Further Wandering Afield – Justin Trudeau
Later today, the Liberal Party of Canada will announce its new leader. I expect it will be Mark Carney. For now, it should probably be Mark Carney.
I will preface the following marks by saying I have never been a fan of Justin Trudeau. When he splashed on to the political scene 15 years ago, he did so in a brash and arrogant way. I disliked his boxing match with Senator Patrick Brazeau from the start. The imagery of a white MP boxing an indigenous Senator wasn’t thought of at the time by many and it did not age well. I disliked it because politics is a battle of ideas and plans, not fists.
When Trudeau beat Stephen Harper in 2015, I was surprised it was with a majority government. I too wanted electoral reform, but I did not vote for him. His idea of electoral reform differs from mine, so I also wasn’t unhappy that the initiative failed.
Politicians are flawed, arrogant people. We all are when given power of some sorts. It’s whether we have the mindset to recognize when we’re being arrogant flawed people. Trudeau did not, and does not, recognize it.
Trudeau has done some good as Prime Minister. The beginning of Pharmacare, the start of a national dental care program, a national child care program, and the Canada Child Benefit. All good things. Conservative readers will wince at this, and to that I say too bad.
Under Stephen Harper there were tax credits galore for families. Conservatives – capital and small ‘c’ – forget over and over again that a tax credit is only good to those who have the money to shell out in order to wait until tax time to get it back. With the hollowing-out of the middle class, and the ever growing economic gap in this country, direct benefit programs help those who need it. A kid can’t be looked after with a tax credit, fed with a tax credit, or go to the dentist with a tax credit. I digress.
I also like that Trudeau has steadfastly supported those in need – primarily in Ukraine. Recognizing that the threat from Vladimir Putin is a generational threat and Ukraine has been our proxy fighter in a battle of David vs Goliath, Trudeau backing Ukraine is appreciated.
Like all politicians, there are fuck ups. Boy were there fuck ups. I don’t need to list them all because our Conservative Party friends have made a mantra of 10 years of Trudeau’s greatest flops.
Trudeau is like teflon, little sticks. But also like teflon, it wears out. He wore out his welcome with Canadians, to the detrement of the Liberal party.
Enter Donald J. Trump. Thanks to Trump and his economic attack on Canada, the Liberal fortunes are turning – even if only temporarily. Trudeau activated his crisis-mode abilities for the last weeks of his time as Prime Minister. Trudeau’s spine is straight when it comes to the Trumpian measures going on down south. I call that leaving with a win – even if it is a short term one for him.
Like Prime Minsters before him, his legacy will be made of the high notes, and most of the low ones will fade away with time. I disliked Jean Chretien when he was Prime Minister, but now looking back fondly remember him after the 1995 separation vote, the Shawinagin Handshake on Flag Day, and his Westmount Cheap comments during the Gomery Inquiry.
For Trudeau’s legacy, some of those high notes are initiatives that the NDP pushed. So what. Jagmeet Singh should worry about his own leadership prospects. A good leader will take the ideas of others around them, regardless of their like or dislike for the person who offered them.
Ten years from now, people will remember Trudeau’s time in office for the positives, forget about the negatives, and hopefully think the country is overall better off than before. That’s what we all want – progress, not regression.