This factor should unite Canada’s next Parliament, no matter what political stripe, says expert

John Beebe, founder of the Democratic Engagement Exchange, speaks about what Canadians can expect from the Liberals.

With the federal election over, the new Canadian Parliament will get to work next month at the House of Commons. One expert expects a single factor to unite all politicians regardless of their party: U.S. President Donald Trump.

While the popular vote was split between Liberals (43.7 per cent) and Conservatives (41.3 per cent), John Beebe, professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and a veteran of several U.S. political campaigns, doesn’t think there will be much division between the parties when it comes to dealing with the tariffs war sparked by Trump.

“We’re going to stand up, we’re not going to take the Trump piece,” Beebe, founder of the Democratic Engagement Exchange, a group that promotes democratic engagement, told CTV Your Morning on Wednesday. “So I don’t see as much division there. How we do it, that’s the big question.”

When the House of Commons convenes, Beebe said he’s watching if the Liberal minority government will have an “aggressive” and “bold” plan that addresses issues such as housing affordability and precarity in jobs.

“Bold in this context means that it is something that will be actionable in the short term that will have immediate impacts,” Beebe said, noting as an example the cheques the Justin Trudeau government sent to people who lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Watch the video above for the full interview.