Trudeau Should Have Resigned Last Year: Canada Deserves a Leader Who Can Handle Reality & Healthcare Reform

Justin Trudeau has overstayed his welcome, and I'm headed to Ottawa this week before he comes to Vancouver Island, again.  The prime minister’s perpetual reliance on his celebrity-style brand—complete with Instagram-ready socks, performative platitudes, and scripted empathy—has run its course. Canadians are no longer amused, and the country’s critical issues demand a leader who’s less concerned with optics and more focused on solutions. The time to bid farewell to Trudeau was last year, giving the Liberal Party a chance to reboot with their next cult-of-personality mascot. Instead, we’re stuck in a holding pattern, with a government so preoccupied with optics that it’s failing to address Canada’s crumbling healthcare system and staggering fiscal realities.

A Nation in Crisis

Four years. That’s how long it’s been since I’ve had a family doctor—a reality many Canadians share. For a developed country that prides itself on its universal healthcare, this is nothing short of a disgrace. The sacred cow of the Canada Health Act, while well-intentioned in its inception, has ossified into an economic and operational quagmire. Healthcare spending accounts for over 12% of Canada’s GDP—among the highest in the OECD—yet our system ranks poorly in terms of timely access to care. Nearly 5 million Canadians lack access to a primary care provider, a stark indicator of systemic failure.

The problem isn’t just a lack of money—it’s how that money is spent. Provinces like British Columbia have turned their healthcare systems into advocacy platforms, prioritizing ideological agendas over clinical care. Administrative expenses now account for as much as 20% of total healthcare spending, compared to less than 10% in more efficient systems like Germany’s.

The Sacred Cow Needs a Reckoning

No politician wants to touch the Canada Health Act. It’s the third rail of Canadian politics, and for good reason—it’s wrapped in a mythos of national pride. But maintaining the status quo is no longer an option. Demographics and economics don’t lie: a single-payer system is simply unsustainable. By 2030, seniors will make up nearly 25% of Canada’s population, driving demand for healthcare services to unprecedented levels.

Every reasonable country with an admirable healthcare system—think Germany, the Netherlands, or Australia—has embraced a mixed-payer approach. These systems balance public and private contributions, ensuring access to care while fostering innovation and efficiency. Meanwhile, Canada clings to a model that can’t even deliver basic access to family doctors. In Germany, 100% of citizens have access to healthcare providers, thanks to a system that leverages both public funding and private insurance to expand capacity and improve service delivery.

It’s time to have a serious national conversation about amending the Canada Health Act to allow for meaningful reform. A mixed-payer system doesn’t mean abandoning universal healthcare; it means saving it from implosion.

Why Trudeau’s Resignation Was Essential

Trudeau’s refusal to step aside has stymied that conversation. His government has shown no appetite for confronting hard truths, opting instead for fiscal denialism and endless virtue signaling. Federal debt now exceeds $1.2 trillion, and interest payments alone are projected to cost over $44 billion annually by 2025—money that could have been invested in healthcare reform.

A new leader—even another brand-centric one—might at least have brought fresh energy to the table. The Liberal Party’s obsession with finding the next photogenic, soundbite-ready figurehead isn’t ideal, but it’s preferable to the stagnation we’re enduring now.

The Path Forward

What Canada needs is a leader willing to make tough decisions, not someone preoccupied with TikTok trends. The next election should force a reckoning on the Canada Health Act and the broader sustainability of our healthcare system. Canadians deserve leaders who will prioritize outcomes over ideology and solutions over slogans.

It’s time to move on from Justin Trudeau. His resignation last year could have paved the way for real change. Now, it’s up to voters to demand better. The status quo is a non-starter, and Canada’s future depends on leaders with the courage to confront its most pressing challenges head-on.