Trudeau says no need to reset his agenda this fall
OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government’s policies are starting to pay off for Canadians and he doesn’t need to reset the agenda with a new speech from the throne this fall.
Trudeau was speaking to reporters Thursday after announcing former astronaut Julie Payette will become Canada’s next Governor General this fall.
However he won’t immediately assign her the task of reading a throne speech, as Trudeau says there is simply no need for one at this point.
He said recent good economic news shows the Liberal vision is having an impact, from the Canada Child Benefit to higher taxes on the wealthy and investments in infrastructure, science and skills training.
There had been some speculation Trudeau would shuffle his cabinet over the summer and then prorogue Parliament this fall to reset the agenda as his government enters the second half of its four-year mandate.
Trudeau said this afternoon there is no need for a reset because the approach taken already is working.
“Considering the recent news on our economy, people see that our vision is starting to work,” Trudeau said.
The Bank of Canada raised interest rates a quarter point Wednesday, citing a robust Canadian economy. It is the first interest rate hike in Canada in seven years.
Trudeau said Liberal policies are part of that economic good news story and “we’re seeing now the positive results” of Liberal investments.
“The fact we have invested in innovation and infrastructure shows that the plan we offered people, the Liberal party plan, is good for Canada,” he said. “We are going to continue to put forward different ideas. We don’t have to change anything in our approach because this approach is the right one and we’re going to pursue it.”
The direction set out in his inaugural throne speech from 18 months ago still stands, he added.
“Now is not the time to change from the strong approach that’s delivering for Canadians. Now is the time to continue on the hard work we’re doing to help Canadian families.”
Trudeau’s first and only throne speech was on December 4, 2015, about seven weeks after Trudeau’s Liberals swept to power with a majority government.
A throne speech lays out the plans and priorities of a new government but can also be used mid-mandate to establish new goals or priorities.
With the Liberals dropping some major commitments such as electoral reform and struggling to push through action on others such as the new infrastructure bank, a new throne speech could help refocus the government on the tasks at hand.
It is also not uncommon for a majority government to present a new throne speech in the lead-up to an election. Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament to deliver a new throne speech in October 2013, almost exactly two years from the 2015 election.