The first budget of the still-new Trudeau government, tabled in March 2016, blew the promise of “maximum $10 billion deficits” right out of the water. The deficit for 2016-17 was projected at $29.4 billion, almost triple that promised prior to the election that took place mere months earlier. Deficits in subsequent years were also forecast to considerably exceed the $10 billion threshold. These deficits are nowhere near some of the record deficits Canada has seen in the past, but they were exceptionally large considering that the Canadian economy was growing, albeit at a sluggish pace of just over 1 per cent. With this first budget, the stage was set early on for substantial debt accumulation under the Trudeau regime, and proof positive that the budget really does not balance itself.
Trudeau’s nasty temper flared again in May 2016, with the infamous “Elbowgate” incident in the House of Commons. It’s one thing for someone to throw a temper tantrum in private, but Trudeau had to know all cameras were on him when his hissy fit in the legislature took place, but that apparently was no deterrent. Trudeau’s childish behavior was triggered by the actions of a number of opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) to slow down the final passage of the physician-assisted-dying legislation. Around this same time, the Liberals were attempting to change procedures in the House of Commons to give more power to the government to ram through legislation and limit opposition powers, which had created a toxic atmosphere between the Liberals and opposition parties. Trudeau responded to these delaying tactics by physically pushing himself through a crowd of MPs, reportedly telling them to “Get the F out of my way” and ultimately elbowing NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chest. Of course Trudeau apologized shortly thereafter, but the curtain had been raised on the Prime Minister’s bad temper and lack of self-control in situations where he did not get his way, a trait which would manifest itself on a number of other occasions as time went on.
Liberal government spending continued to set records through 2016 and 2017, and much of that spending was directed internationally in pursuit of a temporary seat on the UN Security Council. It has been documented that the work of about 100 public sector employees has been dedicated exclusively to the pursuit of that UN seat for years. More recently, many commentators have observed that Trudeau’s shameful recent blackface incidents have effectively nullified any chance Canada may have had to claim that UN seat, rendering the many billions of tax dollars Trudeau spent in its pursuit a total waste.
Another key pre-election commitment made by Trudeau – that of changing the electoral system – also started to wobble not long after the Liberals were in power. It was beginning to be clear that Trudeau’s dubious strength was making grandiose, sweeping policy statements while his weakness was that when the real work had to be done, there was no follow through on the original grand pronouncement. Electoral reform was a great example of this. Despite Trudeau’s dramatic claim that the 2015 election would be the last with the existing first-past-the-post system, he quickly lost interest in the issue when it became clear that the work of a Parliamentary Committee showed Canadians did not support his personal favourite ranked ballot electoral option. In classic Trudeau self-congratulatory style, when his desired outcome looked doomed he declared that as the existing system had after all elected his Liberal government, it must be OK after all. Another promise made, promise broken.
The ongoing TMX pipeline saga was also in the headlines off and on in the first year or two of the Trudeau government’s term, and although the Liberals approved the pipeline they also dramatically increased the barriers it had to cross in terms of environmental criteria and approvals from indigenous peoples. At this time, Trudeau was still claiming that economic and environmental goals could go hand in hand, but many in the energy industry continued to see more roadblocks being put in the way of major energy developments than measures to enhance their achievement. This viewpoint was reinforced by Trudeau’s cancellation of the Northern Gateway pipeline project in November 2016. Despite Trudeau’s claims of wanting a pipeline built under his watch, no such project has seen progress to date.
Early 2017 saw the first of Trudeau’s ethics breaches with his post-Christmas trip to the Aga Khan’s private island. The key issue here was that this luxury junket for Trudeau, his family and some Liberal friends took place at a time when funding by Canadian taxpayers for some of the Aga Khan’s projects was being considered. Once the potential improprieties of the trip came to light, the original ruling of the Commissioner of Lobbying of the day was not to investigate it, but ultimately Conflict of Interest Commissioner Mary Dawson found in December 2017 that Trudeau violated ethics rules by accepting the trip. And as Canadians were learning about Mr. “open and transparent” Trudeau, he was actually nothing of the sort as this trip was kept under the radar until an observant reporter found out about it and broke the story. Under toothless Canadian ethics laws, the punishment to Trudeau was negligible in tangible terms but the bloom was definitely coming off the Trudeau rose in the eyes of Canadians. Part III to follow.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
