Why Harper Lost the Canadian Election
by Ingrid Gadsen
One week ago, on the evening of October 19th, 2015, Canada took a giant step forward into the free world, with the election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister (PM designate, for two more weeks).That most Canadians are thrilled about this outcome may in fact be the result of finally getting rid of the autocratic and emotionally cold and distant current PM (for two more weeks) Stephen Harper.
At the same time, we’re a little edgy, taking on a relatively ‘green’ young man, the first-born son of one of the most revered PMs we ever had (if not the most revered) Pierre Elliott Trudeau — but our faith is strong.
Justin Trudeau seems to combine the steely strength, intelligence and determination of his father, along with his mother’s gentle fairness. We’re all praying he has good advisors — he’s a smart young 43 year old. (With a tattoo.) We’ll see how it all works out, but for the time being, we up here are feeling that we’re in good hands, with a brighter future facing us.
Marsha Lederman writes in Canada’s national newspaper, the Globe and Mail today:
During his tenure, Mr. Harper notoriously shielded himself from the media: interviews were denied, availability limited, and message control was tight. Rather than conduct actual interviews, journalists have often had to rely on terse, written e-mailed statements that may or may not have addressed the actual questions.
In addition, as if we didn’t already know this, Stephen Marche wrote a brilliant article in the NYT on August 14th, immediately after PM Harper called the election. This column was circulated, coast to coast to coast, throughout our country began this way:
The prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has called an election for Oct. 19, but he doesn’t want anyone to talk about it. He has chosen not to participate in the traditional series of debates on national television, confronting his opponents in quieter, less public venues, like the scholarly Munk Debates and CPAC, Canada’s equivalent of CSPAN. His own campaign events were subject to gag orders until
a public outcry forced him to rescind the forced silence of his supporters.
Stephen Harper lost because we were sick and tired of his autocratic ways, his emphasis on balancing the budget on the backs of poorer citizens, his love of cutting corporate taxes, his appalling need for secrecy, his arrogant cutting of aid to cities which provide 90% or so of the taxes he needed to run the country, and most importantly, his stonewalling of any questions he was asked during Question Period in the House of Commons.
Canadians are, for the most part, fairly gentle, fair-minded folks, willing to be patient – but only for so far. Then we drop the hammer. Harper’s commercials said “Justin’s just not ready”. Too bad for Harper’s advertising group that they didn’t realize Canadians on the whole were “just not ready” for another four years of Harper.
Ingrid Gadsden is a former freelance corporate and advertising writer, video/audio-visual and film producer in Toronto Canada. Now retired to nurture rescued dogs, garden, volunteer wherever needed, and root for the Blue Jays.
Photo: You Tube