Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intention to resign as prime minister and Liberal leader once a new leader is selected. Trudeau stated, “It’s become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.” Instead of acknowledging how his premiership has failed Canadians, Trudeau evaded accountability altogether, opting to not face Canadians in the next election. This type of arrogance and entitlement is woven into the history of the Liberal Party of Canada and will be its ultimate downfall.
Lester Pearson became Liberal leader in 1958. Pearson then got up in the House of Commons and demanded Prime Minister John Diefenbaker resign and hand over government to the Liberals. This undoubtedly reflected Liberal opinion at the time — that, of course, it should be them governing the country. Diefenbaker eviscerated Pearson for his hubris. The Liberals dropped from 105 to 48 seats in the 1958 election. Diefenbaker was awarded with a majority government, up 96 seats from the 112 he’d won in the previous 1957 election.
Having governed for most of the 20th century, the Liberals have been referred to as Canada’s “natural governing party.” The arrogance of this claim has bred into the party a class of political operators who believe the country belongs to them.
At a time when Canadians were beginning to think about their national identity, Pierre Trudeau gaslighted an entire nation for even considering such a concept. In 1971 Trudeau stated, “A society which eulogizes the average citizen is one which breeds mediocrity.” Imagine thinking the average Canadian is so inconsequential that our country would fall apart if we were to admire them. Statements like this did damage to Canada’s national identity, making it fashionable for generations to claim our identity didn’t even exist.
Pierre Trudeau’s claims about national identity speak to the Liberal exaltation of the state over those governed. Let’s compare that to one of Diefenbaker’s speeches, “The policy of this party is based on its abiding faith in freedom; in the maintenance of our institutions which are the buttress of that freedom; in the sovereign independence of Canada; in our dedication that the State shall be the Servant and not the Master of the people”.
If that sounds familiar it’s because Pierre Poilievre picked up this phrasing when he announced his candidacy for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. Poilievre stated, “I’m running for office to give you back control of your life by making this country the freest on Earth. That means making government — and all of its most powerful people — servants and not masters.”
In the spirit of Diefenbaker, Poilievre wants the government to serve the people, not the other way around. Under both Pierre and Justin Trudeau, Canadians have been told what to think about themselves — not too much, or too highly — and how we define ourselves as Canadians. Justin Trudeau has stated that “there is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada.”
Today, only 34 per cent of Canadians say they’re “very proud” to be Canadian. A 30-year low in national pride is what you get when the voice of political entitlement insists your national identity isn’t worth defining, that the average citizen isn’t worth celebrating.
All of this, in part, is why the Liberal party is in the shape it is today. Down 15 to 30 points in the polls for all of 2024, facing an electoral defeat like John Turner’s loss in 1984 — which is the absolute best Trudeau’s Liberals can hope for in 2025 — or Michael Ignatieff’s loss in 2011, a more likely scenario. Public polling conducted in December showed the Liberals at 16 per cent, putting them in fourth place behind the NDP, modelled out at 6 seats across the country. The Liberals could fail to gain official party status in the House of Commons. Trudeau’s resignation is unlikely to save Liberals from their electoral fate in 2025. Polling conducted immediately after Trudeau’s resignation still shows the Conservatives up 27 points over the Liberals.
The future of the Liberal party itself is at a genuine risk of ceasing to exist or legitimately competing for power in future federal elections. The Liberal brand does not exist in British Columbia, Alberta, or Saskatchewan. In Manitoba the Liberals hold one provincial seat. In Ontario the provincial Liberals struggle for relevance. As the Parti Quebecois led polls in Quebec all 2024, the Quebec Liberal Party was an afterthought. Liberals are competitive in Atlantic Canada but were recently relegated to third place in Nova Scotia just like they were in Ontario and Quebec. This trend will not be reversed by a federal Liberal leadership race held over the course of less than two months.
The future of the Liberal brand is bleak federally. The Liberal party is in such jeopardy because after years of being told they have no identity; Canadians have decided Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have given them nothing to be proud of. No Liberal leadership contender can fix that.
National Post