Bow River MP Martin Shields has voiced his thoughts on Justin Trudeau announcing that he intends to resign.
The resignation was announced on Monday (Jan. 6) during a press conference, with Trudeau saying that he plans to step down as Prime Minister and as the leader of the Liberal Party.
However, Shields claims that a resignation is not what Canadians want.
"I think Canadians want an election. His resigning just delays that possibility," said Shields. "If he had actually resigned and called an election, that would have been something that we've been asking for for a long time."
Shields added that he's not expecting much positive change from bringing in a new Liberal leader.
"All the same people who are there expressing interest in the leadership are the same ones who put in policies like carbon tax and capital gains tax. They all supported them and spoke in favour of them," added Shields. "It's not economically viable for Canada, and it's very divisive."
The MP also spoke about the effect that the announced resignation would have on Strathmore and Canada as a whole.
"We're in a state where our government isn't functioning. We have a House of Commons that doesn't have a possibility of meeting for at least two months. All the committees that can meet on an ongoing basis are also shut down."
Shields believes that Liberal MPs want a change in leadership to prevent them from losing their seats.
"They're desperate to protect their own jobs, and that's problematic as far as leadership," added Shields. "How does that affect us? Carbon tax, trade, tariffs from Trump. We have a Premier who is spending time talking to people in the United States who need to work with us on the tariffs."
According to Shields, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois will vote non-confidence if another non-confidence vote is brought to the table.
"Will the NDP Leader Singh keep to his word, or will he flip and flop again? We need an election."
Shields has served as the MP for Bow River since 2015 and was the former mayor of Brooks from 2007 until he became a member of parliament.