The Liberal Party and The Fall of the Trudeau Legacy
The Leader...
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, widely regarded as Canada’s most influential and significant Prime Ministers, left behind a lasting legacy of improved public infrastructure and progressive social policies. His role in the patriation of the Canadian Constitution and the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 will be upholding Canadians for many generations to come. He was a leading figure for Canadians during his term as Prime Minister for multiculturalism, economic policies, foreign policies, and national unity. Throughout his term he addressed issues related to Québec nationalism and separatism, including the negotiation of the Victoria Charter and the Referendum Act. However, the perception of the name Trudeau and the Canadian Liberal Party being a symbol of progression, unity, and support in the 1980s, has vastly shifted to one of a symbol of separation, outcry, and dishonour in 2023.
The Prodigal Son
Justin Trudeau, the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada, was considered to be the embodiment of the political legacy of his father when he ran for office in 2015. His campaign slogan, “Real Change,” instilled hope among many Canadians for the restoration of liberal and socialistic regulations after nine years of Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. He made several promises such as bringing a new style of government, deficit spending, middle-class tax cuts, climate change reforms, infrastructure investment, healthcare equity, and one of his leading promises of legalizing cannabis. He also promised First Nations better access to healthcare and education, strengthening the relationship between the Canadian government and Canadian First Nations. Over the course of the final three weeks of the campaign, there was a notable 50% increase in the proportion of Canadians who perceived him as a strong leader.
From 2011 to 2015, there was a 441% change in the Liberal Party’s seats resulting in a landslide victory for Trudeau’s Liberal Party. Canadians were not only looking forward to the prospect of change but excited to see the promised growth in Canada under the Trudeau name. Since his first day in office, he has made many beneficial changes, such as the legalization of cannabis which reduced the influence of organized crime by 85%, gender equality, support for LGBTQ+ rights, and increased immigration levels to bring in skilled workers to help grow Canada’s economy. His changes symbolized Canada as a global haven for democracy and equality.
Broken Hearts and Wallets
Unfortunately, the symbolism did not last too long. Trudeau’s Canada is currently facing a cost of living, housing affordability and accessibility, healthcare accessibility, and a refugee displacement emergency. Once a haven for immigrants and individuals who want to pursue the Canadian dream of obtaining success and prosperity through hard work is now becoming an unreachable target. Canada is now seeing one of the highest amounts of immigrants leaving its borders in modern history due to high taxation, high cost of living, and the lack of proper healthcare accessibility. During his tenure, he went from a 65% approval rate in September 2016 to a 33% approval rate in September 2023.
A promise of providing Canada as a refuge for immigrants and refugees in 2015 has led to an overwhelming number of immigrants and refugees crunching the Canadian housing market which has now made Canada one of the worst countries to be able to afford a home among the G7 countries. The situation has gotten uncontrollable to the point where Ukrainian refugees who were accepted to stay in Canada, are now leaving for Ukraine, a country still at war, as they cannot afford to live in Canada anymore.
Amongst housing and cost-of-living problems, a promise of providing healthcare accessibility in 2015 has now led to approximately six and a half million Canadians, without a family doctor to provide care for them. This situation is assumed to get worse as Canada accepts 485,000 immigrants in 2024 and 500,000 immigrants in 2025.
Figure 1: Yearly Statistic of Canadians Without a Family Doctor (StatCan, Global News, CTV News, & The Globe and Mail)
As Canada already struggles with the lack of family doctors, there has been a sharp decrease in the number of residency spots being filled for family medicine by new medical school graduates, as seen in Figure 2. Along with a lack of interest, many family doctors are closing their clinics or reducing their hours substantially to prevent burnout. With the increasing number of immigrants, the lack of interest in family medicine by medical school graduates, and family doctors closing their clinics, it can be assumed the number of Canadians without family doctors will increase substantially for years to come until changes are made. These changes can be reducing immigration, increasing incentives for current family doctors to keep their clinics open & medical school graduates to enter family medicine residency, or creating more programs where undergraduate pre-medical students can apply for family medicine MD programs at Canadian medical schools, like the Queen’s University-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine program.
As Trudeau promised immigration, the mass immigration that Canada has undergone in the past two years and will undergo for the next two years will overwhelm all social and public services to the breaking point of collapse, until changes are made.
The Name Does Not Mean Tradition
Canadians have now started to realize that the Liberal Party and its leader, Justin Trudeau, have not only broken their promises made in 2015 but have made it harder for Canadians to survive in Canada today. A political party and historical political surname that once stood for equity for everyone and support for the middleman have created a new normal which goes against everything that Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal Party stood for in the 1980s.
From numerous scandals committed by Justin Trudeau such as blackface, WE Charity controversy, SNC Lavalin election donation, etc. to failure of addressing serious human rights concerns beyond Canada’s borders such as abuses by Canadian mining companies overseas, the Liberal Party of Canada and Justin Trudeau have hurt the image and broke the meaning of what the political party and the name stood for.
What Does the Future Hold?
With the lack of direction, what does this mean for the next two years till the next election for the Liberal Party and Justin Trudeau? Is all hope lost for them? Not exactly. As Canada and the whole world still recover from the financial and healthcare collapse from the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Trudeau still has time to win over the hearts of Canadians. He can go back to the promises he made in 2015 and try to fulfill them to give back to Canadians the Canadian dream he pitched. But if he fails, the Conservative Party will be ready to take over his throne in 2025.