Trudeau to resign from Liberal leadership; Canadian Parliament to be prorogued

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his intention to resign from his position as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Trudeau says he intends to stay on his position as Prime Minister, until the Liberal Party has selected a new leader. The Prime Minister also asked Governor General Mary Simon to prorogue Parliament until March 24.

Once Parliament has been prorogued, all current bills will die, and the federal government will not pass any legislation until after Parliament has reconvened.

On account of the prorogation of parliament, the federal government will miss the deadline to amend legislation regarding citizenship by descent.

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Background

Trudeau’s resignation comes after a recent slide in popularity among the general public, along with calls from many Liberal MPs for his resignation.

On Mon, 16 Dec, deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland resigned mere hours before she'd been set to present the fall economic statement.

Parliament had been set to resume its next session on 27 Jan. Opposition leaders Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh had announced their intention to support a vote of no confidence, which would either force the prime minister to resign, or to request the governor-general to dissolve parliament.

Delay of changes to citizenship by descent

With Parliament having been prorogued, the federal government will be unable to meet the extended deadline of March 19 for introducing legislative changes regarding citizenship by descent.

The current legislation includes provisions regarding a "second-generation cut-off," according to which Canadian citizens born abroad are unable to pass down their citizenship to their children born abroad.

On December 19, 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled the current legislation unconstitutional. The federal government did not choose to appeal the ruling.

In response to the unconstitutionality of the current legislation, the federal government introduced bill C-71 to amend the Citizenship Act.

Under the provisions of bill C-71, Canadian citizens born abroad would be able to pass on their citizenship to their children born abroad, provided that the parent has spent at least three years in Canada prior to the birth or adoption of their child.

Will the prorogation of Parliament, bill C-71 will die, and the federal government will miss the extended deadline for introducing the court-mandated legislative changes.

Other Impacts on immigration

It is not clear how Trudeau’s resignation as party leader will impact immigration policy.

Under the most recent Liberal minority government, Immigration Minister Marc Miller has spearheaded a number of sweeping changes to Canada’s immigration programs, including

• Capping the number of study permit applications to limit the number of incoming international students;
• Removing post-graduation work permit (PGWP) eligibility for graduates from post-secondary institutions offering programs under curriculum licensing agreements;
• Reducing eligibility for spousal open work permits;
• Adding language test requirements for post-graduation-work-permits PGWPs;
• Adding field of study requirements for PGWPs for graduates of college programs and university vocational programs;
• Cutting permanent resident landings targets by 20% relative to previous levels;
• Adding temporary resident targets to the annual Immigration Levels Plan;
• Banning flagpoling; and
• Removing the additional CRS points awarded for valid job offers.

CIC News expected the federal government to move forward with additional immigration changes in gearing up for the next federal election.

After parliament has been prorogued, the federal government will not be able to pass any new legislation, so this may delay some planned changes for Canada’s immigration system.

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