By Pepper Parr
January 2nd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The questions put to Karina Gould in an interview were asked by Julie Slack, Editor of Burlington Today
The question everyone wanted to ask was: Are you going to run again? Yes she is.
Right now Karina Gould serves as the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.
It is a frenetic job that has her on her feet for very full days. When the House is sitting she is beside the Prime Minister and on her feet during question period.
During the delivery of the Fall Economic Statement (FES) which turned into a crisis that may end up bringing the government down, Gould was front and center.
Home is Burlington – in Ottawa, she lives in a hotel.
During an interview with Burlington Today Gould talked about everything but the Prime Minister admitting that it is: “a tough time to be in politics. I think it’s a tough time to be an incumbent government no matter what.”
Gould, the Mother of two calls home in Ottawa space in a hotel
I last crossed paths with Karina Gould at the Terry Fox Run for a Cancer Cure – her parting words at the time were: “Wish me Luck.”
It is going to take more than luck to get her through the election whenever it takes place.
Doing the job she is in place to do, talking up what the government has done, Gould said: “that was really good because that pays for things like dental care, like the new school food program, the additional funding for our Canadian armed forces, our support for Ukraine, support for housing, for Indigenous communities, and the list goes on and on and on. I was worried it was going to be really raucous. I thought the Conservative might, oppose items….but I think they kind of ran outta gas.”
“It was a different fall session, but, you know, it was, it was a minority government, in the true sense and that’s what happens. Minority governments are not clean. They’re very messy. There’s a lot of brinksmanship, a lot of games, but, uh, we made it through.”
Asked how she handles confrontation. Gould responded: “I know what I’m fighting for and that’s the people in my community. I have to say behind the scenes, even though Andrew and I disagree on many things. When it comes to negotiating, we’re not acrimonious with each other but there’s a level of professionalism and respect.
Q: There’s a lot of talk about Donald Trump. Have you met him?
“I haven’t met Donald Trump, and I don’t know if I will, I’m not really in the position to, but one never knows.”
At this point in the interview – it got a little silly
Q: Most famous person’s cell phone number in your contacts other than the PM?
Used to have Samantha Power and Melinda Gates.
This or that
Playlists or podcasts? podcasts
Shoes or slippers? Slippers (depends on the house)
Swimming pool or beach? beach
Cats or dogs? Cats, but I love dogs
Summer or winter? winter
Cash or cards? cards
Cookies or chips? chips
Karina Gould in full campaign mode. Can she do it again?
Cute – but the country faces a crisis and Karina Gould is right in the middle of it, but not part of it – other than being the Liberal MP for Burlington she isn’t part of the hatred towards the Prime Minister the country is facing but when the full story of what really happened during that week Chrystia Freeland dropped her resignation letter bomb she was there and will have a lot to say when the book is written.
Gould’s immediate challenge is the next federal election—can she hold the seat? She seems to think so.
She will meet with her constituents on January 12th – security at that event is going to be very very tight – not something we have experienced in Burlington in the past.
Gould is at a very high personal risk – there are people who want to harm her physically – and that is not what this country is about.
Karina did a great job with Arrivcan .They are still looking for the millions of taxpayers dollars scammed on her watch
Did you try to get a passport renewed during Covid?People lined up in the freezing cold outside for days .
That was on her watch!
There is nobody on the ballot worth voting for. Pierre Poilievre? No thanks. What a Trumpian interview he did with Jordan Peterson of all people, and the episode reportedly sponsored by an Indiana-based Christian anti-abortion group that seeks to protect “pre-born” babies, and asking for donations. Women’s rights on the way out here too?
IMO our choices don’t include anyone with an ounce of class or integrity. Perhaps I’ll vote for Mother Earth – it seems none of the usual parties care about her either.
If its a wipe-out, Karina as part of the problem may be gone as well. Its just the way it is sometime. You are the party in modern day Canadian politics. Trudeau has not done Karina any favours by putting her front and centre. She is now the hood ornament of the party.
OMG people – send Karina Gould packing. She is one of the biggest supporters of the worst PM Canada has ever had – bar none! Even today, she still supports her clown of a boss and looks up to this loser. What does that tell you folks? I take so much pride knowing I never voted for this train wreck of a Liberal Federal Government, but the damage is done to our once great country. The ethics violations by several Ministers, Black Face, corruption we never get to the bottom of, the wasteful spending, the pushback whenever asked to spend money on our defence, the tolerance of antisemitism/hate on our streets, soft on crime easy bail, handguns on our streets, out of control immigration stressing our health care system and housing supply, tolerance of drugs (so-called “safe supply”), record food bank use, record levels of National Debt, are examples of policies Karina Gould has supported by being one of Trudeau’s biggest cheerleaders and closest Ministers. Then there is the Carbon Tax lie that it would go no higher than $50/ton. Rebates are a joke as the tax drives up everything. All while shutting down our oil/gas sector that provided mass amounts to Canada’s standard of living. Why would we impoverish our country and stunt its full potential/growth when Canada only produces 1.5% global carbon emissions? I call these Trudeau years “Canada’s Ten Lost Years.” Karina Gould has been a lackluster Minister, at best, in one capacity or another in this horrible woke Government from day 1. Vote Emily Brown; she is a breath of fresh air Burlington so desperately needs to replace the very young, inexperienced, ineffective, out of touch MP like Karina has proven she is.
