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In his year-end interview with CBC's Power & Politics, prime minister Justin Trudeau was asked about whether or not there is a national unity crisis in the country, and whether the dire bleatings of Andrew Scheer, Jason Kenney, Doug Ford, and others, that the country had never been "more divided," was something that concerned him.  Trudeau, it seems, is not playing that game and quite rightly.

"Canada is a country of regions, of diversity there's always different regional dynamics going on," Trudeau said.  "We need to take very seriously the very real anxiety and frustration that people in Alberta and Saskatchewan are facing.  But I also know that they remain Canadians that want to be contributing to the country, that want to be building a better future for their kids, and we need to do a better job of showing them that the future doesn't just include them, but it needs them."

He went on to say that he doesn't share the assessment that national unity has never been more divided.  "There is a level of rhetoric that is maybe not as reassuring as it could be.  There are very real frustrations there is very real anger that needs to be dealt with in Alberta and Saskatchewan."

Ah, yes, the anger.  Stoked by Kenney and to a lesser extent his mini-me, Scott Moe it is the great distraction.  Designed to shift attention away from the decades of mismanagement in the province, and more importantly, the cuts that Kenney is making right now, it is both a sword and shield.  So long as Kenney tries to insist that the problems with the province's oil and gas industry are the fault of someone else first Rachel Notley, then Justin Trudeau it keeps the focus away from the hard truths that Albertans don't want to face.

And the so-called separatist threat, dubbed "Wexit" by people who aren't clever but like to think they are?  Considering that it's a collection of loudmouths and swivel-eyed loons, with one of their more prominent ringleaders being a conspiracy theorist, it's just as well that Trudeau doesn't give them the attention that they crave.  (Would that the media do the same).  By minimizing them, by not giving them legitimacy, Trudeau is doing far more to take the wind out of their sails than Kenney is.  They are the bigger threat to Kenney than Trudeau stoking an anxious population to anger and making lunacy sound credible, all in the hopes of using them as leverage against the prime minister, runs the very real risk of blowing up in Kenney's face.  He may think he's clever enough to outrun the fires he's setting, hoping to swoop in and put them out so that he can claim the status of hero and champion of national unity, but given the current mood for authoritarian populism in the western world, this could metastasize under Kenney's nose and become a legitimate, credible problem, if he doesn't stop the course that he's on.

As for Trudeau, he has been navigating these waters more skilfully than one may have initially thought probable.  For starters, he's been calling Kenney and Moe's bluffs on their demands for equalization reform.  When Moe came to visit Trudeau and put on a big song and dance about it, Trudeau's response was that Moe is currently the chairman of the Council of the Federation, and if he thinks he can get the unanimous support of the other provinces to come up with a different, better formula, he'd take a look at it then.  Moe, knowing that this was never, ever going to happen, has suddenly grown quiet about the demands for equalization reform, as has Kenney.  Instead, they have shifted their demands toward the Fiscal Stabilization Program, which is fully in the federal government's hands, and since other provinces don't have to worry about losing any equalization, have signed onto their support for the move.

The appointment of Chrystia Freeland as not only intergovernmental affairs minister, but also deputy prime minister with actual heft to the portfolio rather than just a symbolic title also shows that he is use his bench strength to its greatest effect.  Where Trudeau once felt that he was his own best asset particularly in dealing with the provinces he now has the someone who stared down the Trump White House and came away victorious to deal with the premiers who are hoping to capitalize on the election results and the media narratives circulating around it.  He knows that Freeland won't be pushed around, and the premiers know that too, and they have started striking a very different tone with her, because they know their bellicose noises won't work with her in the picture.  It changes the game, and there has been a marked reduction in the rhetoric since.

There are still trip-wires around Trudeau on the unity file.  So long as Kenney, Moe, and their federal counterparts continue to lie about the former Bills C-48 and C-69, and reiterating the false narratives around them, there will be problems (though again, Kenney in particular has toned down the hostility around laws because he knows that his bluff is being called on them).  There will be challenges in the coming months as some of the usual mouthpieces are starting to agitate over the approval of the Teck Frontier mine never mind that it's yet another project with dubious economics, they are keen to make a symbol of it.  The caterwauling about the federal carbon price is already starting to fall apart as more provinces are backing down, both in the face of the election results and as courts increasingly rule against them.  Suddenly all of those apocalyptic divisions seem a lot less world-ending, and the language being used around them is looking a lot more transparently opportunistic.  The country won't fall apart if we don't give into Kenney and Moe's demands, and in the process, we may soon find that the support that Kenney and Moe have been counting on isn't really there.

