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When Pierre Trudeau decided it was time to leave back in 1984, he took a walk in the snow. At the rate things are going for Justin Trudeau, that’s a luxury he may not have. As his party’s MPs gather in Nanaimo for their annual caucus retreat and people in Montreal prepare to vote in a crucial Sep. 16 by-election, his political future is at risk of disappearing before his eyes. The sand on Vancouver Island’s beaches may have to do.
That’s because the only remaining path to a non-disastrous outcome in the next federal election involves Trudeau stepping aside as leader. The surprising events of the last few days, from the end of the NDP-Liberal agreement to the resignation of Trudeau’s national campaign director and five chiefs of staff, should shake the confidence of all but the most kool-aid sotted Liberal loyalist. Even if his candidate is able to pull out a win in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun next week, the very fact that there’s a close race in a riding that’s been a Liberal stronghold since 2015 speaks to the danger every other Liberal MP now faces.
Whether he wants to admit it yet or not, that’s largely a reflection of — and on — Justin Trudeau. Maybe that’s because he reminds Canadians of the pandemic and all the grief and trauma and division everyone experienced during that. Maybe it’s because he’s finally worn out his welcome with a public that’s been carpet-bombed with his name and image ever since he became party leader more than a decade ago. And maybe it’s because the Conservatives have been successful in tying him to every conceivable problem Canadians face, even — and perhaps especially — the ones he isn’t responsible for in the first place.
For Liberals, the why shouldn’t matter nearly as much as the what. One is academic, after all, and the other is existential. The guy who has been their biggest asset for as long as he’s been on the ballot has become, slowly and now surely, their biggest albatross. As Abacus Data pointed out back in August, their routine polling hasn’t seen any change in how people feel about Trudeau, with more than twice as many Canadians (58 per cent) having a negative view of him than a positive one (25 per cent). For the mathematically challenged, that puts his personal (un)popularity at a staggering -33.
Short of personally curing cancer or captaining the Toronto Maple Leafs to a Stanley Cup playoff win, there’s nothing Trudeau can do to change this impression. And while his team has clearly banked on Pierre Poilievre’s personality alienating Canadians more and more as time went on, the opposite has actually happened. From a net negative score of -5 back in September of 2022, Poilievre’s approval ratings have slowly but surely climbed into marginally positive territory.
The Liberals can continue to tinker at the edges here, whether it’s adding Mark Carney as a special advisor or doing another cabinet shuffle, and they can hope that the continued decline of inflation and interest rates makes Canadians less angry than they are today. If they’re lucky, they’ll be able to hold onto half of their 154-member caucus.
But if I was in that caucus and at that retreat, that wouldn’t be nearly good enough for me. I’d thank the Prime Minister for his service, tell him to enjoy the highly lucrative speaker circuit that so clearly awaits and get to work on choosing a new leader. Maybe that’s Chrystia Freeland. Maybe that’s Anita Anand. And maybe it’s even Mark Carney. It just can’t be Justin Trudeau.
A new leader wouldn’t bring the Liberals back to the halcyon days of 2022, when they were effectively tied with the Conservatives in most polls. But it’s at least possible, if not plausible, that they could see the same sort of bump in their numbers that Democrats enjoyed when Joe Biden finally stepped aside. After it looked like they were destined for defeat in November, the elevation of Kamala Harris as nominee has invigorated the party’s fundraising and popular support. Now, at least, they have a fighting chance against a second Donald Trump presidency, a situation that seemed inconceivable in July after the Republican National Convention.
There are no guarantees the Liberals have a Kamala Harris-like figure in their midst, but it wasn’t clear the Democrats did either up until a few weeks ago. Back when Biden was still the nominee there were widespread concerns aired within the Democratic universe about Harris’s track record as a prosecutor, her uneven performance as vice-president, and even her lack of broad political appeal. And yet, those all melted away the moment she was on top of the ticket. She may not win in November, but at least she has Democrats excited about the idea of voting for her.
