13 hours Ago By Rick Bell
You can hear him. The man is teary-eyed. “I have made sure every single day in this office I put Canadians first, that I have people’s backs.
“That’s why I am here to tell you all, we got you. Even in the very last days of this government, we will not let Canadians down.” Some will hear him and choke back their own tears.
Others will just choke. I have to speak truth to power. We are talking about a leader reviled by many in this province.
Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. When he came here, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau always answered my questions. One time he’d made a comment in Ontario.
He wanted to phase out the oilsands. For days after the comment no one asked him to explain. Then he came to Calgary.
After a few forgettable questions on forgettable topics, it was my turn. I mentioned his phase-out-the-oilsands comment. I think he said it in the Ontario city of Peterborough.
I reminded the prime minister he was far from Peterborough now. His answer, after a few seconds thinking about it: “I misspoke.” “I said something the way I shouldn’t have said it.
” It was an answer but it wasn’t much of an answer and, in the years following, it turned out to be no answer at all. It was Trudeau. To him, it sounded good at that time in that place.
He wriggled out of a jam. He’s almost out the door now and some people, especially east of the Manitoba border, are no doubt a little teary-eyed at his departure. He was their guy ushering in a whole new rainbows-and-unicorns Canada.
And now, with the clock finally ticking down, the polls tell us Trudeau in the past few weeks has gained back much of the support he lost with he and his party cleverly cashing in on the anger and casting themselves as the real defenders of Canada. The Angus Reid Institute asked Canadians recently what they think about Trudeau and the answers more charitable than you might expect. About one in five thought he made problems worse.
Almost two out of three thought Trudeau tried to tackle the big issues. Among those folks, the number who thought Trudeau made progress on the big stiff was about equal to those who think he failed. More than half of those answering gave Trudeau a passing grade.
Still when you look at the big picture, the overall landscape isn’t pretty. The out-of-control immigration, the inaction on the slap-in-the-face inflation hitting us after COVID. The cost of housing for so many, the crime and social disorder, the carbon tax, a federal government who once again often treated Alberta badly, the scandals.
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