EDITORIAL – Trudeau picks the right path towards a change in leadership

 

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

THE DAYS OF  “Sunny Ways” are over. Justin Trudeau used the phrase as he and his cabinet-to-be strolled happily to their swearing-in ceremony 10 years ago.

In Canadian politics, the saying goes back go a speech by Wilfred Laurier in 1895 in which he urged negotiation, diplomacy and compromise rather than forced legislation as a strategy for federal government. But before that, it was first used in an Aesop fable about the sun and the wind and which was more effective at getting things done.

Justin Trudeau was a national and international rock star in early days. Maybe you remember, shortly after his election, when he went into a subway so people could take selfies with him. A man of the people. Rolling Stone magazine wondered why the U.S. couldn’t have a leader like Justin.

Sadly, the sunny ways promised by Trudeau have been anything but, especially in the last couple of years. So, facing rebellion within his own Liberal caucus, he announced today he will resign as leader and, therefore, as prime minister, as soon as the party can find a replacement.

There’s an important nuance about his decision. Staying on as leader and prime minister for the time being will not be popular with opposition politicians and, probably, with a lot of his own party members, not to mention the media.

Leave now, they say. The party must start with a clean slate, they say. Call an election now, they say. But Trudeau’s timeline is the best one for the country. Parliament will prorogue until March 24. That gives his party enough time to pick his successor if it acts promptly. After that, an election can come at any time — and rest assured there will be no shortage of non-confidence votes — an election in which all parties have clear leadership to put before voters.

There is, of course,  a lot of second guessing today about his timing. Many say he should have made his decision sooner, and they’re right. But that decision is today, and Trudeau, having finally made it, has set out an orderly path toward resolving the crisis in his party and presenting Canadians with an opportunity to decide on how much change they really want.

Meanwhile, could we please stop obsessing over Donald Trump and his tariffs and his insults about Canada and what it all means for our country. True, there’s some irony, perhaps, in the fact Trudeau’s resignation announcement comes on the same day as Trump’s election is certified and four years after the attempted insurrection in Washington.

But this is our time to contemplate our future based on what we want, not on anybody else’s opinions on the subject. We shouldn’t ask “how high” every time Trump tells us to jump.

Much will be said in coming days about Justin Trudeau’s legacy. His stumbles will receive much attention; his achievements less so — the strength of his leadership getting us through COVID, of standing up to Trump during free-trade negotiations, the legalization of marijuana, defence of the environment, implementation of new social-support programs.

But sunny ways are, indeed, over, and we’ve got some work to do.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.