The day after Justin Trudeau delivered his father's eulogy, Stephen Harper -- then head of the National Citizens Coalition -- wrote a scathing assessment of Pierre Elliott Trudeau:
Mr. Trudeau embraced the fashionable causes of his time, with variable enthusiasm and differing results. But he was also a member of the “greatest generation,” the one that defeated the Nazis in war and resolutely stood down the Soviets in the decades that followed. In those battles however, the ones that truly defined his century, Mr. Trudeau took a pass. And so it is to the ideals of the greatest generation, and not those of Pierre Trudeau, that Canada should properly dedicate itself.
Harper made no mention of the October Crisis, the repatriation of the constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Instead he wrote that near the end of Trudeau's life:
I came face to face with a living legend, someone who had provoked both the loves and hatreds of my political passion, all in the form of a tired out, little old man.
The boy who used to be the president of his high school's Liberal Club came to hate Trudeau and everything he stood for. We can leave his reasons to the psychoanalysts. But it will surely rank as one of history's great ironies that the man who despised Pierre Trudeau was soundly sent packing last night by Trudeau's son.
Andrew Coyne writes this morning that what Justin Trudeau accomplished last night is unprecedented in Canadian history:
To have come back from 19 per cent of the popular vote in 2011 to almost 40 per cent, and from 34 seats — 11 per cent of the total — to 184, a majority: there’s just no precedent for it. To have done so, what is more, having started the campaign well back in third, against more experienced and better-financed opponents, tells you just how well the Liberal campaign went — and how well Trudeau performed.
Mr. Trudeau will have a full plate. We await the future.
16 comments:
Although I am wary of majority governments, Owen, I can't help but feel a little like a kid on Christmas morning. Let us hope that Justin Trudeau feels the same way, and that he will cherish and nurture the gift Canadians have given him.
.. props to you.. a 'glowing heart' Canadian..
Your calm, reasoned & generous hosting.. exceptional links & biting observations through the dark decade of Stephen Harper was exemplary.. leadership at work, wise and reassuring.. unfailing. Some day Canadians will look back and marvel at indy blogs like yours. it would read like a novel.. the presented observations & comments.. linked to the reality of the Harper fallacy
Thanks, salamander. Remember, these reflections are not just mine. Your comments and the comments of so many others form a record of what a sizable number of Canadians have been thinking. And they think for themselves.
We have, indeed, been given a gift, Lorne. Justin has reminded us of who we are.
I called it and the only reason the right hand man of the devil made it in to power was the desiccated carcase of the liberals in 2008. If not for that and the same desiccated carcase of the Quebec Bloc that gave Jack a stunning victory we never would have had the mad man in power. I hope we learned a lesson. Never default our obligation never mind right on voting day again.
Third world countries looked up to us they wanted to emulate us we fell and we fell hard into chaos under that pretend religious right wing lunatic Harper that had Justin opening brothels and crack houses on every corner. I don't think we can forgive the man he belongs locked up in a straight jacket. He stole to much from us as a culture as an identity and as a nation. Let's rebuild and fix the broken wheel of elections. FPTP must end Political Parties must end if we are to step into a global vision of true democracy. Now is not the time to become complacent and sit back on our haunches now is the time to demand Justin to skate up to the puck and score for all of Canada and humanity at the same time. So Justin I expect nothing but the best from you:
STOP the first past the post as you promised.
STOP the party system let me vote an independent that works for me in Ottawa and has my communities best interests at heart not some multinational corporation as Harper was fond of.
STOP and undo the damage your father has done when it comes to borrowing money. He changed the course and created an indebtedness to international bankers we don't need and can't afford.
http://comer.org/projects/index.htm
Lastly let men like Edgar do their jobs to be sure all laws passed pass the constitutional and charter litmus test. Don't fail your father, please Justin.
http://charterdefence.ca/blog.html
"Canadian Journalists for Free Expression May 15, 2013 - In December 2012, Schmidt launched a legal case against the Attorney General of Canada, alleging that lawyers were being told not to fulfill..."
When it comes to this Justin our democracy is mocked I expect you to make changes as you promised toute suite...
