On Monday, January 6, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned as the Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and prorogued Parliament until March 24. We wanted to unpack this important announcement a little bit further and provide some additional context for you – our Members.
The prorogation has effectively ended the Parliamentary session removing all the current bills and motions from the parliamentary agenda. No new bills (laws) can be brought forward until the Speech from the Throne is delivered and the new Parliamentary session begins. Members of Parliament will still be open to meetings, though expect many Liberal MPs to be engaged in the leadership race organizing for their preferred candidate. MPs will not participate in parliamentary sessions, as all legislative business is paused. This includes debates, committee meetings, and other formal activities within the House of Commons. MPs will continue their roles as representatives of their constituencies. They often use this time to engage with constituents, address local concerns, and prepare for the next parliamentary session, and in this case – a federal election.
The Cabinet, which was reshuffled just a few weeks ago, will remain in place until we are informed otherwise. This means that (subject to rules on the Liberal leadership race related to Cabinet Ministers running for party leadership) for the time being, Ministers will still be making decisions, and the public service will still be carrying out its various functions at a federal level.
Prorogation of Parliament in Canada refers to the formal ending of a parliamentary session by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister. It effectively halts all parliamentary activities, including debates, committee meetings, and legislative processes.
Here are key points about prorogation:
Despite numerous rumours about the selection of the new party Leader, Justin Trudeau has announced that the party will hold an open leadership race and let the members decide who will lead them in the next election. The rules of the leadership race will be revealed in the days and weeks ahead. It is unclear whether current Cabinet Ministers who choose to run for the leadership will be required to leave the Cabinet, however generally that is the case.
*Note: On January 9, 2025, The Liberal Party of Canada announced that the nation-wide race to choose the next Leader of the party will conclude on March 9, 2025. A leadership contestant must declare their participation in the race by January 23, 2025.
Given the Parliamentary calendar and the House of Commons procedures, the next opposition day motion has to be scheduled no later than March 26. All three opposition parties (BQ, CPC, NDP) have already confirmed that they will be bringing forward non-confidence motions at the first opportunity. The other important fact to note is that the House has to vote on the Supply Bill before March 26 automatically triggering a confidence motion. In the most likely scenario, the House will return on March 24 with a new Liberal leader, and by extension the Prime Minister, and deliver Speech from the Throne. The first confidence vote will happen on March 26 at which point the government will likely be defeated and the Parliament will be dissolved. In another scenario, the new Prime Minister will deliver a Speech from the Throne and go directly to the Governor General with a request that the Government be dissolved, triggering an election. The most likely time for a federal election is May 5 or May 12.
