Joe Oliver: Helpful New Year’s advice Justin Trudeau likely won’t heed
I have to be one of the last people Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would accept year-end advice from, ahead of only his almost-certain successor, Pierre Poilievre. And I’m not really interested in helping the Liberals recover from their death spiral. But in the spirit of “country over party,” here goes.
Prime Minister, let’s agree your first priority is hanging on to power. The latest evidence is your support for a UN vote that, by calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, effectively denied Israel’s right to defend itself — and without mentioning the Hamas atrocities that broke a previous ceasefire. Your second-level priorities relate to transforming Canadian society through identity politics, climate catastrophism, Indigenous reconciliation and multiculturalism.
But Nanos polling finds Canadians’ three top concerns are all pocketbook issues — inflation, jobs/economy and housing — not your priorities. Two other issues top-of-mind to Canadians are immigration, which has clear economic implications, and “Canadian values,” which has to do with who we are as a nation. To have any chance of eking out a minority government you need to address these concerns — and to do so convincingly.
A Leger poll conducted in November found that 78 per cent of Canadians are concerned about how the Middle East conflict is impacting communities here. Since then there have been numerous pro-Palestinian/pro-Hamas demonstrations (some quite disruptive, like the protest in Toronto’s Eaton Centre), attacks on Jews and boycotts and vandalism targeting Jewish businesses and institutions. So concern may now be even greater. Moreover, 51 per cent of Canadians believe the government should “encourage newcomers to Canada to embrace the Canadian values
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