— Feature, Musings —11.06.2024 08:53 AM
My latest: welcome to the end times
The happiest Canadian, this morning, is Justin Trudeau.
Some conservatives will be happy, of course. There’s always been some Trump fans on Canada’s Right.
But the happiest guy of all? It is the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Here’s why.
For months, now, Trudeau has been very, very unpopular. The gap has been as much as 20 points, for more than a year.
As such, he has thrown everything at the wall to see what would stick. Abortion, hidden agenda, foreign interference, you name it. But none of it has worked.
Until now. Until this morning. Until Donald Trump came “roaring back,” as the New York Times put it, with a big, big win in the electoral college. The Republican presidential candidate becomes the first to win the popular vote in 20 years.
But that’s American politics, which the commentariat will be endlessly debating for the next two years, until the 2026 midterms. Or, at least until JD Vance figures out a way to drive an aging Trump out using the 25th amendment.
This writer helped win a few major majority governments up here in Canada. Along the way, I learned that Canadian voters have a very different set of priorities. And, this morning, I guarantee you – absolutely guarantee you – that many, many of them are full-on freaking out.
Not Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau has been thrown a lifeline by millions of American voters who grabbed the steering wheel and yanked it to the right. At some point this morning, the Prime Minister will come out looking somber and serious. He will stand before a gaggle of microphones.
He will say three things. One, he will say that he has reached out to Donald Trump to offer his congratulations (I doubt he got through). Two, he will say that his government will continue to put the priorities of Canadians first, and continue to work closely with our most important ally and trading partner.
And then, third – in response to a question from somebody at CBC or The Toronto Star – he will say that it is now more important than ever before the Canada has a progressive team to protect Canada’s interests. He will say that part with the appropriate level of drama and passion. He will say “progressive” one hundred times, if he can.
And you know what? Many Canadians – who to this point have deeply disliked Trudeau – will agree with that. And, soon enough, the polls will reflect that.
Will it be enough to bridge a 20-point gap? Not right away.
But Trump’s MAGA Party now controls the Senate and soon will control the House of Representatives. He will have total dominance. In the coming months, Ukraine will slip under the waves, having been abandoned by the United States. Trump will look the other way as the Chinese Communist Party finally makes its move on Taiwan. In the coming months, Europe will turn inward and NATO will be on its way to becoming a Wikipedia entry, and not much else.
It’s at that point that Canadians will really and truly start to freak out. And they will start considering who they should be voting for.
I do not believe, not for a moment, that Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is indifferent to the fate of Ukraine, Taiwan, NATO or global stability. I think he has grown in his job. I think it would be unfair to call him a Trumper.
But politics isn’t fair. And Justin Trudeau is going to be working very hard to give Pierre Poilievre a shiny new MAGA tattoo. It may even work.
Sometime during the night, last night, everything changed. For the United States, for Europe, and even for little old Canada. It’s about to get really bouncy.
And, if you look closely enough, you will see Justin Trudeau suppressing a smile.
If Trump can deliver on some of the things he has promised, relative to the economy, crime, and immigration reform; then giving Pierre Poilievre a MAGA tattoo, could backfire. A clear majority of American voters think he can. If Trump’s actions result in positive news for the USA, Poilievre will waltz right into the Prime Minister’s role, with a commanding majority, me thinks. Canadians aren’t a whole lot different from Americans when it comes to front porch politics. Of course Trump has just completed the easy part. Delivering is going to be a wee bit tougher.
It’s starting to feel kind of like Poland about 1935-36 around here. And don’t tell me I’m being melodramatic fellow commenters– once NATO is kaput and Trump, Putin and Xi have divvied up their spheres of influence, all eyes will turn north on the vast natural riches that await…
Biden already had his eye on our natural riches. Do a little research on the DOD and the Ring Of Fire. When it comes to that sort of thing, it doesn’t matter who the president is.
This will provide a further test of Pierre Poilievre’s political skills. He has been adept so far.
He’ll get a boost for a bit then Pierre will bounce it back. Unlike the the conservatives before him Pierre has the ability to explain things at a level most voters can understand. That and no one can survive under Zoolanders leadership and he ain’t going no where.
