He arrived all smiles in the offices of The Press. Seeing the enthusiasm of the Prime Minister of Canada in an editorial interview, the disastrous polls slide over him like water off a duck’s back. Continue ? “No doubt for me,” replies Justin Trudeau.
It’s true that he has always been successful in the role of the underrated athlete who ends up surprising everyone. Remember how he caused a stir at the start of his political career by winning a boxing match against Senator Patrick Brazeau.
In the political arena, he also defied those who predicted his defeat, by knocking out Stephen Harper in 2015, Andrew Sheer in 2019 and Erin O’Toole in 2021. The scandals – SNC-Lavalin, WE Charity – do not didn’t get the better of him. No more than bad polls.
But today is something else. Pierre Poilievre, a tough opponent, leads overwhelmingly. The Conservatives are ahead in all provinces, except in Quebec where the Bloc Québécois is holding them back.
And the erosion of power is a formidable enemy. After eight years of Liberal rule, Canadians have no shortage of complaints: inflation, the housing crisis, public services mired in bureaucracy…
As last summer’s cabinet reshuffle failed to breathe new energy into the government, the population is perplexed. Do liberals still have fresh ideas? What is their vision for the future?
In fact, Justin Trudeau’s response hasn’t changed since his 2015 election.
“We were elected with a mandate to fight climate change, for women’s equality, the protection of minorities, inclusion, reconciliation with Indigenous people and above all to create growth for the middle class” , he lists.
To those who thirst for change, he responds that we are already confronted with changes in spite of ourselves, whether because of the decline of democracy in the world, geopolitical conflicts or even climate change.
To those who think that Canada is protected from the rise of populism, he replies: “ Roe v. Wadethis was not supposed to happen in the United States,” which did not prevent the historic pushback on abortion.
We are in a moment of fundamental choice, even existential. Do we continue to move forward, even if it is difficult, or do we go backwards?
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau
But in wanting to continue in the same direction, Justin Trudeau’s message sounds like the not very inventive slogan of the latest campaign of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ): let’s continue.
And we must not forget that liberals do not have a perfect score.
On the international scene, Canada has alienated great powers like China and India, while Justin Trudeau loudly proclaimed that Canada was “back” when he took power. It is off the mark. Even our biggest allies make strategic alliances without inviting Canada.
It must be said that Ottawa devotes only 1.3% of its GDP to military spending, which is far from the 2% target set by NATO. Last summer, Justin Trudeau finally committed to reaching the target. But when ?
The Prime Minister deflects the question. He recalls that military spending had fallen below 1% of GDP under Stephen Harper and that he has increased it by 70% since he took charge. But he refuses to say when the 2% target will be reached.
The truth is that this commitment will cost billions. And public finances are already stretched, after years of deficits. Here too, Justin Trudeau has no target.
Returning to a balanced budget is not one of its priorities, even if interest on the debt weighs more and more heavily on the budget.
Justin Trudeau repeats that Canada remains the country with the lowest level of debt of all the G7 countries. That his plan is “fiscally responsible.” Let him not regret in any way having made investments to help Canadians, starting with the establishment of a national daycare network, based on the Quebec model.
“It’s certainly very expensive,” agrees Justin Trudeau. But it’s worth it to get women back to work, give young people a better opportunity to succeed and reduce costs for families, he says.
No doubt, daycares will be among his most significant legacies. Just like the carbon tax that he defended all the way to the Supreme Court. However, he has just undermined his own heritage for purely electoral reasons. By exempting oil heating, to get votes in the Atlantic, he put the worm in the apple.
Continue ? It still has to allow us to move forward and not the opposite.
The position of The Press
By banking on continuity, after eight years in power, Justin Trudeau risks displeasing Canadians fed up with the cost of living and poor public services.