The end of an era has come. Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s new Prime Minister, with an “official” vote to come this year. Trudeau had 9 years at the helm of Canada. Now his time has come, and he has stepped down. He could read the writing on the wall and knew it needed to be done.
His rule was not completely without difficulties. His Justice Minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould accused his staff of trying to pressure her into a sweetheart legal deal for one of Canada’s largest companies amid a bribery scandal. Sir, that is not a good look for you. A 2019 report found that Justin has breached Canada’s Conflict of Interest Act. Ouch.
That incident proved an inflection point for Trudeau’s tenure. He had portrayed himself as a champion of progressive and just causes. Too many times he was not. He could not live up to what Canadians expected of him. He violated conflict of interest rules multiple times. He faced criticism for awarding hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts to the charity linked to members of his family. Another Ethics report did not find any evidence that he had done anything.
Then late in 2024 the problems came back again. His Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned, publishing a scathing letter that accused him of wasting taxpayer money on “political gimmicks.”
When polls showed his Liberal Party would likely face defeat in the upcoming election, he reluctantly resigned as the best choice all around. But he turned to the urgencies of the moment: tariff wars with the US and President Donald Trump’s threats to try and make Canada the 51st state, and insulting Trudeau multiple times by calling him ”Governor”.
He fought back. Canadians did too. The majority of them want nothing to do with the US. They are cancelling trips left and right. And with the trade war, they are boycotting American products. Trudeau and a number of the premiers are pushing back hard against Agent Orange’s tariffs. I’m wondering if Canada was expected to roll over and show their bellies. Must have been quite the surprise to hear “Hell, NO.” I hope it was, at least. If the Mango Mandarin pushed on tariffs, they pushed back twice as hard. That was and is a glorious thing!
Justin did leave office with two definite wins. His efforts on indigenous reconciliation, and his commitment to end child poverty will shine as his reign has come to an end. That’s some damn good accomplishments!
Aloha, Justin. I think your scandals were outweighed by your accomplishments. You’re only human, after all. I hope you have a good rest of your life.
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He came into office as a question mark. Many thought he was over his head, but he grew into the job and ended up a statesman. Like most countries, Canada was caught flat-footed by Covid, but he deftly stick-handled the country through the crisis and saved many lives and jobs. Above all he was a warm and likeable guy who cared about people and put his country before his ambitions. His dad is probably looking down from above and smiling. Well done, Justin!