Sunday 14 April 2013

new leader

After almost two years of searching the Liberal Party of Canada has a new leader in the person of Justin Trudeau, 41 year old son of our former and long serving Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1919 to 2000.  I remember when his father was swept to power in April 1968 and how Trudeaumania gripped the country, Pierre E. Trudeau was in power from 1968 to 1984. I remember when he married Margaret Sinclair a women much younger than him and when Justin was born on Christmas day. He had two younger brothers Alexandre known as Sacha who is a film maker and Michel who died tragically in an avalanche in 1998, his body was never found.

Today Justin became the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, he was elected with 80% of the vote taken from all 308 ridings across the country, some 104,000 people voted, the most ever in any political party leadership race in the history of Canada. There were 6 other candidates for the leadership but they failed to gather votes. Justin is popular because so many people remember his father and the vision he had for Canada. However Justin is quite young and so far has not said what his program will be, though he made it clear in his acceptance speech today in Ottawa that he would lead the people but not rule the masses, which is very different from the style of our current Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Who talks down and largely ignores Parliament, taking the attitude that you are either for him or against him.  

Currently Justin is also the only Canadian politician who garners the most donations and this is a serious worry for Mr. Harper. Tomorrow will be his first day in the House of Commons as the Leader of the Liberals and everyone will watch to see during Question Period or QP has it is called how his first question to the Prime Minister will go down. It was noted today that within 3 minutes of Trudeau being named as the new Liberal Leader, the Office of the Prime Minister launch their first negative statement. Again this is the style of Harper, negative and partisan to the extreme, the PM could have been more gracious, after all Canadian Federal general elections is not for another 18 months at least.
The Liberal Party was in power in Canada for 69 years during the last 146 years of Confederation. Will Justin be able to bring them back to power, that remains to be seen. Harper has made it clear that he has a profound dislike for the legacy and the ideas of Pierre E. Trudeau, he will have to be careful not to malign the dead through his son, that would not be acceptable to Canadians.

4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I think a lot of people and the media were convinced of this victory. Am not really surprised at the outcome.

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  2. I think Justin Trudeau is the best shot the Liberals have at regaining power. He draws a crowd and media attention like no one else. And now, apparently, donations too. It's true he's not the intellectual equal of his father, but who is??? I think Canadians will be turned off by Harper's attack ads. Justin won't be as easy to destroy as Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff, I'm convinced of it.

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