CRESCIA: Trudeau hoping for a rerun of his father's victory over Joe Clark?

During last year’s Liberal National Convention, Justin Trudeau delivered the keynote speech. He was animated and worked the podium to dispel rumors that he was no longer up for the job. He stared into the camera and spoke directly to his political opponent Poilievre: “They either say investing in Canadians is a waste of money, or that our policies are too woke. Too woke, he said, Hey Pierre Poilievre, it’s time for you to wake up.”In the recent stunning by-election defeat in Toronto’s left-of-center riding of Toronto St Paul's which had been a Liberal stronghold for over 30 years, voters woke up and rejected Trudeau’s woke agenda. Toronto is a city dominated by progressive politics where its citizens never smile, and shuffle about glued to their phones. Conservatives have become almost an extinct species. But after a major upset in St Paul's, where Conservatives produced a 19-point turnaround versus the 2021 federal election and won their first seat since 2011, there is finally hope that Pierre Poilievre can break through.The Liberals knew trouble was brewing but remained confident they would win the riding. They sent in 20 cabinet ministers to visit, they fear mongered using abortion as an issue, and begged left-wing city councilor Josh Matlow to run in St Paul's for his instant name recognition. Knowing how toxic is Trudeau's brand, he smartly declined.Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, whose communication style belongs in a Seinfeld episode, provided her own Hillary Clinton moment. Clinton once described Trump supporters as belonging to a “basket of deplorables," and went on to lose the election. Freeland meanwhile, described Conservatives as “really cold, cruel and small.” Trudeau jumped into the fray and said, “The vote in the Toronto riding was a precursor to the clear choice Canadians will have to make in the general election in 2025.” The result proved that dark days are ahead for the Liberals. Scott Reid, a Liberal strategist, said this is stinging for the Prime Minister “because it tells him in indisputable, undeniable and implacable terms, that his leadership harms his own party." The message for Liberals is change or leave, he concluded.Another big loser in St Paul's was the NDP. The party received just 10.9 percent of the vote, a six-point drop from16.8 in 2021. Singh is Trudeau’s evil twin aligned ideologically, and their day-to-day communication style is full enough with newspeak and double-think to give Orwell's 1984 that prophetic feel.Singh has destroyed the soul of the NDP and with it any alternative vision for the country that they might have had by supporting the Liberals so that they could taste political power. Instead of providing a strong opposition and holding the Liberals accountable for their scandals and incompetence by forcing an election and allowing Canadians to choose they have become part of the Liberal government's corruption.Singh has become an empty suit. He has no new solutions to offer for the plethora of problems the country faces. He does not think open-door immigration is a problem. On housing, he reiterates the same old line, we need more “cheaper housing.” He speaks about the right to freedom and then supports Trudeau’s draconian anti-freedom laws. Singh will eventually be ousted as leader and he will leave a legacy of helping to create a cost-of-living crisis that has put more Canadians in the poor house than ever. So then will Trudeau resign? Even in his interview after the St Paul's by-election loss, looking shocked and doing his best to appear humble, he refused to acknowledge any policy failure: “This was obviously not the result we wanted, but I want to be clear that I hear your concerns and frustrations, he stated, these are not easy times. And it is clear, I and my entire team, have much more hard work to do to deliver tangible, real progress that Canadians can see and feel.” If he could learn from history and appreciate that higher taxes do not lead to prosperity, eliminating the carbon tax and cutting taxes puts money back in people's pockets and Canadians could then “see and feel” the real progress that he blithely speaks about.Justin Trudeau lives in the shadow of his famous father. He was 9 years old in 1980 when his father came out of retirement to defeat Joe Clark’s Conservatives whose government lasted a mere six and one-half months. Clark was young and struggled to lead and most of all suffered from what destroys political careers; he had no charisma. It did not take long for the Dracula of Canadian politics, a worn-out Pierre Trudeau, to rise from the dead. Trudeau ran a low-key campaign, and allowed Clark to sink his party into oblivion. Justin Trudeau is hoping to produce a similar miracle comeback. However, Trudeau's foe is no Joe Clark. Pierre Poilievre has a strong presence in front of the camera and a quick mind. He does not get suckered into saying dumb things that the government-subsidized Liberal media can exploit for headlines.After nine years of the Trudeau Liberals in power, the country faces its veritable banquet of consequences. It is a woke kingdom in economic decline. It has a falling standard of living, less freedom as citizens live in fear that free speech violations can land one in jail, rampant crime has been normalized and an increasing debt burden that will lead to higher inflation is destroying a generation of wealth.A new poll conducted just before the House of Commons left for its annual barbecue season states that 68 percent of Canadians do not want Trudeau to return after the break. The prime minister does not have many options left. He can make the party less woke and move it to the centre.Or, he can fight another election, hoping the Conservatives fumble the ball and reenact his father’s 1980 miracle.Or he could double down on failed policies that will spell the end of his political career, anyway.And that is the greatest danger Canadians face, as he works through his own personal agony.Francis Crescia is a Toronto-based writer.

CRESCIA: Trudeau hoping for a rerun of his father's victory over Joe Clark?

Related Stories