The Federal Court of Canada granted a motion on Saturday to expedite a legal challenge to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s request to prorogue Parliament until March 24, 2025. The Chief Justice clarified that if the hearing were to follow the Federal Court’s usual timelines, there would be no opportunity for Canada’s elected representatives to debate Canada’s next economic move. The matter would have been before the Court well after the March date, making it pointless.
On January 6, Trudeau announced his decision to step down as Liberal leader, and eventually prime minister, and advised the Governor General of Canada to prorogue (shut down) Parliament for 11 weeks. That would be the longest parliamentary prorogation since the 1980s, with Canadian prorogations usually lasting 22 days.
The announcement follows president-elect Donald Trump’s remarks on imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports and threats to use economic pressure to make Canada the “51st state.”
A prorogation needs to be carried out by the monarch, usually on the advice of the Prime Minister. While Canada is fully sovereign (independent), many of its procedures still require formal, usually uncontested, approval from the British monarchy or its Canadian representatives.
Governor General Mary Simon, who officially acts on behalf of King Charles III, procedurally accepted the prime minister’s request. Following Trudeau’s decision, two citizens from the province of Nova Scotia, John MacKinnon and Lisa Lavranos, filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General. Joined by Canadian advocacy group the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), the suit challenges the constitutional validity of Trudeau’s prorogation announcement. It asks that the Federal Court of Canada set aside the order to prorogue, claiming it impedes Canada’s ability to respond to “the grave challenge” of President-elect Trump’s foreign policy.
MacKinnon and Lavranos filed a motion to expedite the hearing, but the Attorney General (often referred to in Canada as “the Crown”) refused to consent. Federal Chief Justice Paul Crampton granted the motion, citing the urgency of the matter and the public interest as his reasons. He stated that “the core relief sought will become moot if the Court’s usual timelines are not abridged.” The hearing to prorogue will occur in Ottawa as soon as February 13 and 14.