That’s what the Liberals need now: excitement. Maybe Freeland can rediscover the vibes she enjoyed during the NAFTA renegotiations, when it seemed like many Canadians would be thrilled to have her leading the country. Maybe Anand can take her brand of quiet competence and use it to build out a reinvigorated Liberal Party that actually pays attention to the details. And maybe Carney can provide the sort of contrast to Poilieve’s anti-expertise populism that will bring some Liberals back to the fold. Each at least offers the possibility of a choice that could excite and engage the voters who have tired of the current government.
It may well be the case that Canadians are more open to supporting the Liberal policy agenda than it seems, or that they’re still reluctant to entrust Pierre Poilievre with the reins of power. But the Liberals will never know any of this unless they find a way to get Trudeau to step aside. Sure, things could certainly get worse without him at the helm. But at this point, how much worse can they really get?
Comments
Mark Carney doesn't want to be the Lib leader....yet & right now he endorses JT . DONE.
Freeland & Anand are NOT Harris....& are NOT better than JT.
The problem isn't JT. . .it's that the Libs don't advertise & that's all the Cons actually do.
Singh is wishy-washy....& actually bashed Ms May in the last Fed leadership debate (& lied about her). It was shocking.
JT needs more time to finish what he started & he & Kamala would be a great team on the World stage & for both countries.
Time to get off the Con train & stop bashing JT. Separate yourself from the media betrayal of JT please.
Bring on the electric trains across Canada ! Net-Zero targets to achieve !
Canada is NOT broken.
If Cons were in power during the pandemic, we'd all be dead.
Give the guy some credit.
He's up to the challenge.
I agree with your points and don't blame JT for anything that has been done to get us through COVID and avoid a bad recession. Compared to other countries, we managed to fair well and even our interest rates, did not climb as much as they did elsewhere.
The Conservative party is no better than the corrupt Republicans to the south. You would think that anyone with enough intelligence can see how destructive the right-wing has been in dividing a country using disinformation and the use of 3rd party social media propaganda.
I'm not sure if JT has the support from his own party to get popular policy passed. I think that has been the case since he took on the role of PM back in 2015. The thing that Liberals need to do his put in someone to deflate the conservative vote back to minority government position to the very least. I personally don't think it's JT's fault that certain popular policies didn't get put together into legislation. The reality is that the Liberal Party pumped up JT to the main stage, but competing interests kept the sunny ways hidden behind clouds.
Conservatives' worst enemy are themselves. Conservative ideology is anti-democratic by design. The goal is to further entrench and expand the control of the elites. They fool common people to vote for them by convincing them that it's in their best interest, that the elites are elites because they are better suited for the role and if you think the same you may get a chance to become us (pick yourself up by the bootstrap). They will never say that out loud, but it becomes crystal clear after they spend time in office. The last time the conservatives in Canada held federal office, their own hubris was their downfall. Something that only happened when they achieved majority in Parliament.
If the Liberals can realize the above (I'm sure that they do), their goal is to not let the conservatives win minority only to expand that to a majority through Liberal infighting and lame duck candidates like last time.
Personally, I don't think more of the same old same old (Liberal and Conservative) is what the country needs or even wants. I think the populace wants someone with charisma who can tell corporations and their shrills that their time is up.
Thank you. That s exactly what I believe sitting in my little eyrie on the east coast. I ve been saying to my MP ( his seat is now open) and anyone who would listen for years: The government is allowing the cons to own the narrative and it s working for them. There is no " liberal" or progressive MSM left in Canada. Including my once beloved CBC.
It s Goebbels' Big Lie. It s commercial advertising. Any Communications Officer worth their salt knows about this. I can t go anywhere without hearing how awful justin is. No reason, just hate. Mobs rule.
I do not understand why it was allowed to happen. And I dont know, short of images of pp peeking out of putin s back pocket, that that can be turned around now. All lies but they re working.
At least a few others see it. Thank you.
