Despite his party’s decline in the polls, and despite the fact that Pierre Poilievre seems to be running wild for several months, Justin Trudeau is categorical: he intends to remain in charge. However, we should not trust appearances: this decision is the result of careful consideration, at the end of a “difficult” year.
During the long editorial interview given in the offices of The Press, Thursday, the Prime Minister utters the words “elections” and “choice”. He warns against the temptation to succumb to the siren song of conservatives, and he poses as a bulwark against breakthroughs from the far right.
But at the same time, he wants to set the record straight: Canadians will not be called to the polls anytime soon. The pact with the New Democrats, he makes it clear, will last until 2025: “I intend to continue working with the Parliament that we have to govern for two more years. »
And when the time comes, he will be at the front to do battle with a much tougher opponent than the previous ones. “There is no doubt for me that yes, I continue, and I must continue, and I still have a lot to offer,” assures Justin Trudeau, who does not hate finding himself in the position of the neglected.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Justin Trudeau acknowledges that the last year has been difficult, but he intends to stay in office.
However, the confidence that emerges from his words can be misleading. “It hasn’t been an easy year, on many levels. We went through difficult times as a family – things are going well, but it brings moments of reflection,” he confides during this interview.
Has he considered throwing in the towel? “There’s probably a moment every day when I have that thought,” he says candidly.
The factor that probably made him doubt the most: family. “There were security issues for my family, [je me demandais] if I were still able to protect my family,” explains Justin Trudeau.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The responses of conservatives and right-wing populists are not up to the current challenges, according to the Liberal leader.
“My father chose to leave politics when I was 13. He was able to be there for us, the three children, full time with him, when we moved to Montreal,” recalls the Liberal leader. And without going into details, he emphasizes that if it is “tough to be a teenager in 2023”, it is even more true for teenagers whose father is a prime minister.
A steep slope
The flakes may well fall, therefore. The only walks in the snow that are on the Trudeau program this winter will be fun. “There’s going to be a lot of them,” he laughs. I love it, and cross-country skiing too! » The decision is clear. “I still have a place in politics,” says the Prime Minister.
According to the polls, the slope will be difficult to climb. The probes which place Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre at the helm of a majority government have multiplied since last summer. “It’s certain that there is a certain momentum, an interest, for the Conservatives,” and that the party “is taking up a lot of space at the moment,” agrees Justin Trudeau.
The enthusiasm is mainly explained, he believes, by the fact that the Liberal government serves as a lightning rod in an uncertain economic and social context.
“Everything is difficult at the moment, and the government [en] takes responsibility in people’s heads – in a completely justifiable and understandable way,” he asserts, pleading that these ills have no miracle solution.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Justin Trudeau in editorial interview with journalists from The Press
The responses of conservatives and right-wing populists “that we see in Trump and others” to those who would like “to return [à une époque] where everything is simpler” are not up to the current challenges, insists the Prime Minister of Canada.
The stakes in the next federal election will be considerable, he warns.
The elections will be decisive, not only for [savoir] who is going to be in government for the next few years, but where we are going as a country for the decades to come.
Justin Trudeau
He balks slightly when it is suggested that he could campaign with a slogan similar to that of François Legault in 2022 (“Let’s continue”). On the other hand, he concedes that it is easier for a politician “to be the one who wants to bring about change” than to sell the idea of “staying on the right track”.
“The choice that arises at the moment and in the next elections is a choice that looks a little bit like that of 2015,” he argues, referring to the election where he beat Pierre Poilievre’s boss. – a certain Stephen Harper, who was ousted after about a decade in power.