As the year draws to a close, I figured that instead of a greatest hits column, or some grand pronouncement about the past year, I would instead look at some of the political lessons that we learned. Well, some of us have learned these lessons, and others have steadfastly refused to learn them, which is one reason why we’re in the state that we’re in, and it’s not looking pretty.
1- You can’t outrun your best before date
Prime minister Justin Trudeau has been trying to do this all year, and despite his best efforts, ignoring the problem has not made it go away. Even when the signs were there over a year ago that it was time to pack it in and let someone else lead them in the next election, Trudeau refused. With a saviour complex and surrounded by a small cadre who insist that he’s the only one who can defeat Pierre Poilievre, the polls kept slipping. The by-election losses and the resulting caucus unrest should have been even more conclusive signs that he needed to rethink some life choices, but he refused. In spite of saying he likes data, those members of his caucus showed him the polls, one after the other, and told him what they’re hearing on their doorsteps, but he still refused.
And then, Trudeau made a big mistake. In trying to sideline Chrystia Freeland, he showed that loyalty will win you no favours with him, and that his political judgment is impaired. Some people have suggested that we need term limits for first ministers to prevent this, but really, the natural “best before” date wouldn’t really require some kind of legislated term limit. It does require that said first ministers pay attention to their surroundings, and know when it’s time to go, and for caucus members to be more assertive in letting the leader know when it’s time, but I’m reluctant to impose new rules that aren’t really necessary.
2- Jagmeet Singh cannot be trusted to operate in good faith
Singh made a big song and dance at the end of summer about how he was “tearing up” the Supply and Confidence agreement with the Liberals, in spite of the Liberals living up to the agreement and acting in good faith, and bringing the NDP leads on files into the tent so that they could see how the machinery of government operates (because they don’t have a clue). Singh even admitted that the Liberals were operating in good faith in the agreement, and tacitly admitted that in tearing it up, he was the one acting in bad faith. In the months since, he has waffled on important policy issues like carbon pricing, or what it would take to bring the government down, and he continues to blame the federal government for things the provinces aren’t doing. His MPs sometimes demanding that the prime minister somehow “force” premiers to behave in certain ways, as if the division of powers didn’t exist in the constitution. So long as Singh remains in charge, the NDP have shown that they cannot be trusted.
3- Pierre Poilievre will lie to you about absolutely everything
This one goes pretty much without saying, and yet, we have a whole lot of credulous media outlets (and Elder Pundits) who keep trying to find excuses to take Poilievre at his word, even though he is proven consistently wrong about absolutely everything. He has tried “debt bomb” hysteria, lies about what is happening in correctional facilities, the state of violent crime in the country, what actually happened with BC’s drug decriminalization experiment, and the so-called “woke identity politics” that he claims broke the country. He continues to make false promises that don’t add up, whether on housing affordability, or his planned “crackdown on crime.” Every single thing he says is false, misleading, and it’s with intent, not ignorance.
Why? Because lies are an easy way to play on people’s emotions in a way that lets you lead them to your opinions. And what emotions are easiest to tap? Rage and resentment, and we’ve seen this play out in spades in the most recent US election, and Poilievre has been sowing those seeds dutifully here for the past couple of years. This also lends itself to authoritarian tactics, the notion that everything is so broken that it needs to be destroyed and rebuilt, and that only one person—in this case, Poilievre—can fix it, which is yet another lie, but who’s counting at this point?
4- Nobody wants to admit that decades of bad policy got us to this point
There has been a whole lot of complaining about how “broken” everything is, and how the so-called “Canadian Dream” is on life support, and everyone seems to want to blame the current federal government. The reality, however, is that there are a whole lot of structural programs that go back decades, from the systemic underfunding of healthcare and the justice system by provinces, to the NIMBY policies that refused to allow densification or just more houses to be built because it would mean that the value of someone’s home might not appreciate at a skyrocketing rate. Nobody wants to talk about how the Boomers pulled the ladder up behind themselves, and that they don’t care about the generational unfairness left behind in their wake, but will simply tell the next generation that they just need to work harder and not eat so much avocado toast. Actually acknowledging this reality might mean that we can work on policy solutions, but a lot of people don’t want to learn that lesson.
Hopefully these political lessons will help us move into a more productive 2025, which is going to be a gruelling year with the incoming Trump administration and the chaos it brings with it, as well as the federal election which will happen at some point, but who can say when? Regardless, heeding these lessons can help to avoid more headaches for all involved, if the players involved actually bother to take them to heart.
