This morning Canadians woke up with a new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Canadians wanted change and most voted for a “real change”. 68.49% of eligible voters took initiative and voted in the election. The last time there was this large of a voter turn-out was in 1993 when Jean Chrétien swept the office. Similar to 1993, the Liberals did not win a minority but a majority in the 2015 election. There is no denying that the Trudeau legacy comes with great hopes and expectations from citizens.
Pierre Trudeau’s son
Justin Trudeau will be the first offspring of a Prime Minister to be elected into office. Justin is also the first Prime Minister to be born in Ottawa and the second child to be born to a serving Prime Minister. October 18th, would’ve been Pierre Trudeau’s 96th birthday, a day later, his son Justin Trudeau won office. Justin was born on Christmas Day –based on these facts it seems like Justin has an interesting relationship with numbers.
Also, Trudeau’s maternal grandfather, James Sinclair was a Liberal cabinet minister in the 1950’s. Trudeau was a social science and French teacher, an actor, an advocate for animal rights and now our Prime Minister. His wife Sophie Grégoire is a former television personality and model who had her own show that aired in Quebec. She is also a women’s right activist and holds matters ranging from equal pay to Aboriginal rights close to her heart.
What does “real change” entail? 
Justin Trudeau has spoken against the two-tier citizenship law and believes that a “Canadian is a Canadian” and should not have their citizenship revoked by elected officials, but only by the justice system. He aims to honour the Charter of Rights and Freedoms his father put in place and legislation that provides tax cuts to middle class Canadians. He wants to amend Bill C-51, the Anti- terrorist Act. Trudeau has also argued that the government needs to be pro-active with the Syrian refugee situation; he wants to bring in 25,000 refugees and spend $100 million this fiscal year to speed up the processing, sponsorship, and settlement services in Canada.
Trudeau wants to legalize marijuana and protect sex – workers; two stances the opposition did not support. He also wants to launch a national public inquiry into the missing and murdered indigenous women crisis to obtain justice for victims and their families. As a result of this election, 8 Liberal and 2 NDP MP’s with indigenous backgrounds will have places in the House of Commons. Trudeau also wants to put in place the Transparency Act; he wants the public to know how their tax money is being used.
His goals sound like “real change” but will Trudeau measure up? Canadians have high hopes and a need for improvement. Living up to the Trudeau name carries its own weight without considering the state that the economy, environment and global issues Canada is facing. All the best to Trudeau, Canadians are counting on you.
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Discussion Points:
- Is it fair to expect Justin Trudeau to live up to his father’s legacy?
- Did you vote for Trudeau? Why or why not?
The Social Paralegal 