Justin Trudeau surprised everyone when he announced a midterm election in mid-August dissolving his minority Liberal Govt in Canada which stands with the support of Jagmeet Singh’s NDP. The logic given by the Prime Minister was that there were crucial decisions to make for the Federal Govt in the wake of recovery from the pandemic and he, therefore, sought a fresh mandate.
When COVID hit Canada, it hit the economy harder. Many jobs were lost due to the strict social distancing norms. Trudeau had then introduced CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit) which gave financial assistance to thousands of Canadians directly affected by job losses. He also increased the child benefits of people.
The vaccination drive which stumbled initially was mitigated by delayed successful delivery. The Liberal Party of Canada had hoped that rising on his populism and handling of the pandemic would help them push towards a majority. They also hoped to bank on catching the Conservatives off guard. After the 2019 debacle, Andrew Scheer had given up the leadership to Erin O’Toole in 2020 who is not as popular and inspiring as his predecessor or opponents. But as it turned out, the results were yet another Liberal minority Govt with almost similar numbers as two years ago.
While Trudeau’s economic efforts to help the common man earned him accolades, the national debt soared to a record high. In fact, the timing of the declaration of election in the midst of a pandemic itself became an issue especially when one of the provinces Alberta is facing the worst of COVID’s fourth wave and hospitals are overwhelmed. The timing of the announcement was also unfortunate as NATO forces, of which Canada is a part, were facing an evacuation in Afghanistan. And while the Taliban was an issue too, the dipping relations with China on the issue of Huawei was also an issue.
The Justin Trudeau record has been more noted for its symbolism rather than its substance. While his videos where he said “need to counter the ‘she-cession’ and turn it to a she-covery” went viral, his feminist image received a serious dent when Wilson-Raybould resigned in the SNC-Lavalin affair. Corruption allegations were also made as his Finance Minister Bill Morneau had to resign due to his involvement in the WE charity controversy.
An important electoral issue was the reconciliation of indigenous people especially in the wake of mass graves discovered in residential schools in British Columbia this year. In many stores and malls, the Canadian flags are still half-mast to mourn the departed children. The unaffordability and the rising inflation, skyrocketing housing prices with the concern of a property bubble have been yet another matter of concern amongst the polling Canadians.
Although the results of postal ballots might take yet another day, the direction of the election results is pretty clear. Justin Trudeau has been awarded a minority Govt while the supporting NDP also grows in size a bit. This indicates that neo-left leader Jagmeet Singh might exert more pressure to increase the taxes on the rich and raise the subsidies and consequently debt which might put a strain on the already struggling economy. His inclinations towards pro – Khalistani elements has always been evident. For India, these elections mean the status quo. But for Canada, the whole election was just a $600million expenditure to get a deja vu of 2019 and the same but new Trudeau 3.0 Government.
