in World News Justin Trudeau Sticks Out Tongue While Carrying His Chair out of Canada’s Parliament
by John Hayward
Former central banker Mark Carney, chosen to lead the Liberal Party of Canada at the party conference on Sunday, met with outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday to plan the next steps in Canada’s political transition, which will include Carney’s ascent to the prime ministership.
The transition process began when Trudeau announced that he would eventually resign as both prime minister and Liberal Party leader on January 6. Trudeau did not leave office immediately, or even set a firm date for his departure. Instead, he asked Canadian Governor General Mary Simon to “prorogue” Parliament until March 24. Proroguing essentially suspends Parliament without dissolving it, so the same lawmakers will return to their seats when the temporary suspension ends.
By proroguing Parliament, the deeply unpopular Trudeau ensured he could not be removed from office until his three-month “caretaker” stint as a lame duck prime minister ended. This gave the Liberal Party more time to plan its leadership succession.
Several candidates to become the new party leader – and therefore step in as prime minister once Trudeau resigned – stepped forward, including Chrystia Freeland, the deputy prime minister whose falling-out with Trudeau dealt the final blow to his political career.
The Liberal Party instead turned to Mark Carney, who won the party’s internal election on Sunday with a stunning 85.9 percent of the vote, putting Freeland in second place with a mere eight percent.
Trudeau exited Parliament on Monday by physically carrying his seat out of the building, which is traditional, and sticking his tongue out at the cameras, which is not. His supporters generally found this amusing, while his detractors thought he was juvenile, disrespectful, and possibly unhinged.