Trudeau is still here, for months to come
And the Hogue Commission report on Elections Interference is delayed
Justin Trudeau has not resigned yet.
His exact words on January 6th were, “I intend to resign, as party leader as Prime Minister, after our party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process. Last night I asked the president of the Liberal Party to begin that process.”
This means at least three important things: first, he will continue to be around to aggravate Canadians and Americans (including Donald Trump) for many more months.
Second, because Trudeau did not call a general federal election but rather a Liberal Party leadership race, ONLY LIBERALS will get to vote for his replacement.
Third, and perhaps most significantly, is that this Liberal leadership race will be run under the same rules and by the same people who are currently being investigated by the Hogue Commission on Elections Interference.
The Hogue Commission had been directed to file its second classified report no later than December 31, 2024. This report was not filed, I learned today, because then-Minister of Democratic Institutions Dominic LeBlanc provided an extension to the deadline on November 15, 2024. LeBlanc is now Finance Minister and likely a front-runner in the upcoming leadership race. This delay is not noted anywhere on on the Hogue Commission site.
This delay in reporting likely means that all the many millions of Canadian who have been left wondering who are the eleven MPs compromised by foreign governments in elections past, or exactly how China or India might have interfered with past general elections and especially party local riding and leadership races, will still be in the dark when it comes time to vote.
I imagine that whatever tactics the Chinese Communist Party and friends might have used to help rig riding or leadership races in the past, are highly likely to be used again in the Liberal leadership race for 2025. And why not? The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been: the winner of the Liberal leadership race will instantly become Prime Minister. A lot could happen between January 7, 2025 and the next general election on October 20, 2025.
As W.C. Fields famously noted, “Anything worth having, is worth cheating for.”
I truly did appreciate all the encouraging and enthusiastic notes I received yesterday from my American family members and Canadian friends who read all the headlines stating “Trudeau resigns.”
Trudeau did not resign. He is still here, and will be here for many more months. Liberals running for their party’s leadership may well get money, volunteers and even votes from foreign actors who continue to interfere with Canada’s electoral processes; none of us will get to know what promises they are making in exchange for this support.
October is still a long time away.
*****
If you have a particular interest in learning about foreign interference in Canada’s elections, I highly recommend you subscribe to Sam Cooper’s website The Bureau. Cooper and his team are doing a phenomenal job on this crucially important file.