Following the September elections, Canada’s parliament formally opened on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s minority government presenting an agenda centred on putting the COVIS-19 pandemic “behind” it, as well as priorities such as economic growth and tackling record inflation, the climate crisis, and reconciliation with Indigenous communities.

In her Speech from the Throne, which is equivalent to the Indian President’s address to the nation, Canada’s governor-general Mary Simon outlined what Justin Trudeau plans to accomplish in the near future. The governor-general (GG) is the representative of Queen Elizabeth II, Canada’s head of state, and thus the speech is so named. 

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In the coming days, the speech will be debated in the House of Commons, and it may result in the new government having to face its first vote of confidence, as it will need the support of either the opposition Bloc Quebecois or the New Democratic Party (NDP) to pass. Trudeau’s Liberal Party is 10 seats short of the 170 needed for a majority.

“Priority number one remains getting the pandemic under control. The best way to do that is vaccination,” the GG said. Trudeau mentioned the September snap elections in a statement related to the speech and said voters “gave parliamentarians a clear direction to work together to put the Covid-19 crisis behind us and find the real solutions needed to build a better future for all Canadians.”

“Building a better future starts with getting the pandemic under control and finishing the job on vaccines,” the statement issued by the prime minister’s office noted.

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The speech started with a mention of the devastating flooding that hit British Columbia last week. “The Canadian government will continue to invest in our workers and industry to help bring us into the economy of the future, while also taking action to clean the air that we breathe and protect Canadians from extreme weather events,” Trudeau said.

With inflation nearing 5%, a level not seen in the country in over two decades, that, along with affordability, was one of the main issues addressed.