If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, Justin Trudeau has laid down more than his share of blacktop during his nine-plus years in office. After almost a decade of Stephen Harper’s miserly approach to governing, his open-hearted approach to politics was a refreshing and welcome change. He won a majority government on a promise to make government more open, more accountable and more democratic. He would deliver reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, grow the middle class, address climate change and light the way for Canada with his self-declared “sunny ways.”
In the end, almost none of that actually came to pass. Instead, after four years of Donald Trump and a global pandemic, he’s become a lightning rod for political polarization and personal animus. The middle class is buckling under the pressure of a deepening affordability crisis, while the electoral system remains just as dysfunctional as it was when he promised to change it. His government has fundamentally undermined its own signature climate policies through deliberate political concessions like the heating oil carveout and self-inflicted errors like the failure to properly communicate with Canadians. And now, the road — for his party, at least — is running perilously short.
It’s too early, I think, for a completely clear-eyed analysis of what his legacy will be. Brian Mulroney left office as a pariah, sunk even further in the public’s estimation after the details of the Airbus affair came to light, and ended up dying two decades later as one of our most revered statesmen. History takes a long time to render........