Roundup: On Trudeau’s feeling re-energized

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The CBC’s Aaron Wherry has a longread out right now about Justin Trudeau’s time in office, and the sense that he’s feeling re-invigorated and is almost certainly going to run for a fourth election, likely in 2025, which some of us (myself included) have not been so sure about. But there is a lot of observation from insiders and observers that he does seem to have the fight back (indeed, I heard from some people in the know of the funk he found himself in at one particular point), and that it’s not necessarily Pierre Poilievre’s presence that is doing it, but that he has a sense of unfinished business, of promises yet to be fulfilled.

To that end, the piece notes that Cabinet and caucus have been told to focus on four Cs: competence, confidence, contrast and campaign-readiness (in that order), of which the first is going to be incredibly important when it comes to trying to dispel this notion that “everything feels broken,” particularly when there is a pervasive sense that government can’t even get the little things right (though I would note that some of the “little things” are more complex than they may appear on the surface, and a lot of what people are complaining about is not the job of the federal government to fix, no matter that they may try to claim some kind of policy ownership, such as investing in housing when those funds are the only policy lever they have available). And yeah, some of it is their own fault (see: judicial appointments), where they decided on processes that hampered them more than it helped them, and absolutely their inability to communicate their way out of a wet paper bag is one hundred percent one of their biggest own-goal problems, which they seem resolutely unwilling to do anything about.

I know there is also a lot of talk about the “smell of death” on this government, and I will probably write something longer about that elsewhere, but nevertheless, it was interesting to read Wherry’s piece and put some of it into the context of these conversations that are being had around the pundit sphere. There are a lot of things to consider about this government, and little of it can fit into some of these fairly facile narratives.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 327:

There was a fresh round of Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine on Saturday, and one missile struck a nine-story building in Dnipro, killing at least twelve people, while another 30 to 40 people are still missing and could be trapped under rubble. The missile—the kind used to strike warships—may have been aimed at a nearby power station. This as Ukrainian officials continue to insist that the battle for Soledar is not lost, and this certainly takes the attention away from that. CBC also heard from a Russian conscript who was at the site of the Makiivka counter-attack, which struck Russian barracks.

Good reads:

  • Bob Rae says that Justin Trudeau is wrestling with the role that Canada could play in Haiti, while wanting to not repeat mistakes of the past.
  • The head of the Canadian Forces’ Joint Operations Command is “concerned” we’re not in the AUKUS pact, which is entirely about nuclear submarines. (Is this a hint?)
  • Here’s an analysis of the trade outcomes of the Three Amigos summit.
  • One researcher is having a hard time getting copies of MPs’ newsletters to constituents, for a host of different reasons.
  • Premiers have all written to the government demanding action on bail reform (which is an extremely difficult thing to do in order to be Charter compliant).
  • Former Ontario Lieutenant Governor David Onley passed away over the weekend.
  • Danielle Smith’s story about whether or not she was pressuring prosecutors over public health violations keeps changing (and yeah, she’s lying about something).
  • Ranj Pillai has been sworn in as the new premier of Yukon.
  • Chantal Hébert remarks on Pierre Poilievre’s difficulty in connecting with voters in Quebec, as he seems to be counteracting fatigue with Trudeau.

Odds and ends:

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: On Trudeau’s feeling re-energized”

  1. “…of [Trudeau] promises yet to be fulfilled.”

    Finally something we can all agree on!

  2. How come we haven’t heard a peep from TBS Secretary Graham Flack, when it comes to the whole return-to-the-office thing? Doesn’t enforcing it fall under his responsibilities? And yet Mona Fortier is doing ALL the talking. I’m puzzled by this. Or is this “bewilderment-by-design”?

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