A Chatham-Kent councillor wants a federal election as soon as possible.
Ryan Doyle wants CK council to send a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney's government asking for an election to be called. This motion will be discussed at council's next meeting on April 7.
Doyle told CK News Today he's worried about Carney negotiating with U.S. President Donald Trump during the ongoing trade war between the two countries.
"If he knows our Prime Minister is only going to be there for a short period of time, he's going to use that as a negotiating power and take advantage," he said.
The U.S. started the trade war with threats of tariffs on Canadian goods. Despite delaying tariffs, the federal government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, kept tariffs on $30 million of U.S. goods. Another $29.8 billion worth of American goods were taxed after the U.S. introduced tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including those from Canada.
Doyle said he'd "probably" do the same thing if Carney represented a different political party other than the Liberals. Despite this, he's not a fan that one party got to choose the next Prime Minister.
"I do think that most Canadiens, that I've talked to, want a election because they would like to vote on who is the Prime Minister, not one party," added Doyle.
The way Carney became Prime Minister is not new. Back in 1993, Kim Campbell became Prime Minister after Brian Mulroney retired and she won the leadership race to become the next PC Party leader. The only difference being that Campbell, unlike Carney, was a sitting MP at the time.
Meanwhile, Carney has not indicated whether he'll call an election. If he doesn't, the federal election will be held on October 20, 2025.