Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Justin Trudeau Sees 2019 Election As Choice Between Positive Liberals, Divisive Tories

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 19 Dec, 2018 07:53 PM

    OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau says he's confident he'll win re-election next fall by sticking to a positive, thoughtful approach to difficult issues, in contrast to the Conservatives whom he accuses of resorting to bumper sticker slogans that prey on voters' fears and prejudices.


    Although recent provincial elections suggest Canada is not immune to the anti-immigrant sentiment or nationalist populist sloganeering that has swept through the U.S. and other countries around the globe, the prime minister argues that Canadians are getting wise to political leaders who promise easy, simplistic solutions to complex issues.


    "I think one of the big distinctions that we see around the world right now is folks who want to exacerbate, amplify and exaggerate those fears for short-term political gain versus those who are trying to thoughtfully allay those fears," Trudeau said in a year-end roundtable with the Ottawa bureau of The Canadian Press.


    "Obviously, it's easier to spook someone than it is to explain a complex answer," he said. "But I fundamentally believe in trusting citizens' capacity to be thoughtful about where we're going ... and that is what I am going to be putting forward as a vision for our politics, for our country and, by extension, I think for the whole world."


    In that sense, Trudeau is drawing much the same battle lines that propelled the Liberals to a come-from-behind victory in 2015.


    In that campaign, he points out that Stephen Harper's Conservatives adopted a strategy with "Islamaphobic undertones," including vowing to ban Muslim women from wearing the face-covering niqab during citizenship ceremonies and proposing creation of a "snitch line" to tip police to culturally barbaric practices.


    By contrast, he said Liberals won by campaigning "on a thoughtful approach that was in total contrast with the versions of populism that were already beginning to creep into global discourse at that point."


    Since then, Trudeau acknowledged populism has swept through some European countries and the United States, with the election of President Donald Trump, and right-wing, nationalist forces have become more effective at disseminating messages designed to inflame anxieties and tensions through social media.


    Here in Canada, Quebecers elected Francois Legault's Coalition Avenir Quebec on a platform of reducing immigration and banning certain public servants, including teachers, police and judges, from wearing religious symbols.


    While those ideas might be "popular at first blush in a populist speech," Trudeau predicted that Quebecers will change their minds once they "actually dig into the real world consequences of allowing and encouraging discrimination based on someone's religion within a free society."


    He argued that Canadian have become "more aware of the dangers of populism, the consequences of populism."


    As proof, Trudeau pointed to the growing disenchantment of Ontarians with Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford, whose popularity has plunged in just six short months as his fledgling government reels from one controversy to another.


    Ford "did certainly promise easy answers to complex questions and seems to be having a certain amount of difficulty in actually moving forward in a way that is actually saving people money," said Trudeau.


    The same criticism, he argued, can be levelled at Andrew Scheer's federal Conservatives, whom he described as exploiting "wedge issues" — such as spreading deliberate "disingenuous misinformation" about the recent United Nations compact on migration — while "doubling down" on the same policies advanced by Harper on everything from the economy, to international affairs to Indigenous reconciliation.


    He dismissed suggestions that he's indulging in fear tactics or smears of his own when he equates Scheer with Harper.


    "We had this discussion quite a bit during the 2015 election where my emphasis on sunny ways had people going, 'Aha!' any time I'd say something critical of Stephen Harper," he said.


    "I'm always going to be very, very sharp any time there are clear distinctions in policy, in approach, in the way someone indicates their tendency to perhaps divide Canadians or exploit faultlines rather than pulling together.


    "I will make no apologies for being very passionate, sometimes overly enthusiastic, in the way I engage in a robust debate. But I am, as much as possible, going to keep it on a substantive level."


    He argued that it's perfectly fair and factual, for instance, to point out that Scheer has no plan to tackle climate change, other than opposing the Liberals' carbon tax, which goes into effect next year.


    "There's lots of important debates to be had on ... how the best way to fight climate change is. But they still seem stuck on whether to fight climate change and I don't think Canadians are there, but certainly that's where Harper was and that seems to be where they still are."

     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Transit Wristbands Sell Out In Vancouver, Posted For Hefty Markups Online

    VANCOUVER — New wristbands that allow riders to pay for public transit are proving to be hot commodities in Vancouver.

    Transit Wristbands Sell Out In Vancouver, Posted For Hefty Markups Online

    Metro Vancouver Home Sales And Prices Down To More 'Historical' Levels: Board

    Metro Vancouver Home Sales And Prices Down To More 'Historical' Levels: Board
    VANCOUVER — Both sales and prices for Metro Vancouver homes have dropped in what the head of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says is a return to historical demand levels.

    Metro Vancouver Home Sales And Prices Down To More 'Historical' Levels: Board

    Police Release Sketch Of Suspect In Sexual Assault Of 14-Year-Old

    Vancouver Police today released a composite sketch of a suspect in a sexual assault investigation and are asking anyone who may recognize the suspect to call police.

    Police Release Sketch Of Suspect In Sexual Assault Of 14-Year-Old

    Second-Degree Murder Charge Laid Against 23-Year-Old Surrey Man In Death Of Vancouver Senior

    Second-Degree Murder Charge Laid Against 23-Year-Old Surrey Man In Death Of Vancouver Senior
    A 23-year-old man has been charged in the murder of an elderly woman who was found dead in her East Vancouver apartment last month.

    Second-Degree Murder Charge Laid Against 23-Year-Old Surrey Man In Death Of Vancouver Senior

    Jagmeet Singh Tries To Rally His Troops As NDP Struggles To Gain Traction

    Singh spoke to NDP staffers who gathered in Ottawa from across the country for the federal party's annual staff forum.

    Jagmeet Singh Tries To Rally His Troops As NDP Struggles To Gain Traction

    Mother Weeps For Her Son: Trial Hears How Calgary Stampeder Mylan Hicks Died

    Mother Weeps For Her Son: Trial Hears How Calgary Stampeder Mylan Hicks Died
    CALGARY — A mother's anguish was evident at the opening of a second-degree murder trial for the man accused of killing a Calgary Stampeders player.

    Mother Weeps For Her Son: Trial Hears How Calgary Stampeder Mylan Hicks Died