Opinion & Analysis– Oct 29, 2019
In Canada, we have elections every four years, so last week was an exciting moment when we had election day on Monday, October 21st. Unsurprisingly (or surprisingly to some), Justin Trudeau remains our Prime Minister. The difference between their victory now as compared to 2015 is that we have Liberal minority government instead of a Liberal majority.
I think that this is our best option because to me, the Liberal party are moderate centrists on the political spectrum who embody the values of most Canadians. I think that Justin Trudeau is a polarizing figure for both left-leaning and right leaning people as demonstrated with issues like the carbon tax, so I think a minority government (and the compromise that comes with leading a minority government) would appease more people, especially after the recent Blackface scandal. In my opinion, this would be the downfall for most politicians, even if they had half his amount of legacy, charisma, and gravitas as armour (see his eulogy at his father’s funeral). To me, this is a reasonable compromise- he remains the head of government, but a minority government at that.
I think a lot of resentment towards Justin Trudeau seems to be personal and stems from jealousy regarding his privilege. Because Canada strives to be an equal society, we seem to resent those born with privilege because they do not follow the rules of meritocracy. As the current Prime Minister, he was born with immense privilege by having political roots from both sides of the family. To many, having a father who was also the Prime Minister of Canada and a maternal grandfather who was a federal Cabinet Minister laid the foundation for his destiny to lead the nation. In my opinion, political roots is just one of the many dimensions of privilege we can assign to Justin in addition to his beauty as noted by media outlets around the world, or wealth inherited from his father. Many argue that he is not qualified for the most high profile political position in the country because he does not have the credentials or experience (private-school teacher background before entering the political world) which means that he bypasses meritocratic standards by being born into a political family with access to connections and power (as opposed to working his way up and building a solid foundation in politics, like Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer).
On the other hand, he grew up in a divorced family and raised primarily by a single father, who was also twenty-nine years older than his mother who had mental illness. I read four years ago in an opinion piece that growing up like this made him become a people-pleaser so people would like him (I can see that, can’t you?). It seems like two sides of the same coin but let me show you how they are the same: the concept of randomness. He didn’t choose his privileges, like having a powerful father or a beautiful mother any more than his dysfunctional family life in conjunction with growing up in the public eye. He has to cope with the extremes of life that the average person does not encounter, such as tremendous wealth, loss of privacy, and a parent struggling with bipolar disorder. Although there are many areas of debate people may have with his decisions, I hope that we can be happy for him that he seems to have found peace after starting his own family with his wife Sophie and their three children and chose to enter the political world and found success, continuing the legacy that his father began many, many years ago.
And now, regarding his political influence- Trudeau has laid the foundation since he first started this role in 2015. Based on his past successes like the free trade agreement with the United States, baby steps towards climate change mitigation efforts, and new (but still contentious) Reconciliation efforts with various First Nations groups, I think we have a solid trajectory of important decisions yet to come. This in addition to scandals like Blackface and the SNC Lavalin case, which (I think) means that we have to accept both and hope for the best in anticipation for the future.