I love Canada and the corporate vultures will only steal it over my dead carcase and I ain't ready to die just yet...
Am I asking too much?
You're asking a lot, Mogs. But, then, there's a lot of work to be done.
Owen what I am asking is unfair? I want to move into a new realm where we all are family is that too much? I don't think so but I agree it is a stretch for the majority. Any way I did watch the Blue Jays defeat The KC Royals and was humbled when my lady and I came home to see Harper defeated to a younger man whose father he hated that is now this was then he worshiped Pierre and was a member of "The Young Liberals"
Now here is how Harper cheated again he made a back room deal with...?
I had to identify Kayaks to make this post? Whatever...
There's nothing wrong with asking a lot of our leaders, Mogs.
Yes Owen you nailed it we have to ask more. As Canadians we have fallen into the conundrum of not participating. Eh? So we ourselves and us created a vacuum we are guilty of the Harper Hannibal Hyena filling that vacuum with corporate lies and disturbances to our Canadian way of life. I hope the last Canadian bomb has dropped on innocent people in the 'Middle East and North Africa' and I pray they do not victimize us with terrorist attacks Harper so blatantly extrapolated and openly invited...
"When Harper wakes up today Nenshi will be his Mayor, Notley will be his Premier and Trudeau will be his Prime Minister."
Whom ever is responsible for this hilarious statement is a darling...
It is a stunning reversal of fortune, isn't it, Mogs?
And it looks good on Harper speaking of whom um did you see this?:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/emmaloop/the-governments-contracted-shredder-company-was-at-the-prime#.rw057WVYE
I'm sure Steve has allot he does not want to leave...
My Canada has Trudeau as Prime Minister!
As Justin told the international community, Steve, "We're back!"
I got what I wanted and worked for, and I finally can relax a bit now that Harper is done. Now I have to wait with dread to find out the true extent of the damage he and his government wreaked while in charge on the machinery of government, now that the civil service is about to be ungagged once Trudeau officially assumes power. I hope and pray I have been overly worried about the reality being an iceberg these many moons, and I also hope and pray that if I'm not that Trudeau allows Canadians to see and fully understand the reality of what Harper had been doing to our systems of government and way of life while lying to us all.
Still, Harper was left with no way to cling to power short of an actual coup, which was why I wanted the majority all along, and while I hope Trudeau can deliver on the core of what he campaigned on, for me just the removal of Harper is a major victory in its own right. Especially since it was done before Harper was able to too badly damage our courts and judicial system, especially at the Supreme court level despite all he tried, and at least we never saw him willing to risk the blowback of the use of the Notwithstanding clause.
After a decade of being Cassandra, I am finally freed of that curse, and was able to predict something good coming over these past months, as I kept faith that Trudeau would come back, would be the one to defeat Harper. That Mulcair would take his NDP to defeat, although the level of defeat did surprise me, especially here in Atlantic Canada, the loss of Stoffer both shocked and saddened me, he was the one NDP MP I not only thought would survive the Lib wave I saw coming but also that I wanted to see survive because I held such regard for him. Ah well, at least I helped get rid of Megan Leslie, and that for me was no small victory on the personal/riding level.
I'm looking forward to seeing competent government again, government and Ministers that faces scrums (I'm truly hopeful on Trudeau restoring that hallowed tradition that Harper pitched) and knowing that Harper's I love Me wall in the hall of PM portraits gets restored to being what it should have had, the portraits of all the PMs of Canada and not simply his own image over and over again. The Closet Commando has been defeated and defeated by someone we all know he truly hated and loathed and believed to be an easy target to wipe out like he did the last two Lib leaders, and defeated in such a manner that it can only be taken as a sound rejection of all Harper stood for once he got unfettered power to truly reveal himself to the nation. That to is no small victory, and may his loss to the son of the man he hated so much haunt him to his dying days, he deserves at least as much and more in my books for all he did to this nation and to the citizenry, especially with those appeals to xenophobia in the latter stages of the majority and the election campaign itself.
The Conservative Party is about to enter a civil war, Scotian. All kinds of stories will come out as the blood is spilled. I imagine that even you will be horrified by what you discover.
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