Better Is Always Possible
After nearly twelve years in office, Justin Trudeau's final day as Leader of the Liberal Party is upon us. Reflecting on the legacy of Canada's 23rd Prime Minister in these last few hours.
This is the first of three articles in A Commons Carol - reflecting on the past, understanding the present, and looking ahead to the future.
The Liberals were dead to begin with. There was no doubt whatsoever about that. The register of their death was signed by the punditry, the academia, the supporters of elections past, the undertaker, and the general public. The Natural Governing Party of Old was as dead as a doornail.
After three consecutive elections of decreasing seat counts, 2011 marked a low point for the Liberals. At no point in their history did they ever win under 40 seats and under 20% of the popular vote. The worst nightmares of many came true. The electorate is never wrong, and they told the Liberals that some time in quiet reflection was needed.
Many said that the Liberals should merge with the NDP to form a united progressive alternative to the Conservatives. Others wished for a radical overhaul of what the Liberal Party is, was, and could be.
Enter Justin Trudeau.
We all know his biography by now. The son of Pierre Trudeau, the Member of Parliament for Papineau, and a well-known Star Wars nerd. Not running to succeed Stephane Dion as leader after the 2008 election, Trudeau remained a high-profile member of the Third Party’s Shadow Cabinet.
Being one of thirty-four Liberals to win re-election in 2011, the rest, as they say, is history.
It’s no easy feat to turn a political party around as quickly as Trudeau and his team of advisors did. Many thought it’d be a two-election rebuild - get to Official Opposition and perhaps hold the Conservatives to a minority in 2015, then form government in the election after that.
When you see the desire for Real Change forming in the Canadian electorate after nearly a decade Conservative rule, and when you see the desire for Real Change among Liberal members seeking a spark to light up these dark times, Trudeau and his team saw an opportunity.
Trudeau’s entry into the Liberal leadership race in October 2012 was the first glimmer of light many Liberals saw in the hopes of returning to the government side of the aisle. Not too long after he won a decisive first-ballot victory in April 2013, the Liberals had their first consistent polling lead in four years.
Things were finally on the upswing. Trudeau’s bold, progressive vision and platform - with heavy inspiration taken from policies advanced by the Young Liberals of Canada - was catching the eyes of Canadians. Politics were being done differently. There was a spring back in the steps of many Liberals.
Then there was a brief fall. Leading up to the 2015 election, with Conservative advertising painting Trudeau as not being ready to be Prime Minister (nice hair, though), the Liberals fell back to third in the spring and early summer of 2015. The NDP rebounded and led for much of the summer, including the first month of the campaign.
For a time, it seemed like Tom Mulcair was poised to be Canada’s first New Democratic Prime Minister. But, as the longest campaign in Canadian history went on, Trudeaumania started to rebuild itself once again.
Justin Trudeau swept to a resounding first-ballot win in the 2013 Liberal leadership race by promising to do politics differently.
By running explicitly on wide-reaching progressive policies - from legalizing cannabis and electoral reform, to child benefits and middle class tax-cuts, and from running deficits to making home ownership more accessible - he set himself apart from not only his fellow leadership candidates, but used that to springboard an incredibly progressive platform - some would say even outflanking the NDP.
It caught on. Fast.
As the NDP started to fall during the 2015 campaign, the Conservatives first picked up momentum faster than the Liberals. Then an almost-perfect confluence of timing occured: It was Thanksgiving, and the Toronto Blue Jays were in the playoffs for the first time in over two decades.
Whether it was strategic ad-buys during playoff games to shaping Turkey Talk over Thanksgiving dinner, the Liberals struck gold (and then some) at just the right time during that long, hot electoral season.
At this point, it wasn’t just younger voters coming back to the Liberals. The NDPs descent continued at almost the same pace as the Liberals ascended. And, on October 19th, the Liberals won a majority.
Politics were about to be done differently. Because it’s 2015. Trudeau will always be remembered as the first Prime Minister to have a gender-balanced Cabinet; a Minister of the Environment and Climate Change; a Minister of Indigenous Affairs. These very changes and more marked a new era in politics.
The honeymoon was long - historically long. From taking office in November 2015 to the spring of 2017, the Liberals commanded a wide lead in the polls. After ten years of Conservative government - and with the first term of President Trump getting underway - Canadians approved of Trudeau’s governance.
It was around that time (May 1, 2017, to be exact) when I got my first job on the Hill - a Summer Leadership Program experience in both a Hill Office and a Constituency Office.
Just walking those halls as a bright-eyed, fresh-faced intern - straight out of undergrad - knowing who’s walked them before; knowing the decision made in the rooms I’ve been in; getting to know people from all across the country was an experience I’ll never forget.
What made it even more special was an understanding that we were indeed doing politics differently. The Prime Minister made it clear from day one that he valued the opinions and ideas of young people - from appointing himself Minister of Youth, to setting up the Prime Minister’s Youth Council, to having a full-fledged summer internship program that encouraged students to bring their bold ideas to the forefront.
In retrospectives of the Prime Minister’s leadership, it’s not often mentioned, but I think it deserves some praise.
We all know what Trudeau will be remembered for in the history books: National $10/day childcare; legalizing cannabis; putting a price on pollution and the Canada Carbon Rebate; dealing with crises both domestic (COVID-19) and abroad (Ukraine, President Trump).
Looking deeper into the legacy projects of not only the Prime Minister, but the Cabinet he built around him, it’s clear that, despite some saying that Justin Trudeau was the worst Prime Minister in modern Canadian history, transformative and progressive change occurred over the last nearly ten years.
As we all know, Canadians tend to vote out a government rather than vote them in. Ten years tends to be the lifespan of a government in this country. But while Trudeau leaves office on a high note - meeting the moment head-on in a tariff war with our largest trading partner - it’s not to be forgotten how it came to this point.
Some would say that the Liberals lost touch over the years. Others might say that Pierre Poilievre was able to understand the feelings of Canadians better than Trudeau did. Some say he still does.
But what’s clear is that the legacy of Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister is not necessarily mixed. It was bold. It was different. It was what Canadians looked for after a near-decade under Conservative rule.
As the sun sets on Justin Trudeau’s leadership, his mantra of “Better Is Always Possible” continues to ring true. There are always areas to improve, no matter how good of a job one thinks they did.
And no matter who succeeds him, they should continue to commit to themselves, their Cabinet, their caucus, their candidates, and to Canadians that Better Is Always Possible.
Sunny ways, my friends.
Sunny ways.
Cover photo by vl04 - Flickr, CC BY 2.0
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