With Trudeau's leadership under fire, Liberals try to regroup before October
8611 Comments Commenting is now closed for this story.
Garry
Walton I can't stand the sight of him and we all rush to turn the channel or mute it so we don't have hear that condescending drivel.
David Amos
Reply to @Garry
Walton: Methinks Mr Prime Minister Trudeau The Younger enlisting Ben
Chin as a senior adviser was a major faux pas N'esy Pas?
Stan Smith Reply
to @Garry Walton: my multi-term conservative MP recently told me he
thought Mr. Chrétien was the best PM in recent decades. Strong fiscal
management, smelled a rat on Iraq and didn’t get drawn in to that, great
judgement. I found the MP’s candour refreshing. I may even vote for
them because of it.
David Amos
Reply to @Stan Smith: "smelled a rat on Iraq and didn’t get drawn in to that"
Stan Smith Reply to @David Amos: well those are the words my MP used to describe it. Whatever objection you have it’s to his point of view
Richard
Dekkar Never
have I seen Canada so united in its anger towards a Prime Minister.
Never have I seen a Prime Minister be so vindictive to Canada.
David Amos
Reply to @Richard
Dekkar: Methinks you have a convenient memory I bet many folks will
agree that Trudeau won such a big mandate not because he was oh so
wonderful but because Harper was oh so awful N'esy Pas?
Bill Edward Goate I've made a helpful list of why Canadians have lost patience with Trudeau:
• A leadership style that values nauseating virtue signalling and
displays of symbolism and diversity over actual substance, ability and
achievement.
• The constant embarrassment on the world stage
• The constant embarrassment on the domestic stage
• The non-stop apologies and payout to dead people for actions by other
dead people usually under the guise of "reconciliation" (occurring most
frequently when he needs an easy win after a string of cringeworthy
incidents)
• His treatment of dissenting voices, be they Christians wanting to
participate in a summer jobs program or strong female cabinet members
with real concerns about the morality and legality of government actions
• His cooperation/collusion with social media to stifle unwelcome
criticism under the guise of cracking down on "h8 speech" (nobody buys
it)
• His getting our collective posterior handed to us by the Americans during NAFTA renegotiations
• His complete and total disinterest in even pretending to be interested in a balanced budget
• His low view of our armed forces, from veterans seeking care to
snuffing out the career of an accomplished Admiral in and effort to
conceal his own government's incompetence.
I think that about covers it.
David Amos
Reply to @Bill Edward Goate: Pretty decent list Now whats your real name?
Jon Hurt Well
it’s pretty obvious that the PMO and Telford are quite busy sending out
talking points to their preferred media outlets... CBC takes the
bait...
David Amos
Reply to @Jon Hurt: "CBC takes the bait.."
Methinks you are not reading the same article I am N'esy Pas?
Stephen David The
writing is on the wall for the Liberals.....there will be no second
term. The sun is setting on the whole Sunny ways thing come October.
David Amos
Reply to @Stephen David: "there will be no second term"
Methinks October is a long way away when it comes to hardball
politicking but it is getting more interesting by the day N'esy Pas?
Jason Martin Trudeau's arrogance is what has sunk the Liberal brand. He promised to do politics differently, and he didn't keep his promise.
David Amos
Reply to @Jason Martin: "He promised to do politics differently, and he didn't keep his promise."
Surprise Surprise Surprise
Al Newman I am absolutely sick of this guy...
Can't hit the mute button quick enough
David Amos
Reply to @Al Newman: "I am absolutely sick of this guy... "
Methinks Alfred E Newman would agree that you are not alone N'esy Pas?
Garry
Walton A
trust fund kid raised in an environment of privilege, sprinkled with a
large dose of arrogance does not a Prime Minister make.
The best thing that could come out of this fiasco would be a sit-com and undoubtably it would be the funniest comedy on TV.
David Amos
Reply to @Garry
Walton: "A trust fund kid raised in an environment of privilege,
sprinkled with a large dose of arrogance does not a Prime Minister make.
"
Methinks it interesting that he managed to run Harper out of office N'esy Pas?
Kevan
Cleverbridge (Hill 70)
Among the so many gaffes,the one that will sink him ,is a Carbon Tax.
David Amos
Reply to @Kevan
Cleverbridge (Hill 70): Methinks Carbon Tax is a dilly of that I have no
doubt but he has made so many other goofs it appears to be the total of
them all that put him on the reef N'esy Pas?
Tom Douglas Its said that if someone isn't angry at you then you are not doing your job as a leader.
What does it mean when EVERYONE including teenagers are angry with you?
David Amos
Reply to @Tom Douglas: Methinks if you are not angry then you are not paying attenuation N'esy Pas?
With Trudeau's leadership under fire, Liberals try to regroup before October
The SNC-Lavalin affair helped turn the party's best political asset — the prime minister — into a burden
Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau has become a drag on the Liberal Party's
re-election chances, prompting some soul-searching in party circles. (Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press)
Justin Trudeau was elected in 2015 in
part because he changed the way many Canadians felt about politics. But
if Trudeau is going to be reelected in 2019, party insiders admit he
needs to change the way many Canadians feel about him now.
Federal
and provincial Liberals who spoke to CBC News concede what was
unthinkable just months ago — that in the wake of the SNC-Lavalin
controversy, Trudeau's leadership has gone from one of the party's
greatest strengths to one of its biggest liabilities.
