Canadians climb mountains seeking leadership. We have seen the problems at all levels. In our communities, in our provinces and across our country, we feel the same frustrations.
But resolutions are few. The byelection in Toronto is our most recent failure. The joker running Queen’s Park is a constant reminder of our failures. And then there is the ongoing sense of failure in Ottawa. Let’s take them one at a time. We will attempt to hold back the tears. Ottawa is quiet this week, so let’s start there.
Has the prime minister flown off for another world conference? In Iceland? If that guy could collect frequent flyer points, he would be a millionaire all over again. The truth is that Justin Trudeau does not need us. Do we need him? I make no secret that I think of him as but an actor on the world stage.
The first time I ever met the younger Trudeau, I got the impression that he had a switch somewhere on his body that he turned on and off. Comparing notes with the wife on our experience at that first meeting, we both agreed he was more like his mother than his father. Trudeau the younger is no intellectual. Capable, scheming, tireless, maybe, but smart, not so much.
When he and his new cabinet danced through the sunlit Rideau Park in 2015, we cheered him on. We had little expectation of his elitism. We could hardly understand him when he dis-avowed so many liberals with life experience in liberalism in the Canadian Senate.
He angered us when he just used the old liberal party as his personal automated teller machine (ATM). He did not need you to canvas for the party if you did not have a smart telephone to log the supporters.
But for all our complaints, the other major parties are no better off. Jagmeet Singh swamped the new democrats with Sikh sign-ups and took the NDP downhill.
The weasel from Calgary with the French name is a conundrum for the conservatives. He is more libertarian than conservative. He uses the Ottawa convoy types and the foolish youth who buy into his offer of some unspecified ‘Freedom.’ He has little concern for truth. He seems to have been mentored by Donald Trump. He is a demagogue with simplistic solutions.
And Canadians are worried about where better leadership will come from.
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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
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