MARIN: Liberal Party in freefall with Trudeau at helm

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers remarks at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Thursday, March 7, 2019. Justin Tang

With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in freefall in the polls, provinces after provinces voting in right wing governments and Canada alienated by world powers, the Liberal Party’s future is not looking rosy.

Add to all of that the departure of former clerk of the privy council Michael Wernick (not a great loss) and Trudeau’s longtime pal principal secretary Gerald Butts (separated at birth), as well as two of his most performing ministers, over LavScam and it’s pretty dark in Liberal corners.

It was a far cry from Trudeaumania2 with international magazine covers, flattering profiles, never-ending selfies, and the various stunts pulled by Trudeau. He has made the Liberals the Trudeau brand. So when, as in now, Trudeau tanks in the polls, the whole Party takes a hit.

Call it the Trudeau religion. And it’s pulling down the Liberals every day. Four year ago, it was magical. Heck, even the budget didn’t need any attention, because it would balance itself according to Trudeau. Now it’s ballooning at $19 billion and counting.

Trudeau, much like former Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne, doles out money like candy at Halloween.


Just like that.

Noah was hosting Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, a charity concert honouring Nelson Mandela a century after he was born. The money would go to Education Cannot Wait, an organization for children affected by conflicts and such.

It may have been for a good cause but the glib fashion in which it was casually tweeted as if we were awash in cash left people with a sour taste in their mouth.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer tweeted in response: “Taxpayers need a defender not somebody who throws their money around to be popular with celebrities.”

Trudeau came across as a little groupie trying to get some attention from a TV star by lobbing around our money.

Worse comes news that Loblaws just received $12 million from Trudeau to install more energy-efficient fridges. Yes, that Loblaws, which admitted to a bread price-fixing scheme. Loblaws is owned by the second-richest family in Canada with its head, Galen Weston, worth $13.55 billion and made $800 million dollars in profit last year. It doesn’t sound like it needed a government handout.

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer for Liberals who are stuck with Trudeau running in an election in 6 months. Trudeau showed his true self throughout LavScam. Unrepentant, stubborn and incapable of accepting any responsibility. All Trudeau had to say when news was out that former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould was unduly pressured by him and his gang of enforcers at the PMO and PCO is sorry. We were wrong. We’ll learn from our mistakes and not do it again.

Instead, Trudeau vacillated from declaring the news false to saying it was all about protecting jobs.

How do the Liberals turn around their fortunes? The only way would be to get rid of Trudeau and replace him with someone more serious and qualified to do the job. Unfortunately, there’s no one waiting in the wings.

The Liberals drank Trudeau’s Kool-Aid when they chose him as leader in 2013. The chicken, or turkeys, as this is Easter, have come home to roost.

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