Ranting about quebec: newspark edition!

[abates]

The previous one resigned and the party picked a new leader who automatically became PM.

 

[Anonymous X]

So I'm super confused. Did Canada have an election recently or didn't they? There's a new Prime Minister, and Anonymous X recently posted results from...something, but googling "canada election results" just got me articles about the new PM and old news about the 2021 election.

Oh, that results chart was for the recent Ontario provincial election.

The new prime minister, Mark Carney, got the job because he was chosen to be the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, the party which has the most seats in the House of Commons. Despite not being an MP yet – his aim is to win a seat in this year’s federal election.

 

[Pocket]

Interesting. So it's like their version of the House of Representatives electing a non-member as Speaker, and then the President and Vice President resigning and making that person President by rules of succession.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Corollary: Carney will probably be calling an election sometime between now and next week, but definitely calling an election. Not only is it the proper thing to do (he has no seat, and he is not the person that was voted for to be prime minister.), but it'll also continue to take the wind out of the tories sail.

Sadly, it's also put the country into 35 days of caretaker mode: where nothing that isn't an immediate emergency will be taken care of. Which is ridiculously poor timing giving trump.

I have no idea how he'll do long term, but he's done okay so far in the first week, and it's completely undermined poilievre, which is actually the only bit I cared about for the upcoming election anyway.

 

[Anonymous X]

Interesting. So it's like their version of the House of Representatives electing a non-member as Speaker, and then the President and Vice President resigning and making that person President by rules of succession.

Nah, not really. That’s like comparing apples and oranges. I mean, the president of the US is simultaneously head of state and head of government. Canada’s head of state is King Charles, and the head of government is the prime minister.

Think of it as like if the UK changed prime minister, but the incoming prime minister wasn’t an MP. Nearest comparison. (Although, since 1902 there has been a requirement for a prime minister to be a sitting MP, basically in order to prevent members of the House of Lords from being appointed prime minister.)