Trudeau sweeps into Hogtown
At 12:10 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a press release from the mayor’s office, John Tory was to “welcome Prime Minister Trudeau to Toronto City Hall” on the “south side of the skating rink” before a 45- minute meeting. I pictured a podium, a fulsome, double- barrelled handshake. Maybe a ceremonial peameal sandwich. Clearly, I had forgotten who I was dealing with.
Running late, I hustled around the southwest corner of City Hall and confronted a full- on mob scene: a teeming hive of cameras and reporters and selfie-seeking groupies swirling chaotically around gladhanding Trudeau and his security detail as a few bemused tourists skated past. Someone trying to get a better angle biffed on the rink. Hard.
Tory waded into the throng and presumably did indeed welcome Trudeau to Toronto — though not so as anyone could hear. And then the Trudeau agglomeration swirled giddily northwards toward the doors of city hall, where Trudeau turned and waved and a mighty “squeeeee!” arose. Two 40- ish women, perhaps not realizing they couldn’t follow the prime minister into the building, retreated, looked at each other and swooned at the Trudeau proximity they had achieved.
I have never seen anyone swoon before. If I ever said that I had, I take it back.
There was no earthly reason for any of it. It was the craziest scene since Rob Ford was mayor, some remarked, though there were only two hecklers, and both were wearing shirts. ( It was cold .) One proud libertarian demanded Trudeau allow Canadians to grow their own weed and carry concealed handguns. “If you idolize this man I pity you!” another all- purpose naysayer inveighed against Trudeau’s admirers, though not loudly.
The greeting inside was somewhat less frantic but no cooler. Hundreds of municipal employees and other gawpers had gathered in the rotunda, camera phones held aloft, applauding and whooping and then gazing up at Trudeau as he made his way to Tory’s office along the balcony above, waving down like Evita.
An incongruous gaggle of taxi drivers chanted “We love Justin!” and later exhorted him to ban Uber.
The rotunda and balcony were just as packed for the post- meeting press conference. “This is a historic moment for Toronto,” Tory began, and my ears pricked up.
We hadn’t been expecting big news out of this meeting — just a renewed commitment from the city and federal governments to work together in glorious harmony on such issues as transit infrastructure, housing, climate change and refugee resettlement. Ottawa has already gifted $ 1.6 billion of your money for SmartTrack, but Tory has made it clear he wants more — and he needs more, if he’s going to achieve his low-tax/ high-investment platform. In recent budget presentations, city staff have pointed to ostensibly renewed generosity in Ottawa and at Queen’s Park as potential remedies for longstanding, seemingly intractable shortfalls.
So how will Toronto remember Jan. 13, 2015? What history were Tory and Trudeau making?
“A sitting prime minister has not paid a visit to city hall since amalgamation ( in 1998),” said Tory. Ah. OK. Reality presents Toronto some tough choices. The Liberal platform promised two years of deficits totalling $20 billion to fund Canada’ s infrastructure. That’s a lot of money— about two years of municipal budgets.
But a lot of other cities and town sin this country could also use a hot infrastructure injection. The city’s fiscal problems will never be solved with cheques from senior levels of government.
But for a day, everyone seemed happy to bathe in Trudeaumania. The prime minister took a few questions from reporters — on the budget, on Saudi arms deals, on refugees. He ignored them magnificently, reciting somewhat related talking points.
And then he left, in the same tumbleweed of cameras and RCMP officers and fans that attended his arrival.
Trudeau promised change. No one can say he hasn’t delivered.
REALITY PRESENTS TORONTO SOME TOUGH CHOICES.