Squeezed in between the photos from the coronation this past weekend there were a couple reports in my daily newspaper on the Ottawa meeting of the Liberal Party of Canada. It is good to hear that the party is alive and well but it is not owned in any way by Justin Trudeau. He has it on loan, at best. He visited the convention and spoke to the attendees as the leader of the party before flying to England as prime minister of Canada, and as a member country of the Commonwealth of Nations, to attend the coronation of Charles III.
The liberal party was created by Toronto reformer George Brown and Ontario’s Clear Grits in Upper Canada in 1857 and was joined by Quebec’s Parti Rouge and the Nova Scotian Reformers after the 1867 Confederation of Canada.
While considered a ‘Big Tent’ party today, the Liberal Party of Canada is a centre left party that, over the years, when forming the federal government, has gradually expanded the social safety net for Canadians. It looked at Medicare and made it a fact for Canadians from coast to coast. It took an idea for daycare and is implementing it across Canada so that women with young children can also contribute to our economic growth.
Nobody owns the liberal party. When I joined the party in 1960s Canada, it was changing itself. It took control of the party’s direction. It made accountability of leaders a mandatory requirement.
The liberal party is a progressive party. It invests itself in Canada’s growth and health. It invests in our future. It believes in investing in the Canada of the future.
Among the two most serious mistakes Justin Trudeau made when he became leader was his refusal to recognize the liberal presence in the Senate and to eliminate membership fees in the liberal party. He denied the party its history in the Senate and he denied the party its independent funding.
But the party will outlive, Justin Trudeau. And the Senate of Canada needs more than lip service to change.
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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
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