This article originally appeared in the Financial Post. Below is an excerpt from the article.
By Jack Mintz, May 23, 2025
On Tuesday, we will be privileged to have King Charles III open Parliament with the speech from the throne, 68 years after his mother Elizabeth II did so, the first time a monarch had. (She also delivered it in 1977). On that first occasion, in 1957, the “my government” Her Majesty referred to was a Tory minority government led by John Diefenbaker. Its legislative program, and therefore her speech, focused on NATO, federal-provincial fiscal relations, economic development, social justice and international trade — all familiar themes today. History does repeat itself.
Tuesday’s speech will play up the Liberal election plan, which boasted “Together, we’ll stand strong against President Trump’s tariffs, create new jobs, cut taxes for the middle class, and build the fastest growing economy in the G7.” Unlike his immediate predecessor, Prime Minister Mark Carney at least says he’s focused on economic growth rather than new social programs. His success will be measured by his actions, however, not his words.
So far, his actions have not been impressive. After five months of prorogation and an election, Parliament will meet for just a month before going on another vacation, delaying what should be a spring budget to the fall, though a summer session is hardly unheard of: our most recent was in 2020.
***TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, VISIT THE FINANCIAL POST HERE***
Jack Mintz is the President’s Fellow at the University of Calgary’s school of public policy and a distinguished fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
