Trudeau Resigns: Will His Successor Be Any Better?

After nearly a decade as Canada's prime minister, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced his intention to step down once a new party leader is chosen. 

Canada, which has long retreated from freedom, has faced even more problems in the past decade because of the Liberal Party's progressive economic and social policies under Trudeau's rule.

With his voter support currently down to 28%, Trudeau appears to have been forced to resign to give the incompetent Liberal Party another chance in the upcoming election in October 2025. However, real hope will not emerge in Canada until Canadians understand what has transpired over the last ten years. 

Since founding Expat Money in 2017, I’ve been helping not just my own family but countless other families protect their wealth and freedom from the clutches of greedy and hypocritical politicians like Trudeau. Let's take a look at the wreckage that Trudeau is leaving behind.

A GOVERNMENT WITHOUT A PARLIAMENT

Following his resignation, Trudeau requested that Parliament be prorogued until March 2025. The Governor General granted this request. Parliament has thus been temporarily shut down, and the government will use its decree powers, called Orders in Council, to govern the country without transparency.

Trudeau defended this decision by saying that Parliament has been "paralyzed" for months, leaving the country now condemned to an unaccountable government until March. How did Canada fall into such despair?

OBESE GOVERNMENT AND IMPOVERISHED CANADIANS

In his first election, Trudeau promised to strengthen the middle class, create new jobs, and fight poverty. Progressive liberals, who know nothing about the economy beyond increasing public spending, raising tax rates, and printing money without backing, behaved accordingly in Canada as well. Trudeau's ideas of fighting poverty and creating jobs could not progress beyond futile Keynesian policies.

The budget deficit, which was $1 billion CAD in 2015, had increased to $50.9 billion CAD by March 2024. Canada seemingly forgot about budget balance during Trudeau's reign. Public debt became entirely out of hand during the COVID-19 hysteria, and in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the government reported a budget deficit of $327.7 billion CAD.

Between 2018 and 2024, the government recorded the seven highest years of per capita spending in the country's history. By 2024, per capita spending, excluding debt interest costs, reached $11,856 CAD. That was 10.2% higher than the spending during the 2007-2009 financial crisis and 28.7% higher than the peak spending during World War II.

Of course, this has subsequently increased tax levels tremendously. 86% of middle-class families have seen their federal personal income tax burden increase, paying an average of $800 CAD in additional taxes annually. The average Canadian family now spends more on taxes than on necessities. Families spend about 43% of their income on taxes, compared to 35.6% on food, shelter, and clothing.

Trudeau has steadily reduced Canadians' standard of living. From the second quarter of 2019 to the end of 2023, Canada's inflation-adjusted GDP per capita decreased by 3%, from $59,905 CAD to $58,111 CAD. This recent drop in national income represents one of the most profound declines in living standards in the past forty years.

Trudeau’s policies: soaring taxes and flawed immigration strategies drive up costs of living, alienate high-income earners, and strain low-income Canadians as inflation and housing expenses rise dramatically

CARBON TAX AND WEALTH TAX

The Trudeau government has never hesitated to raise taxes to fund its ideological fantasies, with the most backbreaking being the new carbon tax and additional taxation of high-income citizens.

The Trudeau government introduced a carbon tax to reduce fossil fuel consumption. However, since low- and middle-income families spend much of their income on energy, this tax hit those populations hardest. Moreover, new fuel regulations are further increasing the cost of living.

Taxes were also increased for high-income groups to increase social spending. In some provinces, the tax rate for those earning over $240,000 CAD per year has exceeded 50%; in provinces such as British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, this rate has reached 54%. In 2024, the taxable capital gains rate for high-income individuals increased from 50% to 66.6%.

Ultimately, these new taxes have only increased the tax burden on low-income Canadians and alienated high-net-worth individuals from the national economy.

FAILING IMMIGRATION POLICY

Trudeau also mangled Canada’s immigration policy. While the country requires immigrants to continue its economic growth, integrating immigrants into the population is impossible without a dynamic free market economy and a minimal state.

During the Trudeau Liberals' term, the Canadian population increased substantially due to rampant immigration. In 2023, population growth was three times the economic growth. In other words, per capita national income continued to fall tremendously.

The increased basic food prices and rapid increases in rent and housing have exhausted Canadians and immigrants who came to Canada with high hopes. The inflation rate rose to 6.8% in 2022, and rents increased by an average of 21% between 2022 and 2024.

Approximately 44% of Canadians spend more than 30% of their monthly income on housing, and 15% spend more than 50% on rent. Young Canadians are particularly affected by high inflation, with 32% of individuals under 55 spending more than 30% on housing costs.

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Trudeau’s era: vaccine mandates, lockdowns, frozen accounts, and overreach of power eroded individual freedoms, crushed businesses, and left Canadians burdened by unemployment, inflation, and debt

THE SEIZURE OF INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM

Trudeau's policies of vaccine passports and mandatory lockdowns during the COVID  years were a complete violation of individual freedom. These measures severely restricted individuals' fundamental rights and freedoms and plunged the country into a social and economic depression.

With the insistence on mandatory vaccine passports, the Trudeau government made access to travel, restaurants, public spaces, and workplaces dependent on coerced vaccination status. This restriction of freedom directly attacked Canadians’ bodily integrity and personal choice.

The mandatory lockdowns dealt a heavy blow to individual economic freedoms. Businesses were closed, and people were displaced from their jobs, becoming dependent on government assistance. Canadians surrendered their ability to govern their lives to the state's arbitrary decisions.

Trudeau expanded the government's power under the pretext of a crisis. He invoked the Emergency Act to use excessive force against peaceful protesters. Without a court order, the government also froze bank accounts and restricted the property rights of individuals suspected of being linked to the Trucker Convoy.

This period of madness was a dramatic demonstration of the government's seizure of individual freedoms, accompanied by closed businesses, drastic unemployment, rising inflation, heavier tax burdens, and increased public debt.

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“GREAT STATE OF CANADA”

Trudeau's leadership skills have been publicly questioned after President Trump suggested that he would impose a 25% tariff on Canadian goods. In a meeting in November 2024, Trump offered Trudeau the “opportunity” to make Canada the 51st State of the United States and relieve the country of its economic woes. Trudeau's helplessness in the face of Trump's sarcasm caused his voter support to plummet. With Trudeau's resignation announced today, Trump did not neglect to renew his offer through his account on X (but then he deleted the original post):

The situation Trudeau's Liberal Government has put in Canada is genuinely heartbreaking. Unfortunately, none of what has happened was unforeseen. Although it is painful to watch Canada from afar, there is no sign that Canada will return to liberty-oriented policies anytime soon. Until most Canadians are willing to face what has happened in their country in the name of tolerance and equity, it would not be surprising if the next prime minister turns out to be even worse than Trudeau.

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With Trudeau gone, Canada faces the fallout of a decade of overreach. Plan for your future now—freedom and prosperity won’t come from politicians

CONCLUSION

Trudeau's resignation will enable Canada to re-examine the last decade's statist policies. Excessive public spending, tax hikes, and systematic curtailment of individual freedoms have plunged Canada into economic and social distress. The suspension of Parliament and the continuation of government by decree reveal a governance approach that has eliminated political accountability. 

Trudeau's resignation represents the pinnacle of these authoritarian policies, but there is no genuine hope for Canada's recovery from this crisis. Instead of dreaming that politicians will restore Canada to prosperity and freedom, it is time to accept the current political reality and build your Plan-B.