Tasha Kheiriddin: Trudeau's Canada Day message fell as flat as his polling numbers (2024)

If you want a preview of the next election campaign, just watch the Canada Day messages from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. They were a study in contrast in style, tone, content and vision. They also illustrate why the Conservatives are 20 points ahead of the Liberals in the polls, and likely to remain so.

Trudeau began by exhorting Canadians to celebrate “the incredible people, the land and the story that is Canada.” He acknowledged Indigenous peoples and honoured Canadian soldiers in the Second World War, but spoke not a word about anyone in between. He thanked “trailblazers, journalists, activists, organizers” for safeguarding Canadian rights and freedoms, and mentioned that Canada continues to confront injustices and learn from them “that we’re stronger not in spite of our differences, but because of them.”

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In closing, Trudeau thanked workers and volunteers during the pandemic, fire fighters protecting Canada from wildfires and the Canadian Armed Forces fighting for democracy and freedom. The entire video consisted of Trudeau addressing the camera for about 2½ minutes.

In contrast, Poilievre’s four-minute message opened with images of Canada’s natural grandeur set to dramatic music and the Conservative leader’s voice-over. Poilievre acknowledged the stewardship of Indigenous people and described Canadian inventions, overlaid by grainy black-and-white historical footage. He described Canada as “a warrior nation” that “helped defeat ugly socialist ideologies like Nazism, fascism and communism.”

The message then turned political. Poilievre criticized the federal government for the fact that “a quarter of our people live in poverty,” while “crime, chaos, drugs and disorder reign in our once safe streets.” He lamented that “weird, woke obsessions divide our people, destroy our education, disparage our history and degenerate into our streets.”

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Poilievre spoke about how the “common people” will take back control of their lives, praising tradespeople, farmers and troops, and concluded with a quote by John Diefenbaker about freedom.

On every level, the two messages were polar opposites. Unlike Poilievre’s inclusive montage of Canadian images, Trudeau’s message featured only him speaking to the camera. In fairness, it was designed as an address to the crowds at Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa — Trudeau was in Newfoundland, so Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland addressed the crowd in the nation’s capital, a fact that did not go unnoticed.

Nonetheless, it was a poor production choice, especially at a time when many accuse Trudeau of putting his ego ahead of the good of his party and country by staying on as leader.

For his part, Poilievre predictably politicized the moment. As he did at Brian Mulroney’s state funeral, the Conservative leader didn’t miss the chance to slam the government, whether appropriate or not. Poilievre could have mentioned the struggles people are facing without assigning blame, but chose to score political points and fund-raising dollars instead.

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It might not be statesmanlike, but Poilievre captured the national mood far more than the prime minister did. The fact that Trudeau failed to even acknowledge people’s pain shows how out of touch he has become. It’s as if he was speaking in 2015, when progressive causes were all the rage, and he was their beloved global champion.

In 2024, Canada and the world are grappling with dire economic conditions and growing anti-immigrant sentiment. The populist right is on the march in Europe, the United States and here at home. A true leader would confront these sentiments and promise to do better, not double down on a message that is sorely out of date.

Trudeau also made it sound as if the byelection in Toronto—St. Paul’s never happened. The activists and organizers he praised are one of the reasons his party lost that vote. The hateful antisemitic messages that flooded Canadian streets turned the Jewish community against the Liberal party, and angered Canadians of all faiths who prize Canada as a country of tolerance and respect.

In 2024, diversity is no longer our strength, and the government’s failure to address this is tearing our country apart. When faced with a choice between Trudeau’s vision of kumbaya progressivity versus Poilievre’s gritty realism, it’s clear where voters land. They want change, and Trudeau’s time is up.

Postmedia Network

Tasha Kheiriddin is Postmedia’s national politics columnist.

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