A University of Windsor political science professor believes there will be pressure on new Liberal Party leader Mark Carney to call an election to ensure the party has legitimacy.
Lydia Miljan told AM800's The Dan MacDonald Show that we're going to have a prime minister who has never held elected office, never mind the prime minister.
"So there's going to be a lot of pressure on him to pull the plug on his own government to ensure that they have legitimacy because if he waits until October, any post-convention bump will be long dissipated," she says.
Liberal MPs are gathering on Parliament Hill Monday afternoon to huddle after the party chose former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney as its new leader during a convention this past Sunday.
Carney is heading into a day full of briefings and, in the coming days, will need to be sworn in as prime minister, choose his cabinet, and sort out his party's battle plans for the coming federal election, but the exact timeline for all these things remains unclear.
An early election call is widely expected within days or weeks of Carney being installed as prime minister, as the Liberal Party looks to take advantage of the polling momentum it has enjoyed recently.
Miljan says she doesn't see a scenario where Carney can end prorogation and go to Parliament because he doesn't have a seat.
"He could sit in the Senate with the governor general, who puts out the throne speech, but he can't answer any questions in the House of Commons, which puts them in a very difficult position for them to be in,' she says.
On Jan. 6, Trudeau announced plans to resign as prime minister once a new Liberal leader was chosen while also proroguing Parliament, wiping the legislative slate clean, and pausing the business of the House of Commons and Senate.
Miljan believes if we're in a general election, as opposed to the Liberal Party leadership race, that's where Mark Carney will really be tested.
"He really wasn't tested in this election. It was very much a love-in; they were very friendly in their debates. But when we get to a real knock-'em, drag-out fight of a federal election campaign, it will be interesting to see how he performs," she says.
Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, Liberal M-P Karina Gould, and former Liberal M-P Frank Baylis were also vying to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister.