Trudeau popular in the polls, but concerns begin to emerge

[Oscar]

Trudeau popular in the polls, but concerns begin to emerge

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By Brent Patterson | July 21, 2016

There is no doubt that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is exceedingly popular.

Just this month the Toronto Star reported, "Trudeau's Liberals continue to command the support of half of Canadians, according to a new poll that projects the party would win 80 per cent of the seats if an election were held today." The Forum Research poll found that 52 per cent of respondents would vote Liberal, 28 per cent for the Conservatives, and 11 per cent for the NDP. Forum Research projects that would mean 278 seats for the Liberals, 55 seats for the Conservatives, and just 5 seats for the NDP. The Greens and Bloc Québécois would not win any seats.

At least part of this can be attributed the government still being relatively new (just eight months old now), favourable comparisons to the previous Conservative government, and popular gestures (including Trudeau's recent participation in the Pride parade in Toronto). That's understandable. But some of that popularity may also be based on the perception that the Trudeau government is a truly progressive government that is implementing a decidedly different agenda than the Harper government. The evidence is beginning to suggest that's not totally true.

There have been concerns over the past number of months including:

◾Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan increasing Canada's military presence in Iraq (more soldiers, more special forces troops, plus supplying an aircraft to refuel coalition bombers while in the air)

◾Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr saying that now is "not the moment" to begin phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and that a liquefied natural gas subsidy should be locked in until 2025

◾Environment Minister Catherine McKenna approving the Woodfibre LNG terminal in Squamish, British Columbia
◾Health Minister Jane Philpott saying that pharmacare is not part of her mandate

◾International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland supporting the provisional application of the Canada-EU free trade agreement (despite massive opposition in Europe and reports that provisional application could be illegal)

◾Fisheries Minister Dominic Leblanc not responding to repeated First Nations demands to deny the Fisheries Act permits needed for construction on the Site C dam to continue

And just last week alone these issues have arisen: . . . .

MORE:

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Brent Patterson is the Political Director at the Council of Canadians. He works with the Council's chairperson Maude Barlow, its campaigners, organizers and chapters across the country on trade, energy, water, and health care issues. The Council has political staff in Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Halifax, Delhi, Cape Town and Mexico City. You can follow Brent on Twitter @CBrentPatterson.