EDITORIAL: The ball is in Trudeau’s court to make government work
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been meeting with the leaders of opposition parties as well as the Premiers of various provinces to discuss making our fractured politics work.
It is our hope that Trudeau is feeling humbled and conciliatory, having lost his majority government, and will now learn to play well with others.
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EDITORIAL: The ball is in Trudeau’s court to make government work Back to video
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For too long, the Trudeau government – the PM himself and a number of cabinet ministers – went on needless and petty attacks against people who did not agree with them. They did this on issues ranging from climate change to immigration matters. They seemed happy to let divisions worsen.
This was all a bit too much, if only for the simple reason that they already had a majority. There was no need for this style. They could have taken the high road on many occasions.
It also would have helped generate goodwill across party lines for when they needed it most, such as now.
Now Trudeau is going to need to corral the support of opposition parties to pass legislation. He can do it by forging an ongoing relationship with one particular party or he can cobble together support on a vote-by-vote basis. The latter is how Ontario Premier Bill Davis survived and even thrived throughout his minority government years, as Lorrie Goldstein explained in a recent column.
Canadians quickly became skeptical of Trudeau’s “sunny ways” mantra, an uplifting slogan that was noticeably absent from this last federal election campaign. It was replaced by an almost steady vilification of Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.
Trudeau shouldn’t react to his newfound need to reach across the aisle with increased animosity and partisanship. He should consider genuinely extending a hand to others and see where it leads him.
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We believe that all politicians are in it to make Canadians’ lives better, even if they disagree on how to accomplish that goal. The various parties – as well as the premiers – may be able to find common ground and proceed from there.
Trudeau should be prepared to abandon some of his longstanding pet projects, such as his government’s excessive obsession with all things climate change.
The ball is in his court to making his own government work.
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