ADDRESSING ALIENATION
Trudeau vows to listen to West
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is thinking hard about why the Liberals were completely shut out in Alberta and Saskatchewan in Monday's election and promised to do more to earn support from voters there.
“There's a lot of thinking to do on that, a lot of listening to Albertans as I have endeavoured to do over the past couple of years, but obviously I'm going to have to do a lot more,” he said at a news conference Wednesday in Ottawa, his first since election night.
“Why did this happen is not the central issue we have,” he went on. “The central issue for me is how do we move forward in a way that responds to the concerns that Albertans and Saskatchewanians have clearly expressed. This is something that matters to me and we're going to work very, very hard to ensure that this government acts in ways that benefits everyone across the country.”
The Liberals lost all five of their MPs across both provinces this election — including two cabinet ministers, Ralph Goodale and Amarjeet Sohi. That means there is a massive geographic hole in the Liberal caucus now, stretching from Winnipeg to B.C.'s west coast.
Trudeau said he talked to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe on Tuesday, and will be speaking to mayors in those provinces and other leaders as he prepares to start his second term in government.
“I've been very, very clear in telling Canadians from coast to coast to coast that we need to recognize that Albertans and people of Saskatchewan have faced very difficult years over these past few years because of global commodity prices, because of challenges that they're facing,” Trudeau said. “We are moving forward to solve some of those challenges, but it's going to take all Canadians sticking together, helping out folks who are struggling in places like Alberta and Saskatchewan.”
In recent days, both Kenney and Moe have spoken about the frustration and alienation being felt in the West.
Kenney continued that on Twitter Wednesday, saying, “The first responsibility of a Prime Minister is to unite the country. Albertans sent an unequivocally strong message this election. It's time for Justin Trudeau to listen.”
The first responsibility of a Prime Minister is to unite the country. Albertans sent an unequivocally strong message this election. It’s time for Justin Trudeau to listen. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney The message Canadians sent on Monday evening has given me a lot of food for thought … It’s extremely important that the government works for all Canadians. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
UNDER PRESSURE FROM RESTIVE WEST, TRUDEAU VOWS TO REACH OUT, LISTEN
Kenney added, “There can be no strong Canada without a strong Alberta. I hope the Prime Minister is listening.”
Trudeau said his new cabinet will be sworn in Nov. 20 and said he would not be forming any kind of governing coalition with another party. That suggests he’ll govern on an ad hoc basis, looking to get support — or at least an abstention — from one of the NDP, Bloc Québécois or the Conservatives on each vote to get it passed in the House of Commons. With 157 seats, the
Liberals are strong enough that it would take all three opposition parties joining together to defeat the Liberals in the Commons.
He did not say when Parliament would be recalled, but said he expects to introduce legislation on middle-class tax breaks as soon as it does.
However, when asked whether he would include an Alberta or Saskatchewan voice in his cabinet, such as by appointing a senator, Trudeau suggested he may have to go without that representation.
“That’s one of the things that we’re going to be reflecting on in the coming days,” he said. “I think any government needs to make sure that it is hearing from every corner of the country, and not all governments in history have had representation from every corner of the country. There have been different approaches taken. I’m going to be reflective on how we move forward in the right way.”
On the Trans Mountain pipeline extension, perhaps the single biggest issue for Alberta, Trudeau vowed to move forward on it regardless of opposition from the NDP and the Green Party. The Liberal government purchased the pipeline for $4.5 billion last year in an effort to shepherd the expansion through environmental and political opposition. But the project was still delayed by a 2018 Federal Court of Appeal decision that Indigenous consultation was insufficient and new legal challenges are still being heard.
“We will be continuing with the Trans Mountain expansion,” Trudeau said. “Right now, and for too long, we have been selling our natural resources to the United States at a discount, and that doesn’t serve anyone ... Getting our resources to markets other than the United States, and getting that done as quickly as possible, remains a priority for us.”
Trudeau also acknowledged it was a divisive election campaign, often focused on personal attacks.
“I think there were a lot of issues that weren’t properly addressed, and there were big substantive ideas that weren’t fully debated in this election campaign, and I regret that,” he said. “And I recognize that much of this campaign tended to be around me, and I do hold a bit of responsibility for that. But this Parliament and this government will be and needs to be focused on Canadians. That means we need to work together, we need to listen to each other, we need to figure out the right path forward for every part of the country.”