On the pandemic, in May 2019 Justin Trudeau killed a Canadian-run worldwide medical surveillance program as a cost cutting measure. It was the best program in existence and was respected internationally as such. In March 2020, just 10 months later, a worldwide COVID pandemic was declared by the UN. Canada didn't see it coming, but it should have. Trudeau was caught short and very, very unprepared, as were most nations without foresight to maintain a pathogen surveillance network.
Trudeau's response eventually lit up, but it took deadly dynamite (hospitals filling up, people dying in the streets, etc.) to wake him up. After that, it was a very good performance with perhaps the best decision being to put Anita Anand in ministerial control over medical procurement. She has shown extraordinary leadership and managerial skills and in my view would be an exemplary contender for PM. Trudeau did finally agree along with the finance minister to place no limits on funding vaccines, and UBC-researchers were key to the development of mRNA vaccines under the Pfizer label through their German HQ. This was no time to quibble about Big Pharma because even they were caught short by the speed of COVID and they had some key tools to help save millions of lives.
Yes, Trudeau can be given major credit for finally waking up and fighting the pandemic in high gear and saving millions of Canadians, including my spouse who is immune compromised, and who was diligent to be registered early for the very first vaccine. I'll never forget the 1,500 double-masked people lined up at any time during a 12-hour day going through the sheep runs at Vancouver's Canada Place where they set up a vast, mass vaccination operation that covered the entire floor of the convention centre. That first one was Pfizer, a full load shot for the both of us with absolutely no reservations. She was in tears of joy as she left, and we both thought the world of the federal Liberal government at that moment. We remain fully vaccinated.
That was then. Today we have long COVID (very dangerous indeed) and new variants cropping up and a more cost-conscious federal ministry who cannot seem to adequately fight back against some conservative provinces suffering from being bitten by the venomous conspiracy theory snake. Regression in Canadian's long term health prospects is now a reality, and all because of the stupidity of mainly right wing political ideology, which shockingly has also attracted some lefties to the fold based on neoliberalism and Big Pharma corporate greed. I would probably agree with the latter if the public sector had well-run pharmaceutical research labs and plants to make excellent vaccines, but these do not exist. Pharmaceutical companies do, and some governments are now negotiating hard to keep prices reasonable on key medications. Governments could, if they wanted, keep public sector drug production as a viable option and negotiating instrument.
Then you've got Trudeau declaring a climate emergency and signing the Paris Accord one day, and suddenly being so cavalierly played by Kinder Morgan to buy a pipeline the next. Team Trudeau stood behind him, and was joined by AB premier Rachel Notley who has a deeply offensive character flaw revolving around condescension and sarcasm. Half the West Coast population have always been opposed to this project seen as a threat to marine ecosystems and economy, and that was seen first as a kneejerk decision by the Kid, with the most shallow post decision economic justification to use the TMX "revenue" to build renewables. As if.
Well, here we are. Nearly 40 billion in the hole and an unresolved marine risk assessment and spill response. To add insult to injury, Trudeau et al has continued to pile on multiple billions to underwrite unproven technology in the form of carbon capture snake oil.
The hundreds of billions Trudeau, a self-avowed climate fighter (at least that's the narrative he whispers while he preens himself), has so happily forwarded to the fossil fuel industry could have built out a national scale clean electricity network, provided free heat pumps for half the buildings across the land, built out electrified fast and frequent transit networks in the top 10 cities, doubled or tripled the grants for rooftop and large scale centralized solar, wind, geothermal and tidal power and so much more. If Trudeau claims to be a climate action hero, that's only in comparison to his opponents who would tear it all down. But in reality he has maxed out the rhetoric but coupled it with an exceptionally weak climate policy response compared to the EU, the US and even China.
The only way the Trudeau Libs will win my vote in the next election (which could be called very soon if the NDP fail to support him in a non-confidence vote tabled by Poilievre) is if there was no other choice in my competitive riding who can beat the Conservative candidate.
Still, Canada had one of the best pandemic stats finals in the world - and the ones who did better had advantages, like being an island, or just small borders and less international trade.
