‘It was inevitable’: Richmond mayor not surprised Trudeau won Senate pot showdown

Richmond’s mayor says he’s not surprised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won his stare-down with senators over legislation to legalize cannabis.

Bill C-45 passed second reading in the Senate on Thursday, after a day of uncertainty as to whether the upper chamber would buck tradition and defeat a bill that was based on a key Liberal campaign promise.

READ MORE: Richmond mayor cheers as Trudeau’s July 1 pot deadline goes up in smoke

Malcom Brodie, who has previously voiced his concern about the speed at which legalization is being implemented, said he expected the PM to win the scrap.

“I was confident that the Liberals would do whatever they had to do to make sure that they secured the legislation.”

WATCH: Senate reacts after passing second reading of marijuana legalization

Earlier on Thursday, Trudeau appeared to issue a warning to senators to pass the bill, reminding them that legalization was a campaign pledge by an elected government.

“It was inevitable from that point, from the election at least, that this was going to happen. It might take some time, but the summer of 2018 was what was targeted as a ‘get started date,’ and I’ve just… we’ve just had no doubt that that will happen,” said Brodie.

Brodie had initially opposed the sale of marijuana in Richmond, but has since taken a more moderate tone and said that his goal is to prepare the city to regulate it strictly.

READ MORE: City of Richmond warms up to recreational pot sales

He has also continued to argue that the summer deadline is too soon.

The bill has now gone to committee in the Senate, and will have to return to the house of commons for final approval in a third reading before being signed into law.

The Liberals had initially set a target of July 1 to pass the bill, but have since acknowledged it won’t be in place until August.