To Wit

... Justin Trudeau still is (sadly) the prime minister of Canada until his replacement can be installed voted in:

Justin Trudeau is staying on as prime minister and Liberal Party leader while Parliament is prorogued and the Liberals undergo a leadership race to replace him.

Trudeau made the announcement in Ottawa on Jan. 6 after reflecting over his future during the holidays.

(Sidebar: on this, I call absolute bulls--. He reflected on nothing. Narcissists don't reflect on their actions. Otherwise, they would not be narcissists. I suspect that this is a false flag operation, perhaps thought up by his advisor, Gerald Butts, who a short time ago "predicted" a resignation. This still gives him time to be in the driver's seat, control the public purse - such as it is - and either rescind his alleged resignation when Parliament resumes after March 24th or have the least appealing replacement carry on his country-destroying work, work - one might add - they whole-heartedly agreed with before the polls turned bad.)

“This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I am having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” he said.

Given Canada’s governing system of a constitutional monarchy, the prime minister cannot unilaterally prorogue, or suspend, Parliament. Such an act is carried out by the Crown’s representative, the Governor General, on the advice of the prime minister.

Governor General Mary Simon granted Trudeau’s request to prorogue until March 24.

Prorogation does not only suspend parliamentary affairs for a certain period of time but also terminates the parliamentary session. As such, opposition parties will not be able to topple the government for the next few months, as they’ve all committed to in late 2024.

To recap:

Justin Trudeau -

Let’s refresh Trudeaus actual work record. Thanks again for @MrStache9 for his impeccable records. In 2024 the PM did Sweet F all for 163 and showed up in parliament to not answer any questions but sling mud at Pierre a total of 36 times. He flew 184 times on our jet. Here’s… pic.twitter.com/tmk0IKgk1R

— Nana0000 (@Nana00018487212) January 2, 2025

**

In the entire history of Canada, there has never been a less prepared person to assume the leadership of our once great country. He possesses all of the frailties of the worst of human beings, and no redeeming qualities. I know of people who went to school with him, and they… https://t.co/ysGSwYfkr1

— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) January 1, 2025

- is not actually resigning until March 24th (if that) but has prorogued, or suspended the Parliament, until such time as he can rescind his proffered resignation or his lacklustre replacement can be installed.

(Sidebar: a replacement, by the way, that can be picked by anyone who is fourteen years old and has a Canadian address. Look it up.)

This leaves Canada without anyone but him doing any sort of business.

It also leaves him time to be the bitter, vindictive drama queen that he is:

Why? “Parliament has been paralyzed for months,” Trudeau said. “This morning, I advised the Governor General that we need a new session of Parliament.”

With those words, Trudeau effectively stuck it to the opposition — and to voters — by buying his party time to regroup. For two-and-a-half months there will be no chance for a non-confidence vote and no chance for an election.

But Trudeau also bought time for something else — perhaps the unthinkable: that he might just maybe still stick around.

Yes, you read that right. Because at one point in response to a reporter’s question, Trudeau even said this in French: “If I’m not the one to lead the party into the next election, the polarization in Parliament that we currently see should die down a bit.” And that “if” is theoretically possible. If the House votes down critical budget measures when it reconvenes in late March and Trudeau hasn’t yet been replaced or has not formally stepped aside, the parliamentary vote could trigger an election. And he would still be leader.

So the clock is ticking, because that means that starting now the Liberal party has a scant 11 weeks to hold a leadership contest and install someone else. So, Trudeau has stuck it to his political family, too.

But why would Trudeau do that, when a shortened contest compromises the Liberals’ electoral chances by making it that much harder for any outsider to contest the leadership and bring in fresh blood untainted by the Trudeau government’s unpopular legacy? Why would he hurt his own party?

That’s easy: Because it’s not Trudeau’s fault that he’s quitting — it’s theirs.

In classic narcissistic fashion, Trudeau on Monday blamed his party — and everyone else — for his problems.

He blamed his caucus: “My friends, as you all know, I’m a fighter,” he said. But “it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” he sighed. Never mind that his party, under his leadership, had fallen to life-threatening 16 per cent support in a recent Angus Reid Institute poll, which also showed 59 per cent of Liberal party supporters saying he should resign. Or that three of his four national caucuses have been calling for him to quit.

Then he blamed former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, saying that he hoped she would take on one of “the most important files in my government” — presumably referring to the offer he made her to become a minister without portfolio to handle Canada-U.S. relations, so he could replace her with Mark Carney. But, Trudeau said, “she chose otherwise.” Gee, who wouldn’t want to be demoted from a top cabinet position to go deal with a U.S. president who hates you?

And he blamed the other parties. He claimed that stepping down as leader would decrease polarization in the House of Commons, framing the political climate as a referendum on his presence, and positioning himself as the sacrificial lamb for Canada’s political dysfunction. In the interests of democracy, he would withdraw himself so that parliamentarians can “serve Canadians.”

The prime minister even passed the blame when asked by a reporter Monday about his self-professed greatest political regret, failing to enact electoral reform. He said he would have liked a change to allow people “to make second and third choices,” as opposed to a system that continues to “polarize and divide Canadians.” But abandoning any effort at reform wasn’t his fault, of course: he said he could not change the system unilaterally without the support of the other parties — conveniently omitting his own disgraceful and deceitful role in shelving one of his signature 2015 campaign promises.

As he leaves — or perhaps stays — Trudeau’s legacy will be defined not just by what he accomplished but by the way he exited. For a leader once hailed as a unifying figure, his departure was a pathetic exercise in self-pity that will do nothing to heal the divisions he created. He is right about one thing, though: he is a fighter. And he just punched his party, his colleagues and the entire country in the nose.

As usual, it's everyone else's fault but his.

What an @$$hole.