Justin Trudeau, the embattled Prime Minister of Canada, has finally resigned. On top of this, he has prorogued parliament until March 24 while the Liberal party finds a new leader. But Trudeau stepping down will solve nothing. This is only the latest episode in the crisis of liberalism.
Liberalism has failed
The crisis of liberalism, the choice ideology of the bourgeoisie, runs deeper than one man. All over the western world, from France to America and now Canada, liberals like Macron, Biden, and Trudeau draped themselves in a “progressive” garb. They presented themselves as champions of women and minorities, protectors of the environment, etc. Meanwhile, the crisis of the capitalist system has crushed the living conditions of the working class.
At best, they have done nothing to solve the pressing issues facing the masses. At worst, they openly attacked workers, like taking away the right to strike as with Trudeau and Biden, or cutting pensions as with Macron. And none of their tokenistic appointments or performative statements have done one iota to end the racism or sexism which run rampant in our society, encouraged by the force of the far right.
The failure of the Liberals can be seen by the fact that the Canadian economy is teetering on the edge of recession, productivity of labour is declining and unemployment is the highest it has been in eight years! And the policies of the government have doubled the federal debt, limiting the room to manoeuvre for any future Prime Minister. Whoever follows Trudeau is faced with a completely dire situation.
Crisis on the horizon
If this wasn’t bad enough, in just two weeks the protectionist maverick Donald Trump accedes to the presidency south of the border. More emboldened than ever, Trump 2.0 is already making waves, threatening 25 per cent tariffs against Canadian exports to the U.S. and making repeated jibes about annexing Canada. If Trump does follow through with his tariffs, this would violently push Canada into recession and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of jobs would be lost.
Trump has just announced 25% tariffs on Canada.
America buy approximately 75% of Canadian exports and is the source of 50% of its imports.
This will not go well. pic.twitter.com/mD3REBEhpz
— Hunter📈🌈📊 (@StatisticUrban) November 26, 2024
This is the situation facing a future Canadian government. While it does seem like right-populist Pierre Poilievre will easily win the election, it would be a mistake to think that he would maintain any support for very long. With the economy in the toilet, the massive government debt and Trump threatening tariffs, a Poilievre government would have very little room for error.
There is heavy pressure from the capitalists to cut social spending, lower corporate taxes, cut regulations and bring down the bloated debt. Other than droning on about axing the carbon tax and cutting environmental regulations, Poilievre has in fact been vague on whether or not he will carry out the main drastic measures the bourgeoisie require.
In fact, he has refashioned the Conservative Party into a right-populist force which, similar to Trump, has been courting unions and speaking to the working class. It is therefore not surprising that he leads among unionised workers and young people. This is something that would have been unheard of prior to Poilievre taking the reins of the party.
In Canada, hard work should earn a powerful paycheque that buys affordable food, gas and homes in safe neighbourhoods.
Sign here to bring home Canada’s promise: https://t.co/Mlman55m8q pic.twitter.com/nL9AfivmcI
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) January 4, 2025
He has created great illusions among sectors of the working class and the youth by promising that he will be some sort of saviour. But the millions of Canadians looking to vote for Poilievre are in for a rude awakening.
Poilievre, much like Justin Trudeau, has no solution to the crisis of the capitalist system, and therefore his brand of populist conservatism is destined to go the same way as Trudeau—into the trash bin.
If he does try to do what the capitalists are asking, his government will be immediately hated. If he fails to do so and continues to run deficits like Trudeau has done, he will only worsen the situation and be seen as no different.
Make no mistake, a Poilievre government will be a government of crisis. They will not have a lengthy honeymoon like Trudeau did as the situation they face is far worse in every respect and they have far less room to manoeuvre. Poilievre is probably undergoing an immense amount of stress just thinking about coming to power in these circumstances.
Welcome to 2025
2025 will be a fundamental turning point in Canadian politics. Liberalism, which has been the saving grace of the bourgeoisie, is a finished ideology. The entire liberal establishment is hated and must be swept aside.
The fall of the Liberals ushers in a new era of crisis and instability for Canada. And none of the mainstream parties offer any solution. Even the NDP which was supposed to be a socialist party connected to the labour movement has capitulated again and again to the capitalist agenda.
With the situation deteriorating and no party able to offer a way out, mass class battles and even revolution will become real possibilities in the coming period.
Working class people must get organised. We must prepare ourselves for this turbulent period on the horizon.
This is why we are building the Revolutionary Communist Party—to organise the working class to fight against this rotten capitalist system.
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So join us—and let’s have a revolutionary 2025!
