In a final message as Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau says Canadians are great and shouldn’t change.
In a video post on X, Trudeau said he had ‘one last thing” to say to the country. It’s a simple message – he is “so proud” of Canadians.
“I’m proud to have served a country full of people who stand up for what’s right, rise to every occasion and always have each other’s backs when it matters most,” Trudeau said.
“This may be my last day here in this office, but I will always be boldly and unapologetically Canadian. My only ask is that no matter what the world throws at us, you always be the same.”
Tomorrow, after days of behind-the-scenes preparation, the transition of power between Trudeau and prime minister-designate Mark Carney will be formally completed.
Trudeau will meet with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon privately. In that meeting he will officially resign and recommend that she ask Carney to form government and a new cabinet. Carney will be sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister and unveil what is expected to be a substantially smaller cabinet than Trudeau’s current roster of 36 ministers. The ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. EDT on Friday.
It remains unclear if ex-ministers and Carney leadership rivals Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould will have a role in the new cabinet. Gould was seen with Carney during a steel mill visit on Wednesday while Freeland was in New York City to receive a medal from the Foreign Policy Association. It is also unclear how Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, who is widely expected to remain in the role, will attend the swearing-in on Friday. The ceremony is scheduled at roughly the same time as the closing press conference of the G7 foreign minister’s meeting she is currently hosting in Charlevoix, Que.
However, we’ll have to wait and see how long Carney and his cabinet will be in power on Parliament Hill. He is widely expected to call a federal election before Parliament returns from prorogation on March 24. A new Léger poll shows that if a federal election were held today, Mark Carney’s Liberal Party could win a majority of seats in Quebec. Across the country, Carney’s Liberals garnered 37 per cent of support, putting them on a par with Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives. This represents an increase of seven percentage points for the Liberal Party and a drop of six points for the Tories since February 24th. The survey of 1,548 Canadians was conducted online for The Canadian Press between March 7 and 10. Since it was a web survey, a margin of error cannot be attributed.
Nanos polling released earlier this week showed Trudeau will officially end his tenure as prime minister with his favourability at a 12-month high.
Watch the video for Justin Trudeau’s message to Canadians.
