MP predicts election call in a matter of days

Photo: Contributed

Central Okanagan-Similakmeen-Nicola MP Dan Albas

I rarely make predictions but I'll make an exception today.

Within the next five days, I believe Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit the Governor General to request the dissolution of the House of Commons for a federal general election.

Why do I think this? The House of Commons is currently prorogued until this coming Monday (March 24). Because Carney is not an elected Member of Parliament, he cannot sit on the floor of the House of Commons as Canadian prime ministers traditionally do. That creates a situation where Opposition MPs can ask serious questions but the prime minister cannot directly answer them and must rely on cabinet ministers to respond on his behalf. The Liberals are unlikely to favour having their prime minister observe from the gallery while serious questions go unanswered directly—especially when calling an election is the alternative.

For those reasons, I expect the (election) writ period to be announced in the coming days.

This election will be historic for Canadians. After nine years under a Liberal prime minister, will voters choose another four years of Liberal leadership or will they opt for change? That question will weigh heavily on many Canadians' minds as they head to the ballot box.

The situation has become even more intriguing since U.S. President Donald Trump's recent statement that he would "rather deal with a Liberal than a Conservative" government in Canada. Trump's endorsement of the Liberals came as a surprise to many—particularly to the Liberal Party itself, which had been attempting to portray the Conservative Party’s leader as Trump's likely preferred choice.

Based on my door-to-door conversations in my community, I've found residents are concerned with far more pressing issues than those making headlines in Ottawa. Many residents continue to struggle with affordability challenges and the serious crime problem has severely impacted many neighbourhoods.Ultimately, (voters) must familiarize themselves with each party's platform and choose the party and candidate who will best address their most important issues.

One important change affecting my riding is the updated electoral boundaries for this election. For residents in West Kelowna, Peachland and Summerland, the communities remain together within the same electoral boundary, continuing the arrangement in the past three elections. However, for what can be described as the Mission and the southern part of Kelowna, there will be changes.

If you drive into Kelowna from West Kelowna on Harvey Avenue (Highway 97) and turn right onto Ethel Street, you will follow the new riding boundary. That boundary extends down to Casorso Road until it hits Mission Creek. The boundary then runs from Mission Creek east until it hits McCulloch Road where it runs towards Highway 33.

According to the 2021 census, the new riding, to be called Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, is home to 106,794 residents. Because the boundaries in the neighbouring riding to be known as Kelowna have also changed a lot from the previous federal election, please visit Elections Canada at elections.ca for detailed information.

My question for this week:

What is your most important concern in this potential upcoming federal election?

Join the discussion on my Facebook page, or contact me at [email protected] or toll-free at 1-800-665-8711.

Dan Albas is the Conservative MP for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.