The king is dead, long live the king

You can argue on the timing, but what Justin Trudeau did today was both difficult and needed. It will take time to fully judge his legacy. There was much good. There were many things with which I disagree strongly. Overall, in time, I believe the judgment of history will be kind.

It’s too simplistic to say we moved too far Left. Policies like $10/day daycare and the Canada Child Benefit were and are good economic policies. Both allowed more people, largely women, to be able to enter or return to the workforce. That is more workers building the economy and paying taxes. Dental care is health care, and healthy people are productive and happy people.

On the other hand, balancing the budget seemed to be an afterthought and while talking about the need to invest and debt to GDP ratio for a few years is fine, there’s a limit. There needs to be a balance and we got it wrong.

The COVID pandemic was both his greatest moment and what helped to sow the seeds of his downfall. The country came together to deal with a worldwide crisis of unprecedented proportions, doing the best they could during uncharted times. In the end, Canada emerged relatively unfazed from a health and economic perspective, and by all reasonable measures he did very well steering us through. Businesses stayed in business, people stayed employed and in their homes.

But something happened to our psyche. People became more hardened. More prone to fall into conspiracy theories and alternate news. While once we could agree to disagree, now we couldn’t even have polite conversations. Factors like social media algorithms are no help. Even still today, I don’t need to flick too long through Facebook Reels or other platforms until I’m fed some very disgusting content.

It’s not a uniquely Canadian phenomenon. And it’s not Trudeau’s fault. But he became the Canadian focal point for this anger and frustration, becoming the target for unprecedented hatred and vitriol that some have made their entire personalities, and some very cynical politicians have chosen to harness for their own purposes. They should not be surprised when the Leopard Eating Faces Party comes for their face.

Add global inflation making everything more expensive and a long delay in taking housing affordability seriously enough and here we are.

I think my biggest criticism of the Trudeau era is that in recent years this has not been a government guided by fundamental principles and an overarching vision and plan. Instead, it has become a reactive one, listening to fewer and fewer voices, only concerned with putting out the next fire or media story instead of getting big things done. Which is a clear sign that a reset is needed.

I wish this decision had been made a year ago. I think it would have been better for everyone, including his family, if it had been. But in the end, he (finally) did the right thing. And now, an accelerated leadership race will begin.  I don't know who I will support. I have some ideas on who I won't.

More than a decade ago, Trudeau, in taking over a rebuilding Liberal Party, said we don’t need a messiah. And he was right. But he was also the son of a political giant born on Christmas Day who led us back to the promised land faster than anyone predicted. And the party wasn’t so much rebuilt as reimagined in his image.

In a lot of ways, that rebuild never really happened. We never had the discussions about what sort of party we wanted to be and what we wanted to stand for. Instead, we went straight into a platform and a decade of government, including two minorities where you’re just trying to get to the weekend.

Can we find our identity and a leader who can present a vision in a throne speech by March 24^th and then lead us into an election? We’re going to have to try.

 

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