Goodbye, Mr. Trudeau, and adieu to your 'optimistic policies'
Under the chill of a frosty January this year, Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister for nearly a decade, legitimately called it quits - a subtle acknowledgement that his "optimistic vibes," the catchphrase that powered him up to office in 2015, were fading.
These optimistic vibes were repeatedly put to the test, multiple times by Trudeau himself, making his legacy a convoluted one.
Little could he foresee that during his final weeks, it would be US President Donald Trump who would lend a helping hand to polish Trudeau's legacy.
From boldly tweeting, "You can't steal our territory - and you can't steal our sports," after Canada humbled the US in the National Hockey League's Four Nations Face-Off, to pointedly telling the US president that his proposed tariffs were "a colossally dumb idea," Trudeau defended Canada in a manner that even his harshest critics couldn't deny.
In the past week, he articulated the antipathy towards Trump and his policies, standing firm to his progressive ideals by announcing billions of dollars for federally subsidized childcare in one of his final policy announcements.
"As a personal matter, I've prioritized Canadians every single day in this office, ensuring they get the support they need, standing firm in their corner, and that's why I'm here to remind you all that we've got your back, even in the very last days of this government. We will never let Canadians down today or in the future," he asserted, showing an unusual display of emotion, tears visibly welling up in his eyes, and a noticeable lump in his throat.
A final ray of sunlight flickered for Trudeau's optimistic vibes, an ideology that now appears to be too simplistic after the scandals he faced, after Covid, after Trump's re-election.
By sheer chance, it was indeed sunny the day Trudeau took office in November 2015, and it's on that day that he set the bar for himself and his government.
Trudeau, who appointed as many women ministers as men, was asked early in his first term why it was crucial that his cabinet be "gender balanced." With flair, he responded, "Because it's 2015," to joyful laughter and rousing applause.
In the frame to his right, grinning in the sunshine, was Jody Wilson-Raybould, Canada's new justice minister and attorney general.
However, by 2019, she would be demoted and ultimately resigned after accusing Trudeau's staff of inappropriately trying to pressure her to arrange a lenient legal deal for one of Canada's biggest corporations amid a bribery scandal. In a 2019 Ethics Commissioner report, evidence was found that suggested Trudeau's actions breached Canada's Conflict of Interest Act.
Another cabinet member, Jane Philpott, tendered her resignation in protest.
Raybould would later write in her memoir, "This man was no longer the leader I once thought him to be."
This incident represented a turning point for Trudeau's tenure. He had positioned himself as an earnest advocate for progressive and just causes, and Canadians expected his actions to align with his soaring rhetoric.
One instance after another, they didn't.
Beyond the sting of the Raybould scandal, there were more breaches of the high standards he himself had set.
He violated conflict of interest rules by failing to disclose vacation donations from wealthy associates. Photos surfaced showing Trudeau wearing blackface during his days as a student and a teacher—admitting he wasn't entirely sure how many times he had done it. He faced criticism for awarding hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to the WE Charity, linked to his family members, but another Ethics Commissioner inquiry in 2021 found no evidence that he influenced the contracts directly.
Tragically, Trudeau's Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, stepped down, publishing a blistering letter that accused him of mismanaging taxpayer funds on "political showpieces."
With opinion polls indicating that his Liberal Party was likely to face defeat in an upcoming election, Trudeau resigned, shifting his focus to the sense of urgency of the moment as he prepared for a looming tariff war with the Trump administration, all while staving off a possible threat to Canada's existence itself, as the US president suggested Canada should join the US as the 51st state.
"This is a pivotal moment for the nation. Democracy, it's not a given; freedom, it's not a given; Canada, it's not a given. None of these happen inadvertently; none would continue without concerted effort," Trudeau stated during his farewell speech on Sunday.
For Trudeau's 9-year tenure in office, two achievements stand out: his efforts in indigenous reconciliation and his commitment to eradicating child poverty.
With his persistent strategy for indigenous reconciliation, Trudeau resolved land claims, strengthened indigenous autonomy, improved indigenous living conditions, and established a National Day of Reconciliation and Truth to be commemorated each year.
He is also credited with lifting hundreds of thousands of Canadian children from the throes of poverty by means of a child tax benefit paid directly to families, among other family-focused initiatives like subsidized childcare.
In his last social media post as prime minister, it was significant that Trudeau steered clear of his pet phrase of "optimistic vibes."
"I depart as leader of the Liberal Party with the same conviction in hope and hard work that I had when I came in. Hope for this party and for this country, for the Canadians who perennially demonstrate that a better future is achievable."
- Despite the scandals and controversies that marred his tenure, Trudeau's commitment to indigenous reconciliation and eradicating child poverty defiantly emerged as defining aspects of his legacy.
- The Americas witnessed a unique spectacle in Trudeau's sunshine-filled inauguration day in 2015, a day that would set the bar for his government and himself.
- In his final weeks, facing a looming tariff war with the US and the threat of Canada's existence itself at stake, Trudeau defiantly stood up for the world, echoing his earlier defiant stance against the US president's proposed tariffs and asserting, "Canada is not a gimmick."
