It is no small irony that Justin Trudeau chose January 6th – the same day that Donald Trump’s election was certified – to announce that his resignation as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister. It has been a long time coming, given the dismal polling numbers, the Chrystia Freeland debacle and the caucus revolt. The decision to prorogue Parliament was widely expected after the NDP and Bloc Quebecois made it clear they would no longer support the Liberal regime. But the date serves to highlight Trump’s threats and insults to our country, and the raucous time ahead.
There will be many different perspectives on the legacy of Trudeau’s nine years in office. Some will point to leadership on climate measures, others to the massive expenditure on the Trans Mountain pipeline. The federal government stepped up in the face of the COVID pandemic to cast a wide safety net that saved tens of thousands of jobs and many businesses from bankruptcy, even as conservative think tanks moaned about government spending and the so-called “Freedom Convoy” brandished flags profaning his name.
On every key issue, there was a mix of success and disappointment. The promise for democratic reform to the election system was never kept. Vital initiatives including the national childcare program and healthcare were undermined (or sabotaged) by conservative provincial premiers, while Trudeau weakened and delayed legislation on Just Transition and Pharmacare to the point that may jeopardize their implementation. His government tried to address Canada’s colonial legacy and finally reduced the number of first nations with boil-water advisories, but agreement on residential school reparations remains elusive.
The housing file was a mess. In the face of soaring rents and house prices caused by corporate greed, the decision to spend billions subsidizing landlords and developers instead of funding programs to build non-market housing was a dramatic failure. And the mishandling of immigration to satisfy business lobbying for a huge pool of temporary workers (with no rights) turned into a complete fiasco.
And then there is the normal ten-year expiry date for most governments. This added to the overall crisis in public confidence in the political status quo here in Canada, reflecting the mood in other countries across the globe as right-wing populists have swept to power.
Once Donald Trump takes office and begins to apply the measures he has promised, things will get far uglier here as well as south of the border. The leaders of corporate Canada have made it clear that they want to accommodate the Trump regime by increasing arms spending, gutting environmental standards and shrinking government. Right now, big money (including land developers and fossil fuel giants) funds the Poilievre juggernaut. It will be fascinating to see how the Liberal Party maneuvers to win back Bay Street while trying to take credit for programs that came from its accord with the NDP.
In the coming months, the need to defend the public interest against the political machinations of billionaires will become even more urgent. The Council of Canadians was created at a time of deep political change and a drive to integrate our economy and our national policies into the United States. It is a different era, but this seems like a similar drama unfolding.
The daughters of one of the founding leaders of the Council, Mel Hurtig, just wrote to implore us to embrace the “fundamental policy goal” of the maximization of Canada’s economic, political, social and cultural sovereignty. Sounds like the right call. We should not leave it only to political parties to define the political debate in coming months. Every one of us needs to get ready for the fights ahead.
