Canadian political junkies can rejoice, for with the new year comes permission to finally start mainstream discussion about the upcoming federal election, which will likely take place on Oct. 21. This election seems poised to maintain the status quo: the latest Nanos Research poll shows Canadians still prefer the governing Liberals over the Conservatives by a small margin. The New Democratic Party (NDP) has withered, with many believing that the NDP could perform worse than it did under Tom Mulcair in 2015.
However, my thoughts are more focused on what will come after the election. Although the Liberals remain in the lead, they are unlikely to retain their large majority in the House of Commons. Unlike the relatively stable party polls, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s approval ratings have plummeted to just 35 percent, per a December 2018 poll from the Angus Reid Institute.
This is down from 63 per cent in October 2015, when his “sunny ways” message captured the hearts of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. These ratings are lower than those of U.S. President Donald Trump—let that one sink in.
Trudeau’s low ratings are due to many factors, including the Liberal government’s failure to build the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, as of now. This failure has angered supporters of Canadian oil exports, while environmentalists feel betrayed by a government that they believe is trying to have its cake and eat it too.
It’s time for Trudeau to accept the truth: while the Liberal Party overall seems likely to remain in power after the next election, his leadership has forced the party to confront what could have been an easy challenge from the Conservatives, led by Andrew Scheer. Canadians have expressed discontent with the smug attitude of the prime minister, believing him to be all talk and no action. This has arguably helped spur the rise of right-wing provincial governments that vocally challenge Trudeau’s signature policies like the federal carbon tax.
The Liberals could use a facelift, and there is a solution that I believe would halt the impending decline of the Liberal Party. Trudeau should step down after the election, and Chrystia Freeland should run in the ensuing leadership vote—which she would almost certainly win—to be the next prime minister of Canada.
I believe Freeland, currently the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is the perfect choice to replace Trudeau. A highly educated and successful former journalist, she is distanced from the issues that plague other ministers, such as environmental and immigration mismanagement. She was recently ranked the most publicly popular of all 35 cabinet ministers, according to an Angus Reid poll.
Canadians also approve of her performance leading our foreign policy. A recent Maclean’s-Pollar poll showed 54 per cent of Canadians approve of her renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Hamilton Spectator named her Canadian of the Year.
Although some attacked Freeland’s tweet calling for the release of female activists in Saudi Arabia as arguably provoking backlash from the Saudi royals, an August Ipsos poll showed four out of five Canadians supported the move.
In addition, the rise of female politicians in the 2018 U.S. midterm elections has excited Canadians, revealing nationwide support for a woman to finally take back the reins of the Prime Minister’s Office. This has only happened once in Canadian history, with the five-month governance of former prime minister Kim Campbell in 1993.
However unlikely it may sound, given the Rolling Stone article which asked just last year, “Why Can’t He Be Our President?”, I believe Trudeau threatens to cause the Liberals more harm than good in upcoming years, even if they do win the upcoming election. The Liberals’ 2015 campaign slogan is right: It’s time for real change. It’s time for Trudeau to step down and for Freeland to be chosen as our next prime minister.