Photo Credit: CBC News

The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.


As 2019 comes to a close, let's take stock of the winners and losers of the year that was:

Ontario Minister Lisa Macleod: loser 

Not for a long time in Ontario politics has so much terribleness been the direct result of such a contemptible individual.  Lisa Macleod made mums of kids with autism cry and she joked about it.  For that alone, she deserves our contempt.  The former Minister of Social Services blew up the Ontario Autism Program and threatened service providers with "four long years" if they did not praise her.  After being demoted to Tourism, Culture and Sport, she infamously said she'd been moved from "the ministry of tears to the ministry of cheers".  Oh, and she cussed out an NHL owner at a Stones concert in cottage country, because of course she did.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson: winner 

A simple message, memorable messaging on social media and an ability to charm and disarm — disagree with his politics, which I vehemently do, but one still must agree that Mr Johnson won in style this year.

Ontario Liberal leadership candidates: winners 

The battered and bankrupt third place party has signs of life in the polls and in its leadership race.  Frontrunner Steven Del Duca has shown incredible personal resilience and leads the back through dogged organising and hard work.  I may be helping run a rival campaign, but you have to admire Del Duca's work ethic.  My guy, Michael Coteau, has made this a real race, and has put some key issues on the table: fare-free transit, votes at 16, Charter Cities, and he's spoken bluntly about the need to change the culture of the Ontario Liberal Party.  The other four candidates have likewise shared headline-grabbing policy proposals, from a basic income to ending Catholic schools.

Ontario Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath: loser 

If the Ontario Liberal leadership candidates have made headlines, the NDP leader is a loser by default.  Darkhorse Alvin Tedjo has made more news running for the Ontario Liberal leadership than has Horwath.  She has made no meaningful effort to seize her platform as Opposition leader, simply assuming reading out questions at Doug Ford would matter.  The NDP are going nowhere in a hurry, as reflected in their third-place fundraising and position in the polls — and its their middling leader's fault.

Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland: winner

She's prime minister to the prime minister.  Nice work if you can get it.

Canadian Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer: loser

This guy lost, didn't get the message, and so was forced to lose all over again.  That takes some doing.

Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips: winner

Brought in to calm the waters after a cut-laden budget, Phillips has turned down the temperature at Queen's Park with a more restrained, business-like approach.  Many individuals have tried to right the Doug Ford ship this year, but Phillips is the highest profile and the one who most directly has set the tone at the top.  For that, I give him the credit for making the provincial government less bad — perhaps the difference between chaotic evil and lawful evil, if I'm being cynical.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney: winner 

Like Boris Johnson, I'll damn his policies, but praise his win.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: winning loser?

Trudeau won, but he got his wings clipped.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford: losing winner? 

Like Trudeau, it was the best of times and the worst of times for Douglas Ford Jr.  Sure, he's in the big chair at Queen's Park, but there's open talk that his cabinet essentially mutinied, he was forced to jettison his chief of staff and buddy, and to go into the witness-protection program for the entire election campaign.  Still, he gets to govern, and seems now to be enjoying it more.  And he's remarkably disciplined — when he wants to be.  Seems to me like he had to lose in order to win.

Maxime Bernier: loser

Honestly, I just wanted to write "Maxime Bernier: loser" in the header above.

Ontario teachers' unions: winners

 The teachers' unions are playing rookie Education Minister Stephen Lecce like a fiddle, escalating to weekly day-long strikes to keep the pressure on, but avoiding a full-out confrontation.  It's a smart play and they've managed to keep the focus on government education funding cuts, rather than the Minister's preferred talking point of compensation.

It's been a strange year in Canadian politics.  Although not an exhaustive list, we've seen some clear winners and some clear losers, and some (like our PM) who landed somewhere in between.

Photo Credit: Ottawa Citizen

The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.