And the man with the cold sweats is Pierre Poilievre. Keeping some of his giddy backbenchers in line (especially if Trump starts doing some of the radical things he says he’s going to do) is going to hurt him in the suburbs with minority voters and women whom he needs to form government. Unlike in the States, these demographics tend to be highly educated and will hold their noses and vote Liberal (with or without Trudeau at the helm) if they feel that it means supporting the same kind of politics north of the 49.
You want to bet he is not sweating?
I agree PP could be put in a difficult spot on certain issues, and he will have to be quite politically adroit to be able to manage that without ending up with a toilet seat around his neck.
It will be fine.
If PP is stupid enough to say he agrees with Trump slapping tariffs on Canadian goods that will be political suicide for PP.
This is just a symptom, a big one, of the global move towards fascism – even Canada has a trump-lite running the conservatives.
Hyperbolic nonsense about Pierre. I get you don’t like him but but this makes you look foolish.
Please, everyone relax and take a deep breath. The sun will still come up tomorrow morning. Trump is not Hitler, or Mussolini or even a fascist (IMHO anyways. I’m sure there will be a dogpile telling me how wrong I am). This too will pass. I have been saying for a while now that Justin isn’t going anywhere, and that I think people are underestimating his abilities. I could be wrong; he could pull the pin and let fresh blood pick up the torch. But I think he’s a fighter and loves a good scrap. I agree completely with Warren’s assessment, and now we’ll see if Mr Poilievre can show his mettle and lead a successful campaign. I think Mr Poilievre can win, but he will have to run a better campaign than his predecessors, and have to out-campaign Justin.
What I keep saying about T and what I said in 2016. Met some USANIAN folks on the beach the day after the election in 2016 in Bermuda that were thinking about not going home and I basically laughed at them and told them to calm down. And the proof is the world did not end in his first term and it won’t this time. Here is the test. I know lots of Toronto Liberal types with fancy schmancy ski chalets in WNY. They are likely SAYING the world will end but follow the money. I haven’t seen a flurry of properties go up for sale.
As far as Pierre goes, he has already proven himself way more adept than his predecessors. Thinking the polls won’t change much.
As far as Justin goes, the fact that he is the happiest Canadian with the results of the election should give them pause as to how far he will go to keep power to the detriment of the party, but it won’t.
Oh and that is quite the A team they have put together to deal with T. Ng, Blair, Sajjan, Joly, etc. At least Frankie Bubbles and LeBlanc are there so they have two adults.
Justin Trudeau is finished. Canada needs a leader who can work with the American president. Now is the time to end the war in Ukraine. Far too many have died.
Bouncy? You’re being generous.
Trudeau benefitted from the Trump circus, and its convenient distractions between 2017 and 2021.
Fast forward to now.
What’s changed here in Canada?
Folks’ appetite for political change at the federal level.
Conservatives will not allow the Libs to change the channel.
Affordability, immigration, housing, and crime will remain top of mind.
Leaving Team Red with only one hand left to play: run out the clock.
I’m not so scared. Trump and his team don’t understand how to get anything done. More importantly, Trump himself doesn’t care about achieving anything. He’s only in it for the money. I think 2 years of Reps believing they are invincible is likely to lead to an unbelievable degree of corruption and legal messes. My guess is multiple impeachments shortly after Dems win the 2026 mid terms and Trump still winds up in jail.
I don’t care for any of Canada’s current political leaders — none of them embody the traits of the Chrétien days. That was the golden era of contemporary Canadian politics and it has long sailed.
That said, we need to rip off the band-aid and let PP ascend to power sooner than later because it’s long been time for change, and in our current predicament he’s best equipped to go toe to toe with Trump, who has zero respect for Trudeau and will seek to punish him (and by extension us) even if it makes little sense for his own American citizens.
Trump knows he can’t trust Trudeau and will act accordingly
Pierre doesn’t have to say a word and just sit back and let Trump do the talking. Trump despises the turd and his woke way of governing. Go back and listen to the tapes and listen what he has to say about Trudeau. All Trump has to say is he would like to work with someone other than Trudeau for the better interest of the Canadian people and sock boy is done. Unfortunately the leader running our country are petulant little children.
I’m a stupid cunt. Send me spam at falihe2318@anypng.com. Thanks.
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