Granted, much of that was provincial, but the Feds did OK once they got going. And I was blown away by how fast CERB was set up, how quickly fears of losing house and food were alleviated at a scary moment.
I agree on pandemic policy. Trudeau's performance was tops once he woke up. But now it's weakening, unfortunately, mainly because long COVID is as insidious as the original virus and first variants. Vigilence is waning along with public interest.
On climate, Trudeau's strategy is and always was to talk big and walk small while concurrently supporting fossil fuels. Remember that coal exports --much of it American thermal coal that couldn't find a US port willing to take the stuff -- doubled under his rule. Remember that his government talked the talk AND walked the walk on carbon capture and sequestration technology that has never proven its viability over time and at scale.
Here's a thought. Fighting climate change at the federal level doesn't necessarily mean acting against the oil and gas industry directly. It could be very effective, in my opinion, to just simply ignore fossil interests (even when they lobby and donate to the party) and focus on tripling or quadrupling direct funding for renewables, mass electrifation, sustainable urbanism and adaptation measures. Hundreds of billions in subsidies for the fossil fuel industry would just cease to exist, and the industry would thrive or decline on its own. A good portion of that public money would then be freed up to be redirected to the common good with respect to fighting climate.
Excellent article and couldn't agree more as Liberal supporter, Justin Trudeau needs to step aside and get a fresh face with new ideas to take reins of the party. Trudeau has achieved a lot, despite what Pierre "Snake Oil Salesman" Poilievre blames him for and his minions of naive followers. Trudeau has managed to avoid a bad recession post COVID and has done other things to help Canadians.
I can fault Trudeau for his two-sided approach to climate change, placing the added burden onto Canadians in the name of climate change, while filling the oil & gas pork barrels at the same time.
Justin Trudeau may exit on a low note, but has to take credit for avoiding a recession that no one wanted post COVID. Issues with the cost of living and housing are not the fault of the Liberals, this is a common post COVID issue around the globe in many countries. Has there been some fallout with Canadians experiencing the current economic climate, most certainly, but it could have been far worse if Trudeau had done nothing.
The Pee Pee minions complain about interest rates, but never experienced the 21% rate experienced in the 80's and a really bad recession. Part of that perspective is with the same Pee Pee minions taking the word of a snake oil salesman and not taking a look at the economic history in our country and realizing things could have been far worse, especially if Pee Pee was in control as PM.
Vote Anyone But Conservative!
ABC? Will not be voting for Singh.
And I was a long time Dipper.
Sure wish Nenshi had picked federal but Alberta needs him badly too.
The Liberals have served pretty well and I wish there were options but will vote for them this time too.
The article correctly points out that people are blaming Trudeau especially for the things for which he is simply not responsible - i.e. things in Provincial jurisdiction that the Fed constitutionally cannot get directly involved in.
The biggest problem with changing leaders now is they need a leadership convention which takes time to organize. The CONS and their owners (and the NDP who don't care if CONS win majority so long as they get to play opposition) will ensure a government defeat before a new leader can be picked, meaning the Libs campaigning without knowing finally who is the leader.
Sadly it appears that the RW character assassination of our PM is complete. And unfortunately, Canadians are dumb enough to not show up to vote when the governments that matter are up for election (Ontario in 2022), and to fall for the populist sound bites of a Trump wannabe.
That character assassination was aided and abetted by Singh who has participated in the deliberate obfuscation of federal vs provincial authority to blame JT and the federal government for problems that are provincial in nature.
So I m mostly an admirer of Max and his wonderful command of language. Perceptive, astute, but this time dead wrong.
Do you really believe there s a way we can create our own Harris? who has not yet won anything.
Freeland and Anand would be terrific PMs but they won t be in the coming election. And we are seriously fecked if there s a PMpp, which looms.
The governments and the MSM have let us all down. People have not been told for many years what s happening and what this government has been accomplishing. There s so no story, no facts, no support.
But mobs have been whipped up and the Big Lie is working. Con provinces are fighting Canada for survival and winning: they ll soon sell us off to the cheapest bidder.
