No one should listen to Newfoundland MP Ken McDonald, who said in an interview with Radio-Canada last month that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should face some sort of leadership review. “Every leader, every party has a best-before date. Our best-before date is here,” he said.
“So you think at least there should be a leadership review in the Liberal Party?” Radio-Canada reporter Laurence Martin asked.
“Yes,” Mr. McDonald responded.
Instead, Canadians should listen to the Ken McDonald of Jan. 25 – one day later – who said that he was not, in fact, calling for a leadership review. “I believe that the Prime Minister is a smart politician, a great campaigner, and I know he still has the best interest of Canadians at heart.” The statement did not mention that Mr. Trudeau is also a soulful artist and strapping gentleman, but I imagine if one were to poll caucus, there would be consensus on that too.
Mr. McDonald’s first sin was answering a question plainly and directly, which is simply not done by members of this government. After more than eight years, Mr. McDonald ought to have known that.
His second sin was giving voice to the views of his constituents, rather than reflecting the interests of the Prime Minister’s Office. Are we new here, Mr. McDonald? You might have gotten away with it once – three times, actually, by twice voting against the carbon tax – but these expressions of unsanctioned, independent thought are quickly becoming a nasty habit. Perhaps you’d like to pick up a more innocuous one, such as chain-smoking or gambling with billions in federal funds during periods of historic interest-rate lows on the assumption it won’t rise anytime soon?
Mr. McDonald may have created some confusion with his remarks, so allow me to set the record straight: Mr. Trudeau is the guy to lead the Liberal Party now and in the future. He is a man of the moment.
At a time when affordability is the top issue of concern for Canadians, Mr. Trudeau knows how to echo their fears and frustrations through, for instance, one of his several explanations of the recent vacation he took at a luxury estate in Jamaica. “Like many Canadian families,” he said, speaking directly to the dozens of Canadian families who know people who own $9,300-per-night villas, “we stayed at a friend’s during the Christmas holiday.” The Liberal Party can count on Mr. Trudeau for future folksy quips, perhaps in explaining his expensive hotel stays (“Like most Canadians, I enjoy the feel of 600-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets after a long day on the road”) or taxpayer-funded meals by celebrity chefs (”Like most Canadians, I also have to eat”).
Mr. Trudeau is also the right leader for the Liberals during this period of particularly volatile global instability, offering a level of moral clarity befitting the leader of a G7 nation. For example, when asked to comment on South Africa’s genocide charge against Israel before the International Court of Justice, his government offered a brave “I dunno,” and said it would wait to see the ruling from the court. When the court ordered provisional measures, Canada responded with a bold “OK.”
“Our support for the ICJ does not mean that we accept the premise of the case brought by South Africa,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said. “It is for the ICJ to make a final decision on the case, which it has not done today. We continue to follow the case very closely.”
Mr. Trudeau said nothing. That, friends, is the type of principled leadership Canadians deserve.
Yes, when presented with some of today’s most fraught and challenging questions, we need a leader who will respond like a toddler who is asked if he needs to go to the bathroom before a long car ride: He will dance uncomfortably in place for a little too long, then pull on his lip and say “Maybe, but I’m not telling.” And it might end with a mess on the seat.
The Liberal Party must be led by an innovator, and Mr. Trudeau’s track record on this front is proven. His government created a novel crisis in immigration despite Canada’s geographic advantage, and induced fresh friction on a file where there once was relative consensus.
The Liberals need a fighter like Mr. Trudeau – someone who would start a battle out of nowhere with two U.S. media giants. Though the government lost to Meta and settled with Google after making a number of concessions, the important thing is that we all had fun.
Most of all, the party needs someone who people genuinely support and admire – of whom Canadians have a net positive impression, according to recent polling.
But since Pierre Poilievre is the leader of the Conservative Party, the Liberals should go with Justin Trudeau.
Robyn Urback