Justin Trudeau’s time at the head of the Liberal Party of Canada and his nine years as Prime Minister of Canada dramatically changed the face of politics in the country.
Younger, resolutely on the left (the Canadian left, we agree), more feminist, more inclusive, Justin Trudeau will have brought the country out of conservative torpor, but it was only temporary…
Progress does not only have friends
Justin Trudeau will be remembered as the young “son of” who promised Canadians sunny paths, who responded straight away that he appointed a parity council of ministers “because we [était] in 2015”, which legalized cannabis and who, often, spent without counting too much.
Over time, he is criticized for these same decisions.
What brought wind to the sails of the PLC will become the powder in the Conservative Party’s cannons during the next electoral campaign.
Who cares if thousands of children were lifted out of poverty, if Canadians were able to continue shopping for groceries during the pandemic, and if the media was able to resume access to the Prime Minister. For many Canadians, Justin Trudeau’s country has become an open bar where the miseries of the world can be drunk grateful and where the left has (re)become the enemy.
The other side of the coin is going to be ugly
Barring a miracle, and I am pessimistic on my best days, the right of the Conservative Party will regain power in the next election.
“Be careful what you wish for, you may very well get it,” they say.
We no longer have the nice little right we had. Many countries have turned to the right, increasingly uninhibited. Pierre Poilievre’s is angry, petty and populist.
I tell you, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
