Trudeau faces cabinet decisions as Harper to step down

Theglobeandmail.com
Oct. 20, 2015
By Shawn McCarthy

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After winning a decisive majority in a stunning comeback, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau will turn his attention Tuesday to forming a cabinet and grappling with the host of urgent challenges that await him.

The Liberals won 184 of the country’s 338 seats, capturing 39.5 per cent of the vote as the appetite for change drove the party from third place in Parliament to first with the largest increase in seats in a single election in Canada’s history.

Mr. Trudeau is likely to hold a news conference Tuesday morning. His first priority will be forming a cabinet, and he will have Liberal MPs in every region of the country to choose from, including several veterans who served in cabinet in previous Liberal governments and some high-profile newcomers.

The Conservatives signalled last night that Stephen Harper would step down as leader, and an interim leader would be selected from among the new Conservative caucus.

In his victory speech in Montreal, Mr. Trudeau sent out a message of unity to Canadians, continuing the positive approach he adopted during the campaign. The Liberals operated on the principle that “you can appeal to the better angels of our nature, and you can win doing it,” he said.

He stayed away from specific promises, but vowed to lead a more open, accountable and inclusive government, a clear knock against his Conservative predecessor, Mr. Harper, who was widely criticized for centralizing power in Ottawa, and treating opponents as enemies.

The incoming prime minister faces some pressing issues, requiring immediate attention. He must decide whether Canada will ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 12-country trade deal that could mean major changes for the country’s supply-managed agricultural sector, auto industry and digital economy. During the campaign, Mr. Trudeau said he needed to see the text of the agreement before deciding on a position - his decision may be helped by the fact U.S. President Barack Obama may not have the support needed to win approval in the U.S. Congress.

He also has a heavy schedule of travel in November, including a trip to the Group of 20 meeting in Turkey, where Middle East conflict will be prominent on the agenda. Mr. Trudeau has promised to end Canada’s combat participation in the air war against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and will have to explain that change to NATO partners, including the United States.

He will also likely attend the United Nations climate summit in Paris, which starts at the end of November, and has promised to work with the provincial premiers to send a message to the world that Canada fully embraces the battle against global warming and will have a more ambitious strategy. However, Mr. Trudeau said Ottawa will not set any new targets until he has had a chance to meet with premiers after the summit.

Environmental groups are pressing Mr. Trudeau to meet with premiers before Paris to bring a new Canadian offer to the table.

As Mr. Trudeau leads the transition to a Liberal government, the Conservatives and New Democrats will begin the soul-searching over what went wrong in the 2015 campaign, and how they can turn around their fortunes, After holding power for nearly 10 years, Mr. Harper’s Conservatives dropped to official opposition status, with 99 seats and 32 per cent of the popular vote. The Conservative had won 39 per cent of the popular vote four years ago, though the party held its core vote throughout the campaign.

Voter turnout was 68 per cent, one of the highest measures since 1993, according to preliminary numbers from Elections Canada.

The Conservatives lost a slew of cabinet ministers, including finance minister Joe Oliver and environment minister Leona Aglukkaq.

The Liberal gains also came at the expense of the New Democratic Party, which entered the race as the frontrunner. The NDP won 44 seats and lost prominent MPs, including Megan Leslie in Halifax, Paul Dewar in Ottawa and Pat Martin in Winnipeg.

Leader Tom Mulcair won his Quebec riding but will have a much-reduced caucus, and may faces challenges to his leadership after he steered the party toward to centre with his promise of balanced budgets.

Mr. Mulcair said Monday night that he would continue his role as opposition leader in order to hold Mr. Trudeau and his Liberal government to account.

The vote put an end to a long, acrimonious campaign that saw charges of Conservative Islamophobia and a bitter fight between the Liberals and NDP for the “change vote,” a battle the Liberals won.

Mr. Harper was unbowed in his concession speech Monday night.

“During the past nine and a half years it has been an unbelievable honour to serve as your Prime Minister,” he said in his Calgary riding, which he won. “We gave everything we have to give and we have no regrets whatsoever. Friends, how could we? We remain citizens of the best country on Earth.”

Jason Kenney, Defence Minister in the outgoing government and a likely front-runner for the Tory leadership, said it was “obviously a bad night for the Conservative Party, but we’ll come back.”

“On substantive points, we’ve been a very good government. I think where we went wrong was on tone and we have to learn from our mistakes. Obviously, the collapse of the NDP didn’t help us at all,” said Mr. Kenney, who won his Calgary seat handily.