“Over time, Justin Trudeau has become unpopular”
Why did Justin Trudeau choose to resign, when a federal election was due to take place by the end of the year?
For a year he had been under pressure from members of his party who wanted him to resign. Over time, Justin Trudeau became unpopular and his power gradually crumbled. The Liberal Party, from which he came, failed to achieve an absolute majority in 2019 and 2021. Justin Trudeau governed thanks to an alliance with the New Democratic Party. Last September, this left-wing ally abandoned him, just like the country’s deputy prime minister, who resigned with a bang on December 16.
What explains its unpopularity?
When Justin Trudeau first won the federal election in 2015, he was very popular. His mandate seemed full of promise: Canada would be led by an enthusiastic, handsome and smiling young man. Nine years later, it is clear that there has been some wear and tear linked to a series of disappointments. As such, the SNC-Lavelin affair in 2019 was a huge scandal. Justin Trudeau had pressured his Minister of Justice at the time to intervene in a procedure concerning an engineering company. This scandal has had a lasting impact on his image, especially since some of the promises he made in recent years have not been kept. Although it has made it possible to improve the living conditions of the natives by increasing state spending on them, it has not, contrary to its announcements, provided all their reserves with drinking water.
Is this attrition of power also linked to the gloomy Canadian economic situation?
Over the past three years, the country has been doubly hit by a housing crisis and an inflationary crisis. From the point of view of some journalists, these problems are linked to migratory pressure. On this subject, Justin Trudeau had to backpedal. He lowered the quotas of migrants accepted into the territory, after doubling them. His party also worked for the establishment of a carbon tax in 2019. When it was adopted, this reform was generally perceived positively. But today, the measure is accused of fueling inflation.
In recent months, his relations with Donald Trump have become particularly tense. Did these passes have an impact on his end of mandate?
They have not necessarily weakened him, because Donald Trump is very poorly perceived in Canada. Various media outlets have, on the contrary, criticized him for not having gone far enough. At the end of November, he met the new President of the United States at his residence in Florida. This trip nourished the feeling of a form of allegiance to American power. Justin Trudeau even gives the impression of not taking seriously enough the threat brandished by Donald Trump to increase customs duties between their two countries.
When it comes time to take stock, what can we remember from the Trudeau years?
The Prime Minister has implemented many societal changes such as the legalization of cannabis and medical assistance in dying. It has also accelerated the dynamic of reconciliation with the indigenous people. But on this subject, as on its environmental policy, not all the promises have been kept. Justin Trudeau will have cultivated certain climate ambiguities, for example by supporting the construction of new pipelines, despite his environmental commitments.
Immediately after his election in 2015, Justin Trudeau was flatteringly compared to Barack Obama and John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Looking back, will he occupy a special place in Canadian politics?
He will undeniably have driven a style that has brought Canadian politics fully into the 21st century. Its communication is largely based on social networks, but also on a form of proximity and emotion which will leave a mark. Justin Trudeau, for example, never hesitated to cry in public. In a way, he is his father’s worthy successor. Prime Minister in the 1970s, he also breathed modernity into the country’s political life.
The favorite for the next federal election is Pierre Poilievre, from the Conservative Party. He is sometimes referred to as “Canadian Trump”. A justified parallel?
In my opinion, this comparison is unwelcome. Pierre Poilievre is much more level-headed than the new American president and, fortunately, he is not as flamboyant. The rapprochement between these two people essentially concerns their conservatism. But Pierre Poilievre’s ideas are not the same as those of the Republicans. He does not wish to call into question abortion, multiculturalism, or even marriage for all. Canadian conservatives are more progressive than those in the United States, even if Pierre Poilievre expresses his desire to fight against “wokism”.
