Commentary, Photography

Goodbye, Mr Trudeau

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Yesterday marked Justin Trudeau’s last day as Prime Minister of Canada.

I wasn’t always onboard with him and during the last several years, often found him frustrating and less than helpful as our country’s leader. But over the most recent two months since he announced his resignation, I’ve come to see something in him that I hadn’t particularly noticed before.

And that’s that he does well in a crisis. When he’s backed into a corner, he comes out fighting, he makes good choices and he doesn’t back down. I think that it’s during those times that he has done the best for us.

At other times, particularly in dealing with the more ordinary, mundane work of government – in other words, the times that take most of the time – he always dithered and slithered; he couldn’t seem to focus, couldn’t seem to stay on point. He often seemed to be flummoxed.

Important campaign promises disappeared, ethical questions started appearing more and more frequently, and his responses and answers to these issues were very unsatisfactory, meaningless word salads.

He wound up doing many of the same things for which he had so vociferously criticised his predecessor, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and his “sunny ways” were displaced by an extremely micromanaged and divisive governing style. Over his nine-year tenure, there was a lot for which he could – and should – be castigated.

Nevertheless, in the last two months he has done a better job for us than he had done for much of his entire tenure. He toiled away for Canada right up to the last moment, working with the premiers and international leaders, dishing it out to Trump and taking it on the chin when necessary. And yesterday he bowed out with grace and aplomb, with his poised and well-spoken sixteen-year-old daughter introducing his farewell speech and talking about how she is going to be happy to have her dad back.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and history will have its say as to how well he did, and as it is for most former leaders, I think we will be more able to see – and accept – his strengths and weaknesses.

But now it’s time to send him on his way, with our thanks and good wishes. We hope he finds success in his future endeavours.

Vive le Canada! 🇨🇦

48 thoughts on “Goodbye, Mr Trudeau”

  2. He started off with high ideals and his eyes on equality and prosperity, but in the midst of all that, he lost sight of the big picture of what the country really needed to move forward in electoral and economic safety. I agree with your assessment that he needed a crisis of consequence to keep him focused, just as his dad did in the FLQ crisis. Like the much maligned Stephen Harper, I am sure that history will treat him fairly. In summary, he was 1,000 times better than what the leader he faced across our Southern border at the end. Happy Monday Lynette. Allan

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    1. Thank you very much. I agree, Allan. Good intentions, basically no follow-through. I didn’t think of how a good crisis seemed to keep his dad focussed too; good point. Must run in the family! Yes, he’s 1000 times better than what exists south of the border. He certainly wasn’t our best PM but not the worst either, I don’t think. Cheers.

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  3. Vive le Canada 🇨🇦. I agree he does do best under pressure. I think it was Andrew Coyne who said Trudeau always makes everything sound like an emergency. Maybe because he knows that’s where he thrives. I missed his daughter’s speech, but I heard it was excellent. And good results in the election. 🤞 he’s not another Ignatieff. Who gave us high hopes but instead was a disappointing reality. Maggie

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    1. I hadn’t noticed that before but now that you’ve pointed that out, yes,Trudeau does often make things sound like an emergency. I agree that Carney isn’t another Ignatieff. I was never sure how he got elected as despite his background he always came across to me as a real lightweight (with a nice helping of arrogance on the side). A lot is being written about Carney’s lack of experience but it seems to me that he has a lot of crossover skill. Cheers.

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  4. Dear Lynette
    From afar, we saw more the positive sides of Trudeau and especially the last weeks confirmed our judgement. Thanks for correcting our picture to the more realistic.
    Unfortunately we didn’t hear Trudeau’s daughter’s speech.
    Wishing you a happy week
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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    1. This leadership election took two months, but yes, once it’s complete the change takes place immediately (in this case the party leader is also the PM). There are a couple of days for the transition but that’s it. We’re heading into a general election soon, probably in April or May.

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  8. To be honest Lynette, I am not sorry to see him go. Doing better in the last 2 months cannot erase all the aspects and problems he should have avoided for Canada, over the past 9 years. The violent crime rates have been steadily increasing since 2014, and they are now higher in Canada than the US☹

    Hopefully 2025 will turn into a better one, soon!!

    Vive le Canada!🥰

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    1. I’m not sorry either, but I did want to look at him from an even-handed standpoint and agreed, the last two months did not make up for all the issues he failed to address or in fact caused.

      I have to disagree with you about the crime rate, however. It did go up during Trudeau’s tenure but not as much as that. The latest figures (2024) show Canada in 11th place worldwide while the U.S. is in 132nd. Here’s a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Peace_Index

      Agreed; I hope 2025 is better, too. 😊 Cheers.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Yes, I can and do disagree. The link you provided is not working but I have looked at the research in its entirety rather than at a snapshot. Violent crime is higher in isolated locations, not for the entire country. Here’s the full piece: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2025-02/comparing-recent-crime-trends-in-canada-and-us-urban-areas.pdf

          Stats-Can shows rising rates but as a collective, they are in no way higher than those in the U.S.
          https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects-start/crime_and_justice

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          1. Sorry Lynette, I didn’t mean to offend. Of course you can disagree with me, but what I wanted to say was from a Canadian news release, and some statistics I was reading about.
            I trust 2025 will be a good start for better years to come!

