Eclipses Highlight Canada’s Dual Political Crises

This post was originally published on Astrology News Service

By Laurien Rueger

Canada is facing not one but two simultaneous political crises. On January 6^th, beleaguered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau caved to political pressure and announced plans to resign once his successor is chosen. He also prorogued (suspended) Parliament which had been paralyzed for months anyway. The ruling Liberal Party plans to choose Trudeau’s replacement before Parliament resumes sitting on March 24^th. Soon after, it is expected that the government will fall on a non-confidence vote, triggering a spring election that the Liberal government is certain to lose. Trudeau’s departure comes at the worst possible time, as president-elect Donald Trump has been trolling Canada on social media and threatening to enact 25% tariffs on Canadian exports to the US. Trump originally claimed this was to pressure Canada to deal with border concerns and eliminate a trade deficit which Trump erroneously describes as a subsidy. Trump subsequently seized upon the idea that the US should annex Canada through “economic force” to become its 51^st state.

Not surprisingly, Canada’s chart has been under a great deal of affliction astrologically. The April 8^th solar eclipse last spring at 19° Aries was conjunct Canada’s natal ascendant at 16° Aries reflecting that a national crisis was brewing; solar eclipses are typically thought to influence affairs for at least a year. The central eclipse path ran through the USA from Texas to Maine and on through Eastern Canada including several major Canadian cities. It ran about 1-1/2° from Ottawa, Canada’s capital and the seat of its federal government. The eclipse occurred at the degree of the highest exaltation of the Sun at 19° Aries suggesting difficulties for the leaders of both countries, Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau, who have both been forced to abandon their political ambitions over the past year.

The October 2, 2024, solar eclipse at 10° Libra was closely square Canada’s Sun at 8° Cancer. In mundane astrology, the Sun represents the country as a whole and its leader and the square is a tense, challenging aspect that can produce conflict and separation. In late September, the Liberal Party’s main rival, the Conservative Party of Canada, began a filibuster that still had Parliament paralysed when it adjourned in mid-December, which would probably have continued indefinitely had Parliament not been prorogued.  The Conservative Party also introduced two non-confidence motions in the week leading up to the October solar eclipse and a third motion in early December, all of which failed due to insufficient support from both other major parties.

On March 29, 2025 there will be another solar eclipse at 9° Aries which even more closely squares Canada’s Sun, and as so often happens due to the mechanics of eclipses, it will be opposite the degree of the October 2024 solar eclipse, reactivating that energy. The March eclipse occurs only five days after the House of Commons resumes sitting, and will pick up where the last eclipse left off. This time, all three major opposition parties, the Conservatives, the Bloc Quebecois, and the New Democratic Party are all agreed it is time for an election. which will likely occur in May. A new Liberal Party leader is expected to be chosen on March 9^th, just five days before a lunar eclipse at 23° Virgo. They will probably enjoy the shortest tenure of any Canadian prime minister yet, even beating Sir Charles Tupper who was prime minister in 1896 for only 68 days.

In the past year, transiting Neptune in Canada’s 12^th house of secret enemies and covert activities has made two exact squares to its 3^rd house Moon at 28° Gemini. As Neptune moves slowly, this has been part of a long-term trend of foreign interference which has included the manipulation of public opinion (Moon) through social media (3^rd house, Gemini). There will be one more exact transit on February 26, 2025 and the orb of influence for this aspect will extend until at least the end of 2027. But with the entrance of Neptune to Aries on March 30^th, the day after the solar eclipse, Neptune will begin a Sign-based square to Canada’s Sun which will culminate in five exact squares between 2028 and 2030. This aspect suggests a gradual undermining and erosion of Canada’s identity and also a weakening of its leadership. There is a good chance this relates to the threat south of the border if an emboldened President Trump follows through with his protectionist and/or expansionist plans. It is astrologically interesting that Trump’s natal Mercury is at 8° Cancer conjunct Canada’s Sun within 1 minute of arc! This suggests a possible mental fixation on Canada. Pluto is beginning to oppose Canada’s natal Mercury at 4° Leo and will make three exact oppositions in 2026. This could represent an extinction-level event for Canadian media, or at least for Canada’s public broadcaster, the CBC, which the Conservative Party of Canada has vowed to defund when they achieve power. But the aspect may generally signify attempts to manipulate and wield power through the media, including social media.

Like many citizens around the globe, Canadians are upset and angry about post-pandemic inflation and a cost-of-living crisis. They also face a severe housing shortage which they largely blame on the Liberal government’s immigration policies which have brought more newcomers to the country than its infrastructure can handle. Transiting Saturn in Pisces in Canada’s 12^th house is about to make its third exact square to Canada’s Venus at 15° Gemini on January 14^th reflecting the current economic fears. Saturn will go on to square Canada’s Moon on May 10^th and September 16^th this year and again on February 2, 2026, suggesting continued hardship and a possible exacerbation of the housing crisis. The fact that Jupiter will transit Canada’s Venus at the end of March, its Moon in early June, and Canada’s Sun in mid-July suggests that Canada may get some breaks; however, Jupiter also rules border disputes, imports/exports, and tariffs, so its aspects may signify the importance of these matters as well. A total lunar eclipse on September 7, 2025 at 15° Pisces square Canada’s Venus also suggests economic concerns and tense diplomatic negotiations. But that will no longer be Justin Trudeau’s problem, or even the Liberal Party of Canada’s. With Canadians tired of the Liberal brand and the Conservative Party of Canada ahead in the polls by twenty points or more over the past year, it is practically inevitable that the Conservatives will form the next federal government in Canada.

Title Image Credit: photo by QueerGLAM at  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parliament_of_Canada_Building.jpg