The end of the honeymoon
“Oh, you’re from Canada? Your prime minister is really hot.”
This has become my most widely received comment since I’ve been on a semester abroad in England (after the typical comments on Canadian winters, of course). To be fair, it isn’t the worst comment to receive.
The fact that young people from countries across the world can name, recognize, and even know a bit about the platforms of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign is pretty impressive for Canada. Whenever I discuss the rise of President Donald Trump with other students, I often receive comments of, “Well, at least you have Trudeau.” However, it has recently been difficult to maintain the same level of optimism.
The image of Trudeau put forth to the masses is what I consider to be a “Buzzfeed-ified” version. It seems that throughout the 2015 election, no one was discussing his looks apart from Conservative advertisements that were meant to be patronizing. Then suddenly, after the election, it was as if everyone turned to each other and said, “Is it just me, or is he kind of attractive?”
From there, the idealized image of Trudeau began to spread. In the beginning, it didn’t seem completely unwarranted. Besides, perhaps, a sweater featuring an image of Trudeau riding a unicorn that kept popping up on my timeline. That was a bit much.
Having a leader who was young, a self-proclaimed feminist, and promising real change was exciting, especially in light of what was at the time a mere possibility of Trump becoming president.Creating a gender balanced cabinet, welcoming refugees, and promising to abolish controversial Harper-era movements, such as research gags for scientists, gave supporters reason to believe that we were going to witness a transformative term.
For a time, it seemed that, since Trudeau was placed on a pedestal, his opponents were trying to focus on anything that could damage his image, such as taking a day off on a trip to China to celebrate his anniversary, or the questionable scuffle in parliament ending with Trudeau elbowing MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau.
From the perspective of Trudeau supporters, these discussions seemed like opponents grasping at straws to change the overall positive impression many had of the prime minister. His approval rating subsequently remained impressively high for the first year of his term.
However, it is difficult for even the strongest of Trudeau supporters to deny critiques of the prime minister recently. By reversing his stance on electoral reform—a main part of his campaign—many voters and Liberal MPs alike feel as if they had been deceived. Further, the announcement of the work on the Trans Mountain Pipeline angered environmentally motivated supporters.
From the beginning of January to now, the midpoint of my semester, those outside of Canada are beginning to catch on with the frustration that Canadians are experiencing.
On a couple of occasions, I have been asked, “Is it true that people aren’t as keen on Trudeau as they were before?”
At the same time, viral articles regarding the contrast between Trump and Trudeau and complimenting how he looks in tight pants continue to appear on my social media newsfeeds.
While international spectators continue to lust after Trudeau, Canadians will be hoping that he delivers the substance he promised and to not be preoccupied in maintaining the flawless image the media has created for him.
Photo by Christina Kuefner via CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.