Hitting Pause: What Trudeau’s Prorogation Means for Canada’s Parliament

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party. The individual who succeeds him in the upcoming leadership race will also assume the role of Prime Minister of Canada and is expected to lead the party into the next federal election, whenever that might occur.

While not entirely unexpected—speculation about Trudeau’s resignation has been mounting for some time—today’s announcement comes amidst a growing sense that his leadership had become untenable. In recent weeks, an increasing number of Liberal MPs publicly called for Trudeau to step down, a sign that internal party pressure had reached a breaking point.

To facilitate the leadership election and address what he described as “parliamentary paralysis,” Trudeau also requested the Governor General to prorogue Parliament. The Governor General agreed to this request, bringing the current session of Parliament to an official end.

This decision, while politically charged, is entirely legitimate and constitutional. Prorogation is a standard prerogative of the Prime Minister in Westminster parliamentary systems, though it has been used controversially in the past to navigate political challenges. This blog focuses on prorogation as a parliamentary mechanism: what it is, how it works, and why it matters.

Prorogation is a parliamentary convention that formally ends a session of Parliament. It is a procedural reset, halting all parliamentary business—including debates, committee work, and the consideration of legislation—until a new session begins with a Throne Speech outlining the government’s agenda. In Canada, the Governor General, as the King’s representative as head of state, grants prorogation on the advice of the Prime Minister. When prorogation occurs, all unfinished legislative business dies on the order paper. Bills that were not passed into law must be reintroduced in the next session. Additionally, parliamentary committees are dissolved and must be reconstituted when Parliament reconvenes. Parliament resumes with a Throne Speech, which sets out the government’s legislative priorities for the new session.

Prorogation differs significantly from other parliamentary events. Adjournment pauses Parliament temporarily, often for holidays or scheduled breaks. During an adjournment, the session remains active, and legislative work resumes when sittings reconvene. Dissolution, by contrast, terminates a Parliament entirely and triggers a general election. Unlike prorogation, which ends a session within the same Parliament, dissolution ends the parliamentary term. Similarly, a sitting refers to a single meeting of Parliament, while a session spans the time between a Throne Speech and prorogation or dissolution. A Parliament, meanwhile, lasts from one election to the next and typically includes multiple sessions.

When Parliament is prorogued, both the House of Commons and the Senate are affected. Most government bills and committee work are terminated, though certain elements of parliamentary business survive. For instance, Private Members’ Business, including bills and motions, continues from session to session. This allows private members to carry forward their legislative work, such as bills referred to committees or passed by the House and sent to the Senate. Additionally, the Board of Internal Economy, a joint committee of the House of Commons and the Senate responsible for overseeing internal administrative matters, continues its operations during prorogation to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament. These exceptions underscore that while prorogation halts most legislative activities, some mechanisms exist to maintain continuity.

Prorogation also raises questions about the government’s ability to fund itself in the absence of parliamentary appropriations. Canada’s Constitution grants Parliament the exclusive power to approve expenditures through supply bills (“the Power of the Purse”) which are typically passed during active sessions of Parliament. However, during prorogation, the government can only rely on funds previously approved for the fiscal year. These appropriations allow the government to continue functioning and delivering services without interruption. If additional funds are required during this period, the government must wait until Parliament reconvenes to seek approval for supplementary appropriations.  

While prorogation is a legitimate constitutional mechanism, it has occasionally been used as a tool to navigate political challenges or avoid scrutiny. Stephen Harper, for example, prorogued Parliament twice during his tenure. In 2008, Harper prorogued Parliament to avoid a confidence vote that could have ended his government and allowed a coalition of opposition parties to take power. Critics viewed this as a tactic to sidestep democratic accountability. In 2009, Harper prorogued Parliament again, delaying inquiries into the treatment of Afghan detainees by Canadian forces. Both instances sparked widespread debate about the appropriate use of prorogation. Similarly, in 2019, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised the Queen to prorogue Parliament for five weeks during the Brexit crisis, citing the need to prepare a new legislative agenda. The UK Supreme Court later ruled the prorogation unlawful, finding that it had the effect of preventing Parliament from fulfilling its constitutional functions. Today, Justin Trudeau’s prorogation, while facilitating the Liberal Party’s leadership race, also postpones parliamentary scrutiny, including delaying a likely vote of non-confidence, which the Conservatives had threatened to bring forward as soon as January (although it was more likely that, procedurally, that Trudeau’s day of reckoning would not have come before late March).

For those unfamiliar with Westminster systems, prorogation may seem puzzling—especially when viewed through the lens of U.S. political structures. Unlike the U.S. Congress, which operates independently of the President, Canada’s Parliament is tightly integrated with the executive branch, allowing the Prime Minister to request prorogation. Prorogation in Canada is initiated by the Prime Minister and formally enacted by the Governor General. In the U.S., Congress controls its own schedule, and the President does not have comparable powers. Prorogation halts all parliamentary business. In the U.S., legislation remains active within a Congress (lasting two years) and does not expire at the end of a session. While there is no direct equivalent, mechanisms like government shutdowns or executive orders can achieve similar outcomes by stalling legislative activity or bypassing Congress.

Justin Trudeau’s resignation as Liberal leader marks the end of an era, but it also highlights the significance of parliamentary conventions like prorogation. While his decision to prorogue Parliament has raised eyebrows, it remains a legitimate and constitutional tool, albeit one that has historically been used to navigate political turbulence.