Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to be suffering from cognitive dissonance as he assumed the role of cheerleader-in-chief on Monday at an investment announcement in Ontario.
Canadians need to do a better job of cheering for the country and its achievements, he said in a high-energy, effusive, almost breathless speech.
“Canadians don’t do a good enough job of cheering for ourselves day in and day out,” Trudeau said, as he referenced the Olympics. “Yes, it’s about cheering our extraordinary young athletes. But it’s also about cheering for ourselves.”
This is the same prime minister who less than two weeks ago, in a dour and sombre announcement, said Canadians needed to reflect on the “dark chapter” of slavery in this country. Whereas, in truth, by 1793 Canadians were leading the world in combating the scourge of slavery.
It was also Trudeau who had flags across the country lowered for six months so Canadians could “mourn” the horror of unmarked residential school graves. Three years after the finding of those “anomalies,” no bodies have been unearthed.
And, of course, it’s hard to cheer for the country when the prime minister believes it’s guilty of genocide.
In 2021, Trudeau said “we must first acknowledge the truth” when he accepted a report into missing and murdered Indigenous women that what happened amounted to a “genocide.”
It’s this kind of self-flagellation that leads to young people shouldering a burden of guilt that is not theirs (and not even Canadians’) to carry.
A Leger poll last year for the Association for Canadian Studies astonishingly found that 25 per cent of young people (aged 18-34) felt personally responsible for the past injustices committed toward Indigenous people. Yet most of them were not even born when the final residential school closed.
Meanwhile, under Trudeau’s watch Canadians are also feeling less satisfied.
A national survey from Nanos Research last year found Canadians increasingly dissatisfied. Nanos recorded a mean score for satisfaction of 6.6 for Canadians, a decline since 2021 when it was 7.2. And, unfortunately, it is young people who are again most affected with the lowest satisfaction rating of 5.8.
Perhaps Trudeau is sensing that he needs to return to his sunny ways messaging.
Certainly, it was on full display in Napanee on Monday as the federal government, along with the Ontario government and Goodyear, announced a $575-million expansion of a factory to produce tires for electric vehicles.
Canada, Trudeau said, was “the greatest country in the world.” And it was marvellous to hear him say it.
“We should be cheering for Canada, not just on the Olympic stage but when we bring in great announcements like this, when we see the work that Canadians are doing right across the country, building the future, showcasing our excellence across the world, this is what is exciting.
“We are celebrating Canadians ever single day, that’s what we need to do as Canada, we need to do more of (it) and that’s what we are going to keep doing.”
The lavish praise continued, “But our single greatest competitive advantage is Canadians themselves.”
It was as if Trudeau was on the campaign trail as he celebrated Canada, attacked the Conservatives and doled out millions of dollars.
But for all his uplifting rhetoric, dark clouds are still on the horizon.
Canada is grappling with affordability issues, cheap foreign labour is hurting the chances of young people finding work, an RBC report believes we may not be in a recession but it feels like it and a Fraser Institute analysis reveals worrying trends in business investment and productivity that could damage the economic future.
There is a role for a prime minister to be a cheerleader for his country and to view matters in a positive spirit.
But, unfortunately, Trudeau also wants to be the moralizer-in-chief and hang an albatross around Canada’s neck.
The prime minister would have us feel guilty for the sin of slavery when, instead, he should acknowledge Canada’s role in eradicating it. Trudeau would have us hang our head for a genocide that never happened (that is not to say crimes were not committed against Indigenous people, but genocide was not one of them.)
And if Canadians are to be shamed about so-called unmarked graves at residential schools, we should at least know the truth about them.
If Trudeau wants to be the cheerleader-in-chief, he should stop his tendency for noisome preaching and odious haranguing.
Celebrating Canada every day isn’t a bad place to start.
National Post