WEBVTT

00:00.000 --> 00:06.480
Quite the storm is brewing for Prime Minister Mark Kearney. Three liberal MPs will soon be departing.

00:06.480 --> 00:10.680
Jonathan Wilkinson will be leaving to become Ambassador of the European Union.

00:10.680 --> 00:18.000
Nate Erkstein-Smith will be resigning his seat this summer after losing a nomination contest to run for the Ontario Liberals.

00:18.000 --> 00:26.480
And climate hardliner Stephen Gibow will be resigning later this summer in protest over Kearney's rollback of carbon taxes, EV mandates,

00:26.480 --> 00:32.560
and the MOU with Alberta Premier Daniel Smith. In a statement posted to Ex, Gibow said,

00:32.560 --> 00:39.400
"It's time for me to pursue my fight for environmental protection and the fight against climate change in a different way."

00:39.400 --> 00:47.560
Maybe Gibow will dust off the old orange jumpsuit and go back to scaling buildings, so taxpayers can rescue him again.

00:47.560 --> 00:52.760
When the three depart, the Liberals will temporarily drop to 171 seats.

00:52.760 --> 00:57.440
Technically a minority, though the opposition parties will still have fewer.

00:57.440 --> 01:05.600
But for now, these writings are all currently projected as safe for the Liberals in by-elections, which will likely be held in the fall.

01:05.600 --> 01:08.080
But there's trouble in Liberal Paradise.

01:08.080 --> 01:16.320
14 Liberal MPs signed a private protest letter warning that the Alberta deal destroys the government's environmental credibility.

01:16.320 --> 01:21.200
We don't know exactly who they are. There could be overlap with the three MPs leaving,

01:21.200 --> 01:26.760
but that still means that there are at least 11 unhappy climate campers in the caucus.

01:26.760 --> 01:33.480
So the Liberals could potentially be blocked by their own members in a vote on energy infrastructure.

01:33.480 --> 01:39.920
Meanwhile, a referendum is brewing in Alberta, and this week, not properly reading the room,

01:39.984 --> 01:45.424
Kearney warned Alberta separatists who think referendum will provide the province more leverage,

01:45.424 --> 01:50.224
that they are being "unhelpful" and are risking a very dangerous bluff.

01:50.224 --> 01:56.064
Heavy pressure is now mounting on Kearney to deliver real pipelines and energy progress,

01:56.064 --> 02:01.424
because what Prime Minister wants a province to vote for separation on their watch?

02:01.424 --> 02:04.624
Will this storm tear the Liberals apart?

02:04.624 --> 02:07.424
What do you think? Comment below.
