91原创s wanted change and they got it. Now it鈥檚 up to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to make sure that change is for the better. The Harper Conservatives tried to capitalize on Trudeau鈥檚 relative youth and lack of experience. 鈥淛ust not ready,鈥� they repeated countless times in their attack-ad campaign.
As the prime minister of a majority government, Justin Trudeau now has the opportunity to prove he is ready. There will likely be a wave of 21st-century Trudeaumania 鈥� after a decade of Harper鈥檚 taciturn ways, 91原创s are ready for someone personable and charismatic.
But it won鈥檛 likely be a long honeymoon. Governing a country requires far more than charisma. Trudeau will need to acknowledge his own limitations and surround himself with able people. Promises are easy on the campaign trail; delivering on those promises is much more difficult.
Stephen Harper was defeated by his own politics of fear. Undoubtedly, there will be howls of outrage in the West from those who see a Liberal government as hostile to all of Canada west of Ontario. But those who see Trudeau as a bogeyman should acknowledge that it鈥檚 one set loose on the landscape by Harper himself, through his arrogance, his hostility to the free flow of information and his willingness to employ xenophobia as an election strategy, among other things.
The massive 鈥渁nyone but the Conservatives鈥� campaign was aimed directly at the leader of the party. The election was as much about rejecting Harper as it was choosing Trudeau.
The party鈥檚 tight control of Conservative candidates bespeaks an undemocratic spirit. The Tories were no-shows at many all-candidates forums, and Harper showed he was most comfortable preaching to the choir 鈥� most of his campaign appearances were invitation-only events. There was no give and take, no opportunity to hear what people had to say, no gauging of the real issues, but only discussion of his chosen issues.
One of those was the niqab. That a few women choose to cover their faces for religious reasons does not affect the lives or well-being of 91原创s. It is not a threat to democracy or security. It was completely cynical of Harper to go so deeply into that gutter.
The results show the NDP鈥檚 breakthrough in Quebec in the 2011 election was a fluke, sparked by Jack Layton鈥檚 immense popularity. The party has fallen from official Opposition status to a distant third place; in effect, consigned to irrelevance.
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair undoubtedly lost votes in Quebec with his opposition to the Conservatives鈥� exploitation of the niqab issue, but he deserves respect for his defence of principled democracy.
Trudeau will need to steer a careful course as he keeps a watchful eye on the economy. A government has limited influence on the world鈥檚 economic tides, but the wrong policies can make troubled times worse.
The prime minister-designate can win a lot of friends by simply undoing many of Harper鈥檚 tangled knots. He can unmuzzle government scientists, bring back the long-form census, repair Canada鈥檚 international reputation and put a more compassionate face on government. He can take away absolute power from the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office and return it to Parliament, where it belongs.
The Liberals have a strong majority in Parliament, but they still won less than than 40 per cent of the popular vote. That means the country is still divided, at least politically.
Trudeau has promised that Canada will be a more inclusive society, and he can deliver on that promise by showing he will be prime minister of the whole country, and not just those regions that voted Liberal, that MPs will put the people before the party.
Let the politicking be over; let the governing begin.
Ready or not, here he comes.
