The Member of Parliament for Provencher says it is his opinion that the Prime Minister is trying to force a fall election. Ted Falk made that comment days before the speech from the throne will kickstart a new session of Parliament.

On August 18th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until September 23rd. That means when MP's return to Ottawa this week, they will begin a new session of Parliament. That will happen on Wednesday with a throne speech.

Falk says he does not think the speech from the throne will get much love from the other parties. He notes the Bloc Quebecois have indicated very clearly that they will not support the throne speech, while the Conservatives have said they will listen to it but do not expect to be able to support it.

"The NDP have taken a wait and see approach and I think that will actually be the hinge on whether or not the government stands or whether it falls," suggests Falk.

Falk says there are reports that the Liberals are planning to introduce a massive increase in spending of about $100 billion.

The throne speech will need to pass a confidence vote. However, Falk says the Prime Minister has scheduled four additional confidence votes over the next couple of weeks. If any of those votes do not get the necessary support, this will force a fall election.

"It would appear as though the Prime Minister is trying real hard to get at least one failure out of those votes," says Falk.

He notes contrary to what Justin Trudeau is saying, all indications are that the Prime Minister would like to have an election sooner rather than later. Falk says it remains to be seen whether Canadians would be okay heading to the polls during a pandemic.

"It depends if there is going to be another resurgence in transmissions of COVID-19," says Falk. "I think that will play into it."

New Brunswick held a general election last week and Falk says it seems to have run successfully.

"I think if the Prime Minister forces a fall election, I think Canadians will be ready for it and I think they are going to send him a strong message that his time has matured," adds Falk.

Falk says the message he is hearing in Provencher is that constituents are eager for an election.

Meanwhile, Falk says he is upbeat about Erin O'Toole's vision for Canada. Though he does not know exactly what role he will play in O'Toole's opposition party, Falk says he looks forward to seeing where his leader sees the best fit.