On October 21, 2019, Canadians decided to elect a minority
Liberal government, despite the failures of four years under a Trudeau
leadership. The Liberal Party got fewer votes and seats than when they started
the campaign. They have but one seat in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and yet in
his first speech Trudeau said that he had a mandate. It is time to evaluate
where the country goes from here.
For the past four years the country has been mired in a
political division created by a vacuous and arrogant Prime Minister. He chose
to lecture us about his ideology and went around the world dressed as a peacock
to garner votes for a seat at the United Nations. All the while he ignored some
basic principles of government, working for the good of the country. His
policies based on a desire to placate environmentalist helped to destroy the
main industry of two provinces –Alberta and Saskatchewan. Pandering to a
constituency, too often misinformed and misguided, Trudeau proceeded in
imposing a carbon tax that was unpopular, and costs jobs while doing everything
possible to prevent the construction of a pipeline that would see the export of
oil to Asia. The climate change policies of the government created massive
unemployment in Alberta and alienated a whole population that was already aggrieved
by his father’s policy of the National Energy Program. He succeeded to
nationalize the Trans Mountain pipeline by purchasing it, and thus gaining full
control.
The whole electoral campaign was a dud. All parties had no
real policies but produced some of the worst rhetoric based around the
so-called climate change. Economic and social policies were all based on a
desire to limit Green House Gases. In fact the politicians may have produced
more hot air than anything else. The Conservatives who had the wind behind
their backs never got the electorate enthused about their platform. Andrew
Scheer never used an attack strategy but in fact found himself defending some
of his positions on social issues and his citizenship. He never defended his
religious beliefs and values. When challenged; he never asked Canadians when
and how attending a pride parade became a prerequisite to be a Prime Minister?
The combined left made up of the Liberals, Greens, the Bloc
and NDP, campaign around the environmental issues, mainly the opposition to
fossil fuel and in fact against the West, excluding British Columbia. Based on
the campaign it is no surprise that the results were what they are. – a
minority Liberal government. Despite claims that the first past the post system
is to blame, the fact remains that the Liberals won because of the votes in
Ontario, and the rise of the Bloc in Quebec.
It seems that Ontarians are shallow in their voting choices, albeit
perhaps that they are misinformed or totally oblivious about economic
principles, and the fact that Trudeau was found guilty of ethics breaches, and
obstruction of justice. Quebec voters, on the other hand, are in my view the
savviest electorate in the country. Quebec does not vote for the country they
vote for what is best for them, and them alone. They benefit from and
equalization system which is outdated and claim that they should receive more
or they will separate from Canada. This separation sword of Damocles is now
being touted to be the strategy that should be employed by the Western
provinces; Wexit is in the making.
Personally, I am not a separatist, because it does not make
sense. The population of Canada is too small and a western nation will not have
the economic base to sustain prosperity. We are a land locked region, and will
require access for our trade. But given the first statement made by Trudeau I
can see western alienation growing. His idea that he is going to reach to
Mayors to represent him in the west is a preposterous and arrogant one. He must
have forgotten that municipalities are the responsibility of provinces. To name
Mayor Nenshi of Calgary as one of his possible helpers ignores the fact that
the Mayor has become one of the most unpopular politicians in Calgary. While
they share the same characteristics of arrogance and entitlement, in my opinion
if Trudeau wants to offer an olive branch, he may have just made another
mistake. For Nenshi, who has been searching for an exit to higher status, this
may be what he is looking for, and to Calgarians it will be a fortuitous
deliverance.
The country is about to see a move to the left never seen
before, even under Pierre Trudeau. Conservatives need a leader that can
articulate the needs of a Nation not that of provinces. Climate change is a
reality, but it should not be used for wealth redistribution. If we want to
reduce GHG by means of a carbon tax, the policy must be based on a change in
behavior and the use of revenues not to penalize but to incentivize people
towards a greener future.
Conservatives as the official opposition, must be very
vigilant about coalitions between the NDP, Greens and Bloc. Just like eight
years of Obama left the country deeply divided. Trudeau has done the same in
four years. His rhetoric continues despite his loss. His arrogance will
determine his policies; therefore the opposition must focus on attack instead
of defense. The next election may not be too far. To be effective the CPC must
go back to small ‘c’ conservative principles. That is the only winning
strategy.
No comments:
Post a Comment