Canadian Elections: What Does a Liberal Minority Government Mean for Guelph? – Guelph

As the dust settles after the 2021 federal election, Guelph Liberal Party incumbent Lloyd Longfield says he’s ready to return to work after securing a third term.

With Longfield re-elected and another Liberal minority government, the political situation offers a bit of continuity, but what impact will this have on the Royal City?

Getting through the COVID-19 pandemic is the first item on the veteran politician’s agenda.

Longfield said this includes working with local businesses throughout the economic recovery and with community partners to address the long-term mental health challenges the crisis has brought.

He added that he planned to travel to Ottawa in order to work in collaboration with other parties.

“I think now that we have tested the electorate they are saying, ‘We love to see a minority government, but you have to work together to solve these big problems,'” said Longfield.

“Hopefully that means we’ll see a better atmosphere in Ottawa when we try to sort out some of these issues. “

Tamara Small, associate professor at the University of Guelph, believes that a minority government might actually work better for municipalities.

She explained that majority governments and municipalities generally need to have similar programs in order to work together.

But since the Liberals are forced to work with other parties, it means there are more MPs to talk to for cities and their mayors.

“If you’re mayor and you don’t have a direct line to Lloyd Longfield, for example, you could have a direct line to a Tory MP like Michael Chong, you could have a direct line to the new Green MP in Kitchener,” or you could have a direct line with the NDP, ”Small said.

“There are more ways to get in touch with someone who could then carry your agenda and who could be influential at some point.”

As for the mayor of Guelph, Cam Guthrie, he simply wants the Liberals to come forward quickly with their policies and their mandates.

“Not just from a Guelph perspective, but from all municipalities. We really want to see them working closely together, not only across party lines but also between different levels of government, ”said Guthrie.

“I hope parties take a position similar to municipal governments after the election – it’s time to put things aside and get to work, especially in a minority situation. I think there is common ground around the issues we have that are needed for Guelph, especially infrastructure, jobs, COVID recovery, etc.

With another minority government comes the possibility of having another federal election being called at any time.

Guthrie considered the possibility of having three elections next year, with the Ontario general election slated for June 2022 and municipal elections slated for later that year in October.

“Whatever happens at the federal or provincial level, these are important, but I certainly hope that if there is not only the provincial election but also a federal election next year, that fatigue won’t be there for the municipal election because it really is such an important vote, ”said Guthrie.

9:33
Elections in Canada: Trudeau presents electoral victory as ‘clear mandate’ in speech to supporters