Justin Trudeau is finished. It’s just a matter of time for the one-time poster boy of progressive politics, as an angry nation and his own party turn on Canada’s Prime Minister.
After almost 10 years in power, the man once dubbed by Vogue as “the new young face of Canadian politics” has seen Canadians tire of his so-called “sunny ways”. They are ready to dump him comprehensively at the next election.
It may not even get that far. Trudeau may resign within days amid a growing revolt in the parliament, including from within his own party, after the resignation of his well-regarded finance minister Chrystia Freeland.
The resignation of Freeland, who accused Trudeau of fiscally irresponsible “political gimmicks” to shore up his falling popularity, has unleashed a wave of frustration against the Prime Minister that had been building for some time.
One-third of his own Liberal Party caucus and New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, whose party Trudeau’s ruling Liberals have relied upon to stay in power, have now called on him to resign.
If he does not, it is increasingly likely they will pass a no-confidence motion that would force an immediate federal election at a time when polls show his Liberals trailing the Conservatives by a whopping 20 points, 43 per cent to 23 per cent.
An election must be held by October. Trudeau’s approval rating has slumped from 63 per cent when he was first elected to just 28 per cent, suggesting the once-loved “Trudeau brand” has become toxic politically.
So what went wrong? How did the son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, a progressive icon when elected in 2015, appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone, lose his mojo?
The political decline of the now 52-year-old began in 2019 when videos emerged of a young Trudeau, then 29, dressed as Aladdin in brownface makeup for a party, a revelation that dented his progressive image. He had been widely mocked a year earlier for wearing Hollywood bling on a visit to India.
More serious problems emerged in 2021 when his Covid pandemic response went sour amid a populist backlash against harsh lockdown laws and vaccine mandates.
When he was narrowly re-elected in 2021 with a minority government, Trudeau fell victim to the same ailments that have plagued post-Covid incumbent governments around the world: rampant inflation, a soaring cost of living, a housing crisis and excessive immigration. He has not moved fast enough on any of these issues.
Inflation hit 8.1 per cent in 2022 and Trudeau has been forced to slash overly generous permanent migration targets by 21 per cent after a backlash, admitting the government “didn’t quite get the balance right”.
As his approval ratings plummeted, Trudeau tried to win back voters by playing Santa – sending $C250 to every Canadian earning less than $C150,000 annually and a temporary tax break on essential items during the holidays.
This was too much for Freeland, who said Canada could not afford such “gimmicks” at a time when US president-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports unless Ottawa does more to stem illegal immigration into the US.
Trudeau’s trouble is that his personal charm now holds no sway with voters or his colleagues. There is a backlash against his perceived “wokeness” similar to that in the US that helped Trump defeat Democrat rival Kamala Harris, and in New Zealand that saw the comprehensive defeat of another progressive hero, Jacinda Ardern.
The sun is fast setting on the Trudeau era — and for most Canadians it can’t come fast enough.
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