In the speech from the throne to open the 45th Parliament last week, King Charles III laid out an aggressive agenda for the incoming government.
The monarch's rare, but not unprecedented, presence at the throne speech was intended to underscore just how grave and critical a time it is for the country.
His references to sovereignty brought thunderous applause in the Senate chamber and sparked a wave of patriotic pride across the country.
A Getty Image captured just before the speech appears to show former Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper engaged in an amicable and non-partisan discussion.
Charles said the new session is an “opportunity for Canada to embark on the largest transformation of its economy since the Second World War.”
The king outlined the major goals of the new government including introducing lower- and middle-class tax breaks, doubling the rate of home-building, removing internal trade barriers, diversifying foreign markets, investing in nationwide infrastructure, bringing the military up to snuff, improving border security, improving law enforcement, revamping the Criminal Code and fixing the immigration system.
A transformational agenda to be sure.
The speech is being touted as "historic," as the times seem to warrant.
“Given the pace of change and the scale of opportunities, speed is of the essence,” the King said.
It was truly a heart-warming moment in Canadian political history, An all-hands-on-deck, urgent call to arms.
And how is Parliament going to deal with these unprecedented times, this aggressive agenda, this critical moment?
By taking a summer break.
During the election, now-Prime Minister Mark Carney hammered home the point that it was the "most consequential election of our lifetime."
But by the time the 343 new MPs who make up the House of Commons hit the barbecue circuit at the end of June, Parliament will have been in session for a grand total of five weeks in 2025.
We won't even have a federal budget until probably late fall as the real business of the country won't begin in earnest until Sept. 15.
During the election, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre promised that, if a Conservative government were elected, Parliament would sit through the summer.
That is the kind of urgency that is needed according to the "historic" speech.
Carney convinced Canadians he was the man for the job of leading us through a looming existential crisis.
By conducting business as usual, he is off to an inauspicious start.
