Trudeau starts election season dogged by scandal

Trudeau starts election season dogged by scandal

Toronto: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has fired the starting gun on Canada's federal election, hoping to win a second term in the face of an ethics scandal that has turned what was once expected to be a cakewalk for the telegenic Liberal leader into a tougher-than-expected slog.

Trudeau, 47, asked Governor General Julie Payette, the Queen's representative in Canada, to dissolve Parliament on Wednesday.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau greets the crowd during a campaign stop in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Wednesday.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau greets the crowd during a campaign stop in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Wednesday.Credit:Canadian Press/AP

After sailing through much of Trudeau's first term, the Liberals this year have fallen back into a close race with Andrew Scheer's opposition Conservative Party and face an uphill battle to hold on to their parliamentary majority. In Canada, minority governments rarely last longer than 18 months.

Kicking off a campaign likely to be dominated by concerns over affordability, healthcare, climate change and ethics, Trudeau said his government has "spent the last four years making things better" and has "the record to prove it."


"We've all got a choice to make: keep moving forward and build on the progress we've made or go back to the politics of the Harper years," he said. "Conservatives like to say they're for the people, but then they cut taxes for the wealthy and cut services for everybody else."

Scheer, launching his campaign in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, said the election would come down to which party could be trusted to help Canadian households get ahead.

"The answer is certainly not Justin Trudeau, who will only raise your taxes and take more money from your pockets," he said.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer at his launch rally in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer at his launch rally in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.Credit:Canadian Press/AP

The election is scheduled for October 21. Candidates have spent the northern summer stumping informally, but now will have to follow different rules on spending and advertising.

Trudeau, whose father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was one of Canada's longest-serving prime ministers, overcame charges of inexperience four years ago to orchestrate a come-from-behind victory over Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper and become an international sensation.


He promised "sunny ways", transparency, growth for the middle class, more women in positions of authority and reconciliation with  indigenous groups. His government legalised recreational cannabis and medically assisted dying, imposed a nationwide price on carbon and expanded parental benefits.

Canada's unemployment rate this year reached a 40-year low; gross domestic product growth in the most recent quarter was announced at a better-than-expected 3.7 per cent.

But Trudeau also suffered several wounds - many of them self-inflicted. He was ridiculed for a diplomatically awkward trip to India and was rebuked by Canada's ethics watchdog for a family vacation that broke conflict-of-interest laws. His government has weathered a turbulent relationship with US President Donald Trump and has found itself embroiled in diplomatic disputes with Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and China.

Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie, in India last year.

Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie, in India last year.Credit:AP

In February, allegations surfaced that Trudeau and senior government officials had inappropriately pressured Jody Wilson-Raybould, the country's then attorney-general, to reach an out-of-court settlement with SNC-Lavalin, an engineering firm in Trudeau's home province of Quebec charged with bribery and corruption.

In nationally televised parliamentary hearings, Wilson-Raybould accused government officials of making "veiled threats" and demoting her when she refused to succumb to the pressure.

The allegations set off a political firestorm and triggered several high-profile resignations from government. Having sold Canadians on running a government beyond reproach that would be open to diverse views, Trudeau stood accused of shady backroom dealings and judicial interference, of being a fake feminist, and of bullying Wilson-Raybould, an indigenous woman.

Jody Wilson-Raybould accused government officials of making "veiled threats".

Jody Wilson-Raybould accused government officials of making "veiled threats".Credit:AP

Trudeau has not apologised. He has said he was trying to protect Canadian jobs. A conviction would lead to a decade-long ban on federal contracts for SNC-Lavalin.

Support for the Liberals cratered. The party had only recently begun to recover in the polls when the ethics watchdog ruled last month that Trudeau again broke conflict-of-interest laws in the affair, and used his authority "to circumvent, undermine and ultimately attempt to discredit" Wilson-Raybould.


The Globe and Mail of Toronto reported late on Tuesday that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been looking into potential obstruction of justice in the handling of the SNC-Lavalin file, but its efforts were hindered because the government would not waive cabinet confidentiality for all witnesses.

Asked about the story, Trudeau said his government "gave out the largest and most expansive waiver of cabinet confidence in Canadian history."

It's unusual for the race to be so tight because Canadians have a long history of giving prime ministers who enjoy ruling majorities a second mandate.

"Justin Trudeau is a defined quality now, and his greatest strength is his greatest weakness," said pollster Shachi Kurl, executive director of the Angus Reid Institute. "He's got to change the channel and turn up the volume and talk about the issues, because talking about his brand is a liability."

The Conservatives, led by Scheer, a 40-year-old pro-Brexit former insurance broker, pose the main threat to Trudeau. At a campaign event in Ottawa on Wednesday morning, Scheer raised the SNC-Lavalin scandal and accused Trudeau of being "incapable of being honest with Canadians".

"What today shows is that you just can't trust Justin Trudeau," he said. "He will do anything to cover up his scandals and Canadians just can't believe anything he says."

Scheer, who edged out Conservative rivals to win the party leadership in 2017, remains little known outside politics.

Scheer has cast himself as a moderate. He has pledged to balance the federal budget within five years, scrap Trudeau's federal carbon tax for a cap on carbon for large emitters, and increase federal transfers to the provinces for healthcare and social programs.

Canada's two left-of-Liberal parties, Jagmeet Singh's New Democrats and Elizabeth May's Green Party, trail the Liberals and the Conservatives. But they could play kingmaker if the election produces a minority government, as several polls predict.

Singh said last month that he would not prop up a Conservative government, after the Liberals resurfaced a video from 2005 in which Scheer argued in the House of Commons against the bill that would legalise same-sex marriage. Scheer maintains he won't change the law, but he has not marched in a Pride parade as his political rivals have or indicated whether his views on the issue have changed.

Much will depend on who will win the ethnically diverse middle-class suburban constituencies outside Toronto and Vancouver - critical districts where elections are won and lost.

Trudeau said he is "deeply opposed" to the legislation and is pleased to see it being challenged in court - but it would be "counterproductive" for the federal government to get involved "at this time."

Canada's foreign signals intelligence agency said this year it was "very likely that Canadian voters will encounter some form of foreign cyber interference" ahead of and during the federal election. The Communications Signals Establishment added that it was "improbable" the interference would reach the scale of Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

The government said it was establishing a panel of impartial senior bureaucrats to monitor attempts at interference. The panel may decide whether an incident is serious enough to warrant informing political parties and the public. It will not need the approval of lawmakers before sounding the alarm.

The Washington Post