TORONTO – History – Canadian and otherwise – is replete with personalities who left an impact, made a difference good or bad. How that legacy is retold is more often a reflection of the values of “story-teller’s values” than it is of the objective assessments of those personalities. I have witnessed few, if any exceptions. Even, as in the case of t he immediate departure of controversial figures, one tends to dampen criticism and stoke positives; at least in the short term.
With that in mind, the replacement of Justin Trudeau will evoke reactions exaggerated by the political climate surrounding his departure. As a case in point, one thinks of former USA president, Richard Nixon (“tricky dickey”) who, at one point in his career, said to the Press: you won’t have me to kick around anymore. The Media found other targets quickly enough.
The Trudeau era is not quite over. For one , the results of the vote to replace will not be announced by the time we go to print. Two, the remaining “candidates for office” are all very closely tied to what he is publicly touting as his legacy. Three, association to that legacy has attracted an unimpressive 155,000 online voting adherents (out of a population of 40 million – at least 10 million of which entered the country as per his immigration/economic policies).
From a policy perspective, the survivability of: (1) his social programs will all soon be put to the test in the House of Commons, (2) the Courts (which, it is argued, he has stacked with functionaries loyal to his perspectives), (3) our role in the International Fora (NATO, UN, Ukraine, Israel/Gaza, (4) the economic relationships now facing their most severe challenges in decades and (5) the ability of Canada to host this year’s G-7 Summit are all being loaded on the shoulders of the successor.
At the base of all this is the existential threat posed by Donald Trump. No wonder a teary-eyed Trudeau seemed to want onlookers and readers to shower him with empathy and sympathy – rather than blame for what will follow in the next few days. it remains to be seen whether the Party, and the public, will be kinder to him than events suggest he has been to them.
We are looking for forward to a replacement who can break the three-part-cycle that follows the awareness of a long-standing latent, critical, corrosive issue: shock, bluster and panic.
The Liberal Party used to have a reputation of being able to deliver pragmatic alternatives. We wish the winner of the contest the ability to manifest that same quality for the country.