The reelection of Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Oct. 21 should result in celebration for his party, but with recent events and loss of support in the West, members of the Liberal Party are now in the minority, putting his second term in jeopardy.
The result of the election called not only national but international attention.
“There are a lot more challenges facing him in 2019 than in 2015,” said Neil Forkey, Assistant Professor and Chair of the Canadian Studies Department at St. Lawrence University. “Image means a lot to this Prime Minister.”
Trudeau has always been in the public eye as the son of late Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau. In the months leading up to the election, photographs were leaked of him in costume, dressed in blackface and brownface, making voters watch his every move.
“Whether or not this has cost him his seat, it is something we have not determined yet,” said Forkey. “It did not help him. The loser in this is his own brand.”
St. Lawrence senior Chelsea De Luca, a Liberal Party voter, agrees that it hurt his reputation, adding, “as a young voter, I would say that it did impact my decision making, but I still wanted Trudeau to win because he has values I align myself with more [than the opposing party].”
Trudeau’s bigger problem is that the western half of the country, including Alberta, a major oil producing area, voted for the opposing party. Trudeau strives to make Canada a green, eco-friendly country, believing that cutting down the use of fossil fuels is a way to achieve this goal.
With Trudeau’s green agenda and the lowering oil prices, Alberta and the neighboring province of Saskatchewan have a rising unemployment rate of ten percent.
Forkey said that the voting behavior was an “expression of frustration from the West” and it should not be ignored.
“Trudeau did hear the message loud and clear that people in the West are hurting,” he said, making this area a priority for the Prime Minister to gain support.
Despite wanting to be a green leader, Trudeau wants to have and preserve oil with his idea of a Trans Mountain Pipeline that will go from Alberta through British Columbia, leading towards the Pacific.
While many people in B.C. are scared of the risk of an oil spillage in the ocean, Ontario native and retired insurance broker, Joanne Spero, said that she is in support of the pipeline despite not voting for Trudeau “it’s more dangerous to have [oil transported] on trains. It’s safer in the ground than it is riding on a train track.”
The pipeline production is going to be hard to put in place, therefore Trudeau has to be careful with his plan and try to upset as few people as possible, a very difficult goal to achieve.
No longer holding a majority of seats, the Liberal Party has to rely on other parties such as the New Democratic Party to gain more support and have policies passed, especially concerning the pipeline.
Trudeau has to be smart when choosing who he wants to have by his side during his term.“First order of business will be who will sit on the cabinet,” said Forkey. The Prime Minister’s cabinet members will be publicly announced Nov. 15.