It's even an
issue in Atlantic Canada, the region the party swept in 2015.
Provincial candidates in Newfoundland and Labrador — where the Liberals
were reduced to a minority government on Thursday — were surprised at
the amount of anti-Trudeau sentiment they encountered while going
door-to-door.
Many
voters in the energy-reliant and financially-challenged province were
worried about the impact Trudeau's environmental agenda would have on
the local offshore oil sector. Others were angry about the Liberals'
approach to immigration. Those issues, combined with the SNC-Lavalin
controversy, have transformed voter attitudes about Trudeau.
What a difference three months made
"Three months ago he would have been an asset for us," said one senior Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal. "Now, not so much."
That
dynamic is showing up in private focus groups that are reinforcing the
public polls: Trudeau's reputation as a strong leader has been badly
damaged by the SNC-Lavalin affair — a public conflict between Trudeau
and his then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould that saw both the
minister and her colleague, Jane Philpott, resign from cabinet to
protest what they alleged was high-level pressure to secure a deal to
allow the Quebec-based engineering company to avoid a trial on
corruption and fraud charges.
Independent
Members of Parliament Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould speak with
the media before question period in the foyer of the House of Commons
in Ottawa, Wednesday April 3, 2019. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
The
collapse of the Crown's case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, with its
accusations of political interference on the part of the government,
merely compounded the party's image crisis.
"I don't think
something happened in the broader environment that forced the change. I
think it was what happened here in Ottawa with SNC-Lavalin," said David
Coletto, CEO of polling firm Abacus Data, in a recent interview.
"That
was a moment that seems to have completely reset people's impressions
of the prime minister and now he's living with the consequences of
that."
Pharmacare, finances over climate change
One of the
consequences of that "reset" is an effort by Liberals
to recalibrate how they're positioning themselves to seek re-election.
The Liberal climate plan is an important part of that. But there is a
deep recognition in party circles that talking about climate change
alone won't be nearly enough to save the government.
Many Liberals
acknowledge that the Conservatives have smartly tapped into the issue
of affordability and economic anxiety. This was reflected in the Ontario Liberal caucus's ranking of platform priorities,
leaked to CBC News, that put personal financial security ahead of
climate and reconciliation. At the top of the Ontario MPs' list was a
national pharmacare plan, which is certain to be a centrepiece of the
Liberal platform.
But a platform can only work if the leader can
sell it. There is a hope among senior Liberals who spoke to CBC News —
both elected officials and political staff — that a busy slate of
international travel over the next few months can help rehabilitate
Trudeau's reputation as a leader.
'A desire for change still requires an acceptable alternative'
The
prime minister is expected to attend the G20 in Japan in June and the
G7 in France in August. Trudeau was in Paris this week sharing the
global spotlight with French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at a summit to denounce online extremism.
(From
left) French Culture Minister Franck Riester, French chief architect of
Historical Sites Philippe Villeneuve, Notre Dame cathedral rector
Patrick Chauvet and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stand together after
visiting the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris on May 15, 2019. (Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)
The
Liberals hope that events like this will help strike a contrast between
Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, whom the Liberals have
accused of cosying up to extreme political elements here in Canada — a
claim the Conservatives angrily deny.
That direct contrast with
Scheer is a key factor in Liberal re-election hopes in the face of
dismal polling. Many Liberals point to past victories by Ontario Liberal
premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne — two leaders who entered
election campaigns trailing their Conservative opponents but won in the
end.
The theory is that turning the election into a choice between
Scheer's agenda and Trudeau's favours the Liberals. But if the election
becomes a referendum on Trudeau alone, it favours the Conservatives.
"You
either have to get people to reconsider their views of the prime
minister or, what's more likely ... get them to think differently about
the alternative that's waiting in the wings, and that's Andrew Scheer
and the Conservatives," said Coletto. "A desire for change still
requires an acceptable alternative."
PMO staff changes
But
to get there, multiple Liberal insiders say they need to improve the
performance of the Prime Minister's Office as well. The hope is that the
recent addition of Ben Chin as a senior adviser will add some urgency
to the PMO's communications and issues-management efforts — work that
some Liberals say needs to accelerate from a think-tank's pace to
war-room speed.
Senior
Liberals also concede that the party needs to sharpen its pitch to
suburban swing voters while it attempts to deepen the contrast between
Trudeau and Scheer. Seats in British Columbia, and in that the wide band
of ridings that run between Windsor, Ont. and Quebec City, are key to
the Liberals' re-election hopes. But the party finds itself fighting a
mood of economic uncertainty, in spite of blistering job growth numbers
in many of these areas.
In the party's plus column, Liberals like
to point to a solid party infrastructure that ought to serve them well
in the upcoming campaign. The appointment of Jeremy Broadhurst as
campaign director has rallied some Liberals who have grown disillusioned
during recent months.
And while the Conservatives have raised more money at the national level (the party enjoyed a massive first quarter this year), the Liberals have raised significantly more funds at the local riding level than in 2015. This, party insiders say, will allow candidates to open their headquarters months before the official start of the campaign.
Of
course, this entire strategy depends on an assumption that the fallout
from the SNC-Lavalin and Mark Norman controversies are largely over, the
government avoids any more self-inflicted wounds and public opinion
stabilizes to the point where the Liberals can see a possible path back
to government.
"If we're within the margin of error, bring it on," said one Liberal.
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