We have still not recovered from many of harper s worst excesses and his puppet will destroy us.
I d suggest standing with the guy holding the front line and giving him back up.
You stand a better chance of still having a platform that way, among other niceties of a democratic life.
My MP was Jody Wilson Raybould, first as Liberal in 2015, then after being shafted for standing up for professional legal standards and principles, as an independent.
The Trudeau who we were very happy to vote for in 2015 primarily to finally end the Dark Harper Decade, then went on to build a pipeline that was steamrolled over multiple municipalities and First Nations in BC. City employees were drawn and quartered in public in the kangaroo court held then by the pro-oil National Energy Board whose three fossilized quasi-judges gave TMX carte blanche without needing to apply for basic permits or registering engineering documents. To this day, even the Burnaby Fire Department has said they would be helpless to fight a fire at the expanded Trans Mountain tank farm located right above residential communities and within 5 km of a quarter million people who would be subject to a week or more of thick highly toxic smoke.
Arrogance, condescension at a royal scale and loads of sarcasm were the traits of Rachel Notley backed / appeased silently by Trudeau during that process. The fear of a major spill in Vancouver Harbour or the Salish Sea is palpable and has not been assuaged one bit by the Prime Minister despite his breathless but meaningless rhetoric.
We gave Trudeau two minority governments for good reason (see above comments). Ideally, he would take that walk and pull out and write his memoirs, and another leader would ascend to the top and be more open to sticking Liberal and NDP party aparatchiks in their myopic eyes and offer cabinet positions using bipartisanship to the best, most experienced and knowledgable personnel from both parties, develop a mandate that addresses the top issues that best enhance the common good and with full strength, then run one single slate against the Conservatives.
But that's just a dream, isn't it?
Maybe if there were another option available, say a good NDP or Green leader, I d be champing at the bit for our time having come. But we re still fighting for the most basic democracy and safety of our country. I worked for various Canadian governments over 4 decades, ending with federal and I have never seen anything like the stark threat posed by the Russian back cons. Harper devastated things most people forget and pp wants to continue the job. It will be a terrible cost if you believe in climate and order, employment and decency.
I have a few bones to pick with JWR as well, she s no saint.
I d vote for Wab Kinew in a heartbeat if he ran federally but that might be another election away.
Right now we have to save the country for someone else to build.
And that s weird since we don t actually wont for leaders in this country but it s the effect.
Do not support the cons and the terrible things they will do to this country, including by vote splitting.
Does nobody recall pp was in charge of elections and tried to get voting rights removed in hos misnames
" fair elections" act?
I agree with most of your comments, especially the Russian influence in Canadian conservative circles. They hide in plain sight behind the online and airwave rage meisters that fuel support for Poilievre. MAGA is, thankfully, weakening in the US, and will affect Canada's MAGA Lite version so obviously misinformed as a convoy the paid more attention to RT News and Sun News than CTV, Global and especially the CBC.
Vote splitting is a fact of life that the NDP have never acknowledged enough to even consider forming even a temporary coalition with the Liberal Party. Ditto LPC party executives who put more value on partisan party identity than the Canadian public good.
Majoritarian voting systems simply don't allow a plethora of views and political identities to coalesce under one banner even when so many of their policies overlap. We had stupendous and productive programs like core public heath insurance come to life under L.B. Pearson (Liberal) and Tommy Douglas (NDP), albeut in a minority government rather than a coalition. But Douglas was a very strong leader who was the first leader on the contibent to enact public healthcare in Sask. He had the experi
... experience and motivation to push it unto the federal ring. Pearson and Douglas were stronger leaders than the crop of politicos we have today.
With weak leadership and a flawed electoral system, we who live in ridings that could go in one of THREE ways, let alone two, have been forced to vote strategically to keep the Conservative candidate out.
Cold hard math supercedes all els
Fawcett assumes that the Liberals would fare significantly better under a new leader. No evidence. Especially under a member of the old guard like Chrystia Freeland.
