold on to power.”
In a social-media statement, York-Simcoe MP Scot Davidson echoed similar sentiments.
"Canadians desperate to turn the page on this dark chapter in our history might be relieved today that Justin Trudeau may finally be leaving, but sadly, nothing has really changed," he said. "The NDP-Liberal costly coalition that taxes your food, punishes your work, doubles your housing costs and unleashes crime and drugs in your community will keep doing so. This is why (we) need a carbon tax election NOW, so that Common Sense Conservatives can axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime."
Former Barrie mayor Jeff Lehman, who served in that role from 2010 to 2022, said he didn’t think many people are surprised Trudeau is resigning, just that it took this long for him to decide.
Lehman, who ran provincially for the Liberals in 2022, said it wasn’t always this way for the PM.
“I was remembering back to 2015 and (Trudeau’s) first visit to Barrie,” Lehman said. “We hadn’t had prime ministers come to Barrie very often, but Justin Trudeau came to Barrie a lot. He was at the start (of his tenure as PM) and he was a rock star. The crowds, the people of Barrie came out in the hundreds just to wave at him.
"And how times have changed," he added. “I think he’s gone from maybe one of or the most popular prime ministers when elected to the most unpopular. And I think there’s a lot of lessons, cautionary tales in the way things went sour for Justin Trudeau, for a lot of other politicians."
Lehman also reflected on the past decade.
“On a day like this, it does make me remember it wasn’t always like this,” he said. “And you know, he’s had a 10-year career in one of the toughest jobs in the entire country and I think it’s too bad, in a way, because sometimes you stay past your welcome and that seems to be the case with Canadians and Justin Trudeau.
"You could see that coming some time ago. A lot of the dislike became focused on one single man — Justin Trudeau," Lehman added.
Lehman said he thinks this could be an awkward couple of months for the federal Liberals, because the party will be into a leadership race, but still governing — with Parliament prorogued.
“And there are huge issues facing the country,” said Lehman, who is now chair of the District of Muskoka, mentioning the new Donald Trump administration south of the border, the economic implications and the housing crisis in this country.
