Monday, January 06, 2025

The rumour mill is buzzing about Trudeau tonight

   
The rumour is that Trudeau will resign today.
That typing you hear tonight is dozens of Canadian political journalists getting a jump on their "end of an era" political obits. 
But doesn't it strike you as odd that there is nothing - NOTHING - actually causing Trudeau to resign except for increasingly inexplicable "Trudeau fatigue" and falling poll numbers -- for a leader that crowds of Canadians still greet with enthusiasm? A leader respected around the world? And he is feared by Maple MAGA. And Elon. And Putin. And Trump. Who all worked so hard to undermine him.
Trudeau hasn't always been right, but he has always tried to be.
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I just hope Trudeau doesn't leave right away -- the usual Canadian pattern would be for him to announce a leadership convention in April or May, then stay on as Prime Minister until then. 
There is no particular reason for him to rush off right away -- no health issue, no scandal. 
And better to stay as PM until a new leader has a chance to get better known across the country. Also,
Trudeau really needs to stick around until the Foreign Interference report comes out the end of January. And until we see what happens with Trump's tariff threats. The longer we avoid an election, the more the Liberal programs (dental care, pharmacare, daycare, school lunches, Indigenous reconciliation, plus Ukraine support) will be entrenched, reducing the risk that a new Conservative government would immediately dismantle them.

I hope this doesn't prove to be true:

Justin Trudeau will step down as the Leader of the Liberal Party, but it's too late. Canada is headed for conservative fascism. While we don't have the same problems with guns, abortion, or insanely religious people in a massive cult, we do have stupid people who'd rather be angry than educated.

— Jane of the North (@janeotn.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 10:17 PM

Whether PM Justin Trudeau decides to step down or stay on to fight the next election, one thing is for sure: he does not deserve the hatred & vitriol directed at him. Perhaps I belong to another time (I am 61), but I find it jarring to see & hear such vile displays & insults.

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— Geoffrey P Johnston😎🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@geoffypjohnston.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 8:33 PM

Where is all the anti Trudeau energy going to go now? The vacuum could cause Canada to collapse in on itself.

— Shawn Micallef (@shawnmicallef.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Before we get too far, remember all that Trudeau accomplished:

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Trudeau hasn't always been right, but he has always tried to be."
NO
He was wrong on vote reform and TMX and he/we all knew it.
His deals with the devil have come back to haunt us all.
NPoV

rumleyfips said...

I wonder why Freeland wants the leadership right now. If they are that far behind she would be wise to wait . Maybe Liberal internal polling is better than everybody says.

aweb said...

This is a real "show your ass" moment for the Cons, who will absolutely just pivot into vile hatred of the next leader, and try and pin Trudeau to them. They have no other play, they have taken full inspiration from down south and made the entire brand about hating the other side and trying to trigger them by being awful.

I am morbidly curious as to what happens to the polling/popularity once he steps aside. Trudeau made some epic screw ups, but nothing that earned him the level of vitriol he received.

Anonymous said...

to NPoV - No, he was not wrong on vote reform. He had a different idea as to the best option. The Cons and NDP deep-sixed it all. As for TMX - tough call trying to appease Alberta. Apparently nothing any Trudeau can do will ever appease Alberta.
UU

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately both Biden and Trudeau suffer from the same problem - a lack of communicating their accomplishments well and a very vocal right -wing (and, "behind the scenes", monied) control of messaging throughout almost all media. Also, the fact that most people in North America are liberals but also complacent. Too bad. I am afraid we'll get a serious wake-up call.

As for the hatred directed towards Trudeau, I guess I don't understand it either. He's not perfect, but he's a damn sight better than the alternatives. That Liberal party members would turn on him publicly is very disappointing. You can do it in private but not in public. What a bunch of a--holes.
UU

Cap said...

NPoV is right that Trudeau lost a lot of credibility by failing to deliver on his promise that the 2015 election would be the last under the first past the post system. And no, UU, the opposition isn't to blame when a leader with a parliamentary majority breaks his promise.

The parliamentary committee on electoral reform recommended that proportional representation be put to a referendum to ensure legitimacy. Trudeau could have gone along with the idea, and even added the option of ranked ballots. After all, many similar referenda have failed to dislodge FPTP. And failure would be likely when people are faced with a confusing choice of methods. He could even have thrown in a 60-40 threshold for change as Ontario did in 2007.

But no, Trudeau flat out stepped on a rake and broke his promise. And now, even with JT's announced resignation, the Libs are facing a wipeout when proportional representation could have given them a role in a coalition government.

Cathie from Canada said...

Trudeau said he decided to keep FPTP because the proportional systems would have allowed the far right to gain seats without ever needing to convince a majority in a single constituency to vote for them. Imagine having to form a coalition with Maxine Bernier? Or worse? This would actually fulfill Harper's promise that we wouldn't recognize Canada anymore.

Anonymous said...

Proportional Representation can be a problematic as FPTP. Witness the mess many PR "democracies" face. Look at Italy. Or, better yet, look at Israel - 4 elections in 2 years and still ended up with Netanyahu leading with a minority like its a majority.
UU

lungta said...

PR . Could have and didn't. Now we replay the FPTP Horror show.
Could we run a government with a circle of ministers chosen by a circle of ministers from the circle of ministers. And have them designate the "Dear Leader" tasks by nomination and simple most votes? A group of equals?
And the most desirous attribute being the ability to get elected qualifies you to run the economy even if you failed grade six math? Could we change that?
We pay them to run the country . Is it too much to ask them to get over the school yard pecking/mocking/blame games and solve things?.
To Cathy ... imagine pp having to form a coalition with JT? Give them a problem , lock them in until they find a solution workable for all Canadians.
Lots of solutions . Couldn't get them past corporate. Our real owners.