-It's too late for the Liberals to save themselves by ditching Trudeau, poll shows (National Post, Jun 26, 2024)
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/too-late-for-liberals-to-save-th…
-If Trudeau resigns, still might not save Liberal party: Poll (Toronto Star, Jun 24, 2024)
-Changing leaders will not save the Liberals (The Hill Times, Feb 26, 2024)
-Dumping Trudeau won't save the Liberals (Globe and Mail, Jun 26, 2024)
If part of the problem is the Liberal brand, not just the leader, replacing the leader will not help.
Whoever leads the Liberals will wear the inevitable defeat, along with Trudeau.
Smarter to let Trudeau go down with the ship.
In federal politics, the pendulum swings back and forth between the Liberals and Conservatives.
Canadians tend to vote out governments, not vote them in.
Trudeau is on his way out — and Singh should join him.
Mark Carney should keep his distance from the Liberal dumpster fire. Steer clear of the train wreck in 2025. Wait for the smoke to clear.
No saving the Trudeau Liberals. If Carney steps aboard now, he'll go down with the ship. Tainted by the Trudeau fiasco. He should put as much space between himself and Trudeau as he can.
It won't take four years for the Prince of Petulance and his band of incompetents to wear out their welcome.
Patience is a virtue. Carney will look much better after a year or two of Poilievre. Trudeau will be a distant memory.
Canadians will be ready for a return to rational government.
Note those media outlets mentioned, all have a conservative slant to them and you will not see any of them giving Trudeau credit where it is due. I would take any of these polls with a grain of salt and see them as meaningless. The media only pushes what the right-leaning base wants to hear. The only time any of them prints anything about Trudeau is to blame him for everything wrong in the world and man can't even fart with the Conservatives turning it into a scandal.
It doesn't matter how long it will take for the Cons to wear out their welcome if they win a majority, which is what we could expect if the current situation continues. Not losing any confidence votes with a majority; they'll stick out the four years . . . at least. I can readily imagine them repealing their own election date law for the sake of an extra year or two of power. And that's the benign case.
If the NDP had Charlie Angus or maybe Jenny Kwan at the helm, I might say never mind the Liberals, if they implode let's see if the NDP can gain a bunch of their seats. But they don't, and Singh, though I think he's a pretty nice guy with good intentions, does not have the mojo to take turf. So under the circumstances I'd really like the Liberals to salvage something, and I think your idea that replacing a leader that the Conservatives have been very successful in painting negatively would have no effect is highly unlikely. Harris didn't suddenly get popular because there was anything particularly special about Harris as a politician--there isn't. The media loves a new leader--it's a show. And, the Republicans were massively upset because they'd spent ages pushing their messages about Biden and starting from scratch with Harris was way harder; the same situation applies with respect to Trudeau and any hypothetical successor.
RP wrote: "It doesn't matter how long it will take for the Cons to wear out their welcome if they win a majority"
Of course, the Conservatives' appeal to voters matters. How quickly Poilievre wears out his welcome will dictate how long his team stays in power.
Voters are looking for change, and they do not much care what stripe or flavor it comes in.
Poilievre's Conservatives do little but complain. Short on solutions. Rage takes Poilievre only so far. The "blame the Liberals" game loses its power as soon as Poilievre forms government. A party of empty slogans and promises.
When voters see that the Conservatives blow nothing but hot air, they will return to their senses in four years.
In which time, the Liberals can clean house and make a fresh start.
Any evidence that the Liberals would fare significantly better under a new leader?
The polls suggest otherwise. Seems like wishful thinking.
Voters want change. Who is the "change " candidate for the Liberals?
The Conservatives would paint Chrystia Freeland — or any likely sitting Liberal — as a member of the Trudeau team and little different from the boss.
The U.S. is not a good analog. The Democrats have not been in power for ten years. Trudeau is not Biden. Poilievre, for all his obvious flaws, is not Trump. The discontent fuelling Republicans is less about the incumbent and his policies, and more an irrational fervour for Trump — the man, not his policies. Trump's appeal is beyond me.