Karina is right. It is a tough time to be an incumbent government when you have been an invective government with a woke mentality. Her support for sunny days when the scandals kept growing says a lot about her character and its not good. I wish her the best. It might be to follow the other Liberal MPs who are choosing not to run again. Lets all remember the 60 billion dollar deficit she gave us in her last speech in the House of Commons. Maybe it will be her last speech.
Reply to all
I know many Karina supporters and if you want to see what she has done come to her Levee with an open mind….how about all those parents whose reduced expenses come from her work on $10 a day daycare…too bad that Ford has been so late to implement but then he is only interested in helping his development buddies
I could never vote for Emily Brown whose hobby involves guns…a Conservative with no platform for climate change, no experience …nothing to offer but criticism
Would you have voted for Glock handgun carrier Kamala Harris?
No one in Burlington wants this delusional liberal running around. Time to get rid of her like when we take out the trash
I strongly agree with everything Penny has stated. All of those that have followed Trudeau blindly need to be replaced.
I would like to understand the source of the Editors comment in regard to “high personal risk”. Do you have inside knowledge? At the Appleby Fair at least this year and last Ms. Gould was very approachable and without any apparent security.
Editor’s note:Police Chief Tanner did tell Regional Council that they had a sniper on duty during the Remembrance Day ceremony last November. Many years before that I was at an event in Burlington when there were armed soldiers in a room at which the Prime Minister was speaking. The threat is real. You can differ with a politician but when they fear for their lives while they do their jobs you have to know that something is wrong. Come the next election you can vote for someone else but I just don’t believe we want a society where lives are at risk because men and women we elected are doing what they think is right.
“A little silly” – what a wonderful understatement. At this most critical moment in Canadian/Ontario history, we get to discover that our MP and the Gov’t House Leader prefers ‘slippers to shoes’ and ‘the beach to a swimming pool’. My God!!! But what else can one expect from Ms. Slack and Burlington Today. My sincere hope for Ms. Slack is that 2025 brings a move to a more serious editorial position – perhaps something at “Teen Time” or UFO Sightings Weekly”, since the Editor of “Best Buys at Costco” is already taken.
As I have said previously Karina Gould is a very nice person. Warm and very friendly. That however, does not translate into her necessarily doing what is best for the residents of Burlington. She is Justin’s “person” can’t say “man”anymore.
It is awful that politicians now fear that someone would want to harm them personally. As she indicated “that is not what this country is about”. However, this what we have become.
The violence and violent protests that have been happening in Canada have not been dealt with properly by the Liberal Government.
Burning of Canadian flags, harassment of people and students, tent encampments on our Universities, streets being blocked by people not allowing cars to pass, shootings at Day Schools, bomb treats at synagogues and churches, the list goes on and on.
This past June Karina Gould lead a private meeting of parents of students going to school in Oakville and Burlington at Brant Hills Community Center in Burlington. This was by invitation only. The purpose of the meeting was to come up with ideas on how to stop the harassment of students in Burlington and Oakville public schools.
In attendance was the Chief of Police, MPP of Oakville, Halton Superintendent of Schools, Trustees, a representative of the Mayor, parents of students and students who had been the victims of these attacks.
The students spoke of the bullying and harassment they were dealing with on a daily basis.
What happened next was a pro-palestinian group of about 50 people swarmed around the building, looking into the windows, then started playing loud music near the room the group was in to the point that the windows in the door leading into the room had to be covered so that they would not keep looking in.
How did this group find out about the meeting – someone posted it on social media? It certainly did not come from the parents or the students.
What was done to stop this – NOTHING. The Chief of Police called to have some police cars stationed outside the building. After about an hour and a half the supervisor for the Brant Hills Community Centre came in and his presence made most of them leave, while others of their group remained.
What did Karina do? She went out and promised the group that she would meet with them on another day. How do I know? I know because I was there. Let’s reward negative behaviour.
What did this group learn? They could come into a city run Community Centre where young mothers were bringing their children into classes, behave abominably and get rewarded.
In Canada people have a right to protest but not to cause this type of disruption. Where do their rights end and mine begin? At the very least these disrupters should have been escorted out of the building.
This is what happens when there is little or no consequences for actions when things like this happen. This was not the only incident to happen in Burlington.
Justin Trudeau and his “woke” ideas and everyone in his party who follow his lead blindly ( to keep their jobs) need to be gone.
Looking at the polls she doesn’t have a hope.
Editor’s note: Is there a poll on the Burlington voters that you can point to?
338 Canada aggregates polls. According to 338, the Federal Burlington riding is 99% likely to elect Emily Brown if the vote were held today.
https://338canada.com/35017e.htm
If you want evidence –
Check 338 Canada website (amalgamation of recent polls). Go to Electoral Districts and in the Drop Down Menu choose Ontario. Scroll down until you hit Burlington and then click on Burlington. Karina in the Dec. 29 projection trails the Conservative candidate by 20 points (49% to 29%).
Karina is a great person, a trustworthy and honorable representative of our community who has accomplished much and is in tune with the needs of Burlington; she deserves to hold this seat…a seat the Conservatves do no need to win in the next election.. We need to think about the character of our MP not just her political affiliation.
Karina Gould may be a nice person, but what has she actually done or accomplished for the residents of Burlington in the last 9 plus years as our Burlington MP?
Other than her showing up for the occasional photo op, she hasn’t accomplished anything here in Burlington or elsewhere in Canada.
It’s time for a change, and the majority of Canadians are in agreement as the Liberals are presently polling at 16%.