TORONTO – I feel sorry for Justin Trudeau, honestly. Since he placed the finishing touches on “his legacy” on November 30, 2024, with his metaphorical “pilgrimage to Canosa” – modern day, Mar-a-Lago – Mr. Trudeau has been bouncing from pillar to post to maintain some sort of relevance in the Canadian polity.
Unfortunately, a certain Donald Trump, his host for that fateful day, following the dinner, unleashed a barrage of negativity against him personally and Canada collectively that has made him the most influential “political personality” in the Canadian political milieu. He is the “spinning top” on whom all eyes and reactions are transfixed.
Reactions is the operative word. Trudeau, unable to sustain the vituperative response of the Canadian electorate to his management of the Canadian economy and the apparent growing resentment to his divisive social policies, decided to call it quits on January 7, 2025, pending the outcome of certain political dynamics his resignation imposed on Canada.
A Federal Court, over which Chief Justice Crampton presides, may accelerate the outcome.
This is to say that Justin Trudeau left the country leaderless at a crucial juncture in its history. Provincial Premiers tried to fill in the vacuum – they were “dismissed” as inconsequential to decision-making by Donald Trump.
It may appear harsh, but the leader of a federal government (foreign) can hardly be seen to be promoting bilateral negotiations with a junior level of government in a foreign nation, unless he were to nurture a downgrading of its national status to “state-level”.
Yet our provincial Parties in Ontario, in the throes of a provincial election, are insistent on making Mr. Trump and his pursuit of an American vision the critical existential threat to our survival. Even some hockey fans have taken to manifesting their displeasure with Mr. Trump by Booing the American national anthem; their team let the performance on the ice do the talking.
One wonders why Mr. Trudeau thought these were ripe conditions for “launching the biggest [federal] infrastructure program”- a High-Speed Rail project between Windsor and Quebec City for $3.9 billion – since the construction of the CPR Railway project and the St. Lawrence Seaway.
His Cabinet Ministers have been dropping like flies from his Cabinet. Who will carry this forward? Whom did he consult? In a few short weeks, Canada will have a new government.
Previous governments have had the benefit of no less than 26 feasibility studies to consult on the proposal. Some members of Canada’s transportation expertise are still alive. There is no evidence that any of them were consulted. Many of them held that this project might be the “glue to bind Central Canada” as one in a thriving economic market. In full disclosure, I agreed with them; the deputy minister for Transport did not.
The irony is that the announcement on February 19 was presided over by the Minister who, like the Prime Minister, has indicated she will not seek re-election. Logic suggests that, come March 9, she and he will attract scant attention, if any.