With her relative youth, vigor, and charisma, Harris stands in stark contrast to both Biden and Trump. Harris promises generational change and a fresh start.
Anybody with the same prospects on the Liberal team?
I'd love to hear Anita Anand's thoughts on policy and leadership. She's as fresh and youthful as Harris and had solid experience as Canada's chief pandemic fighter, and then as defence minister.
I think there could be some overestimating here of the Conservative's ability to change the narrative on Trudeau. Remove Trudeau and what do they have, especially if a well qualified outsider like Mark Carney can win a leadership contest? What does the CPC have on Anand or Carney that will stick with Canadians as much as the super glue of negativity Poilievre has on Trudeau? Without Trudeau they don't have much, especially if a new leader promises fresh blood and outlines significant new policy, essentially rewriting the Liberal policy manual.
Come to think of it, the same can apply to Danielle Smith who has held Trudeau at the centre of her anti-federal rhetoric for years.
Were you not watching what harper did in his time? How much destruction he created? PM pp will build on that.
We do not have an accounting for what has been remedied and one of my biggest complaints about the current government is we re still at First Past the Post in a generally progressive leaning country. He will not allow free and open elections but he ll make it sound like it s all better. He wont always advertise his destruction and the frog will be boiled to shreds by the time the electorate wakes up to what we ve lost and try to take it back
Especially if the rumours are true about putin. If we let them win we re throwing away Canada forever.
It will likely take at least two terms (i.e. eight years of Poilievre's fingers-on-blackboard voice) for that smoke to clear. I hope I'm wrong, but even one term with Poilievre could be the worst demolition derby on healthcare, housing, environmental and climate science and sustainable urban infrastructure in Canadian history.
Telling us to not fear the Conservatives is just not gonna work being that these are not conservatives. They are rabid dogs compared to Mulroney and even Harper.
AB wrote: "Telling us to not fear the Conservatives"
Did I say that?
Even Poilievre's brand of Conservatives must fear the voters' wrath.
If the Conservatives want to be re-elected, the harm they can do is limited by voters' tolerance.
Voters will put Poilievre on a short leash.
Or give him a short rope, if you will.
Poilievre's term in office will be unpleasant.
And short.
Grit your teeth and count to (4x365=) 1460.
On the other hand there might be someone behind Poilievre who is smart and will put him on a leash just long enough to ride out the first term when the Liberals and NDP are flagellating themselves in leadership campaigns and policy conferences in many news cycles. Then the leash comes off in the second term when Poilievre wins a lesser majority but has enough to do the real damage.
He will probably be boxed in internationally with liberal- minded governments in power with our chief allies. But he and conservarive premiers would have a whale of a time rearranging Canadian federalism in their own image.
You may as well just hand the keys to Canada to Suncor, Tamara Lich and Joe Rogan, and invite Putin to dinner on a regular basis.
So many thoughtful, incisive comments here and SO nice to have the CNO and Max back to enable this, but speaking of enabling, why succumb to the both facile and nihilistic con narrative NOW when what appears to be a peak moment for them to win is actually just them reaching a tipping point of peak idiocy?
The Liberals remain the adults in the room by holding the line against the mob.
All of this started with the Americans as usual, and some of our citizens have done the embarrassing "little dog" thing more than usual by creating the "Proud Boys" who passed muster enough to even be part of the Jan. 6th insurrection, but the imaginary "revolution" is finally about to be rightly schooled by "Mamala."
The media and the pollsters are officially part of the problem now, I agree, even CBC, who insists on doing its part by jumping on the bandwagon with bothsidesism (as does Bill Maher) EVEN when one side has lost ALL credibility to actually govern at a time when we have NEVER needed that more.
Like the conclusion of that much-watched show "Succession," we can now wildly understate that, "these are not serious people."
