Country Focus: Canada
| Date | 01 December 2016 |
| Author | Dion Curry |
| Published date | 01 December 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2041905816680420 |
36 POLITICAL INSIGHT • DECEMBER 2016
The election in October 2015 of
Justin Trudeau as Canada’s 23rd
Prime Minister brought the Liberals
back to power after nearly a decade
of Conservative rule in Ottawa. Trudeau, a
youthful 44-year-old uent in both French
and English, comes from the closest thing
Canada has to a dynasty, as his father, Pierre
Elliott, served as Canada’s Prime Minister for
over 15 years in the 1960s-1980s. He also
represented a charismatic break from the
staid rule of Stephen Harper, Prime Minister
since 2006. Trudeau immediately sought to
bolster Canada’s reputation as an inclusive
and progressive country, building the rst
cabinet in the country’s history to have an
equal number of women. The cabinet was also
one of the most multicultural in a country well
known for its diversity, including members of
the Sikh, aboriginal, Muslim and immigrant
communities, among others. This came in
the wake of a party platform that promised
sweeping political and social reforms. The
mandate promised action on electoral and
senate reform, environmental protection,
legalising marijuana and developing
legislation mandated by a Supreme Court
decision on assisted dying, among others.
Trudeau strove hard to portray himself as
a progressive leader that would make a clear
break from Stephen Harper’s conservative
(with both a large and small C), law and
order government. While he’s managed to
keep his shirt on marginally more often than
Vladimir Putin, and proven more adept at yoga
than Merkel, it is worth assessing whether
substance has backed up Trudeau’s visual style
and promise. Trudeau set himself an ambitious
and wide-reaching plan for reforming
Canadian politics, economy and public policy
in numerous areas. He promised a government
that would bring ‘real change’ to Canada by
being more inclusive and more transparent.
Now, a year into the Liberal administration,
is an apt time to ask what does progressive
mean in a modern Canada? What happens
when Trudeau’s honeymoon ends? What
challenges will be driving Canada forward?
Open and Transparent Government
The new government has made much of its
openness and transparency, and intends to
frame this as a clear break from Harper’s prickly
relationship with the media, scientists, NGOs
and other groups. On being sworn into oce,
Trudeau promised: ‘We will shine more light on
government to ensure it remains focused on
Canada
Country Focus
On his election, in 2015, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
became an international media darling. A year on, Dion Curry
assesses Canada’s political sc ene to see what has changed, and
what has stayed the same.
Political Insight December 2016.indd 36 31/10/2016 14:28
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