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          2. Thank you very much, Christie. Although I appreciate your comments you didn’t really offend me. I think it’s very important that at a time when the leadership to the south of us operates on propaganda and misinformation and with the U.S. media in particular (much of it now spooked by the Trump administration – he made an example out of AP) taking pieces of information out of context, we have to get things right. Cheers.

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    1. Thanks for the link, Allan. I had watched this when it was broadcast but it was interesting to see it again. It’s disturbing how disconnected Americans can be. Many are still writing off Trump’s threats as “jokes” and “bluster.” As a journalist, Amanpour should be more aware. I can imagine how well the “jokes” would go over if the shoe were on the other foot.

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      1. To many Americans, we are little more than those maple syrup people who occupy the blank white space above their country on the weather map. You are right, Amanpour should have been more aware, but the same could be said of at least half of Congress and Senate. In short, little outside of America seems to matter much to many Americans. There was a caller on a talk show we listen to, who lives in Texas and has dual Canada/U.S. citizenship, saying Albertans should just have a referendum on joining the states and put the matter to rest. To coin a phrase used often to refer to another matter….NO means NO. And of course Danielle is about to go down and meet with the far right in Texas soon.

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        1. I agree, but I think many of them are about to get a wake-up call when their bills start going up. I also read that the U.S. is verging on a recession because of the instability around Trump’s on and off tariffs. People like that caller are really no longer Canadian and should be minding their own business. Of course, Trump thinks he can use Alberta (and Saskatchewan, too) to get his foot in the door on annexation and I frankly don’t trust either Smith or Moe. Moe is an idiot but Smith is about as dumb as a fox. I think Smith is already down there under the guise of attending an oil-producing countries’ conference. Agreed: no means no. She needs to get it through her head although can you imagine what she’s going to be like if Poilievre gets in? Ugh.

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  12. I was always annoyed he didn’t move forward with electoral reform, one of his first campaign promises. But I felt he handled the start of the pandemic and this bloody mess of annexation and tariffs well. It shall be interesting to see how things play out with the transition of power and the upcoming election. Now off to follow all the links posted here.

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    1. I was particularly annoyed by that as well. I think that once he got his butt in the PMO, he realised that electoral reform might mean minority Liberal (or Conservative) governments or the need to form coalitions. Never mind that that would be far more representative than what we presently have. Agreed that he handled well the Covid pandemic and all the Trump mess over the last two months.

      For sure it will be interesting to see how Carney handles himself: well, I hope. Poilievre is crapping his pants and is going to pull out every dirty trick he can; I hope that people see what he truly is and keep him out.

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      1. Far too many of the Conservative ideas (as the party stands now) seem to mirror an awful lot of the same stuff as we see south of the border. And PP seems to believe he is a step above Carney because he’s so experienced (in slinging mud about shoes anyway) but I don’t trust him to handle the current crisis even with his experience. Bernie

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        1. I think PP is experienced (and good at) attack dog criticising and campaigning but to my way of thinking that’s the problem with most politicians. Being good at campaigning doesn’t qualify you for or give you the experience needed to run anything. Agreed, there’s a lot of Trump support in the grassroots of that party.

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    1. Thanks, Cindy. He did and that has redeemed him to some extent. Yes, it looks like your country is headed for rough water. It’s too bad that the people who didn’t vote for that moronic sociopath are going to be dragged along as well.

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  14. I share similar sentiments about JT’s time as prime minister. While I haven’t agreed with many of his policies, I applaud the way he’s defended Canada these past two months. He held onto power as long as he could, perhaps longer than he should have, but I’m glad he got to end things on a high note.

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    1. I agree that he should probably have stepped down earlier instead of basically being forced into it but y he work he did over the last couple of months certainly redeemed him to some extent: he was tireless and relentless in trying to protect our interests. I’m also glad that he’s leaving on a high note.

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  15. Very astute! And I agree, though he had to be dragged to resignation, once he had done so, he left with grace and dignity. Slightly off that immediate topic, but around the same course of events: the parliamentary system of government can sure move quickly and flexibly, when it has to!

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    1. Thank you very much, Penny. He definitely had to be dragged to resignation, that’s for sure. I’m astonished that up until early January he still thought he could pull off another term. Yikes. But yes, once the decision was made he worked hard until the last moment and left with dignity. I agree that the parliamentary system can be fast on its feet when it needs to be. So can Mark Carney, it seems! Cheers.

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      1. I think we must now, as a country, finally grow up. Finally stop being the timid, overawed adolescent, clinging to an English identity and aping an American one, anxious to please both countries — and finally be our own adult self. Until we believe we are authentic and legitimate, why should anyone else? We did not seek this crisis, but we must now seize it as an opportunity to discover and claim and fully life our emotional independance..

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        1. I agree wholeheartedly, Penny. It’s a step in our growth as a country that should have occurred during WWI and definitely during WWII but as a nation we somehow seemed to sink back into adolescence after those experiences.

          I like the way you’ve put that: clinging to an English – or to some extent, French – identity and aping an American one. It’s about time we broke from both of them and in fact, we need to pull away from all the monarchical trappings, as well. If there’s a second thing that’s become glaringly obvious over the last couple of months, it’s that the Commonwealth and King Charles are completely useless to us.

          In typical fashion, I believe we are suddenly finding our value and authenticity as a nation because the very nature of these ethical ideals have been threatened. My hope, too, is that we seize this opportunity to make our country shine and that we don’t crumble when the going gets tough.

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