You are missing the point. Sure, the cons are at a point of, well, very high idiocy (I've learned never to bet against them going higher). But so what? It doesn't matter how bloody adult the Liberals are (in all their double-talking, mealy-mouthed, internally incoherent adult-ness) if nobody votes for them. The NDP have been dealing with this problem forever . . . even at their wimpiest, they've always objectively had the best policies of any even vaguely major political party in Canada, lots of people who voted Liberal even acknowledged that . . . but none of that matters if they don't actually vote for you. Being the best and winning are two entirely different things.
Dumping Trudeau might not mean winning . . . but keeping Trudeau will definitely mean losing. And hey, the Liberals can probably form government if they can just keep the Cons from gaining a majority, because no other party is going to support the Cons. Cons in a minority situation would most likely try, deliver the throne speech, have it voted down and the GG would have to let the Liberals try.
What Canada needs is a leader with a vision for an extraction free future, with big bold and exciting ideas and proposals on how to get there. The NDP had a chance to have such a leader but would not give her an opportunity, I am speaking of course of Anjali Appadurai, I don’t know if such a potential leader exists in the Liberal party; but she is the kind of leader Canada desperately needs right now!
I would have agreed wholeheartedly with you on Anjali Appadurai up until she allowed herself to be taken in by radicals who thought they could do a home invasion on the BC NDP leadership contest with a bunch of fake NDP memberships (many were actually already registered BC Greens), do a mad rush into the throne room and plunk her down in the big chair without one single minute of experience as a duly elected MLA, let alone as a manager who would be expected to assume control over a 220 billion dollar economy.
Luckily, the NDP old guard are experienced warhorses and quickly shot that down based on a no duo membership policy. The loophole that allowed them to try has been closed. I really don't understand how a mob like that would try something so stupid and naive and expect the public to vote for them in future. They are motivated by the travesties of old growth logging and LNG, as all of us who live in BC should be, but direct action against legitimate democratic processes is irresponsible, and now Appadurai has paid a dear price for it.
Appadurai looked like a great candidate for a second run at becoming an MP in my riding, one who I would have gladly voted for if she seriously threatened the Conservative candidate in the polls .... until she tried that stunt. Oops. It is also a serious knock against the intelligence of the BC Greens and Dogwood Initiative personnel who were behind it, and those who silently supported it.
I've read many interesting and thoughtful comments below which complement this cogent article by David Moscrop. I am not personally convinced whether the PM should persist or step down, and my instinct is to defer to his excellent judgement.
But there is one point that strikes me as particularly relevant but which has not been mentioned so far. That is that, if and when he decides to step down, it can only happen once, and, if it happens, it should be done in a way that has maximum impact. This means not telegraphing the decision and having a detailed plan that maps out the steps all the way to the election.
I have my own ideas how that could happen, but what's most important is that there be some group working for the PM and the party that is gaming this out. I hope that those people are smart, imaginative and energetic, and I wish them luck, because so much hinges on their effectiveness.
He can go when he wants, for me. Political debt is owed, and I owe.
Forgotten, now, that he had to leapfrog over the NDP's "decrim" plan to full legalization, and it took political courage, nobody else had been that bold. Harper was still running the frying-egg ads.
It ended 40 years of fear, for me. A good citizen in every way, paying my mortgage, volunteering, and yet - afraid of my government and the knock on the door. Afraid to tell my closest friends at work.
So, I owe. And debts must be paid.
Justin and Kamala as a great team ?? Trudeau's already destroyed Canada and Kamela is on the way to try the same with America, but Trump will prevail and America will survive, however with Trudeau's dismantling Canada,, we are doomed should he get back in, Trump for America and Poilievre for Canada.
Well well, another illiterate MAGA / RT News talking head infiltrates the CNO comments section with lies and propaganda.
The commentary is so bad it's actually comical.
Tell us, are the dogs and cats disappearing in Gimli Manitoba? Is Ukraine about to invade Canada? Is horse dewormer still the best COVID fighting vaccine? Are vaccines still contaminated with brainwashing microchips made by Bill Gates? Is Trump the Messiah and this is the Second Coming?
I'm getting a rib cramp from laughing so hard. :-)