While Pierre Poilievre and the federal Conservative Party might not get the election they want this fall, it is becoming increasingly clear the Liberals are drifting rudderless in the stream without any way to appeal to Canadians.
Not only was there the significant loss in the recent Montreal byelection in the Liberal stronghold in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, an Abacus opinion poll released on Sept. 17 showed the Liberal Party languishing at 22 per cent support among likely voters if an election were held today.
In wake of these two devastating blows to Liberal morale, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged, “We have a lot of work to do and we’re going to continue to do it.”
Do what? And how?
Without the NDP to provide policy guidance, it’s hard to understand how Trudeau thinks at this point he is going to turn it around.
Right now, Canadians are demanding substantial policies to address the affordability crisis and not the tokenism and social gestures this prime minister has become more known for than anything else during his tenure as leader of Canada’s largest political party in Parliament.
On that note, how long now before the Liberal knives come for Trudeau? He was once an asset to their brand, but they may face a choice in the not-too-distant future: Keep the figurehead or turf him.
The whispers have likely already begun. With Trudeau gone, could they present a fresh face to Canadians to fly the Liberal flag heading into the next election?
At this point, it must be asked, would it really make any difference? Even if Trudeau, like his father before him, decides to take that long, cold walk out into the snow, it might already be too late.
