On Monday night, Justin Trudeau of the Canadian Liberal Party beat out Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper to dethrone him of his 9-year tenure as Prime Minister.
Justin Trudeau is a 43-year-old Quebecer who is the son of Pierre Trudeau. Pierre formerly held the position of Prime Minister of Canada, and an interesting dynastic trend within the family seems to be unfolding.
Trudeau led his Liberals to a victory within the House of Commons of Canada garnering 184 seats, 14 more than needed for a majority. This proved to be a major victory for the Liberal Party, as they have been struggling to capture a significant holding of seats ever since Harper took over.
Canadians have become fed up with the conservative style of politics that Harper stood for. The Liberals turned to Justin Trudeau in an attempt to revitalize the Liberal Party while many Canadians were simultaneously looking for an alternative to Harper.
This culminated into the perfect storm for Trudeau.
Once the Liberals committed to Trudeau, he decided to steer the party down a different path in terms of policy and political outlook than the traditional Liberal paradigm. The Canadian Liberal Party has historically been known for being a middle-of-the-road, centrist party. Trudeau decided it was time to shake things up and turn the party more leftist, a strategy that boded well for them against the Conservatives but, even more importantly, also against the New Democratic Party (NDP).
Indeed, in 2011, the Liberals finished third behind the NDP, who have been termed as the socialist party of Canada. This shift in political stance that Trudeau committed the Liberal Party to sealed his fate as the eventual Canadian Prime Minister elect, but also the revival of the Liberal Party as a whole.
But, admittedly, many pundits have been quick to recognize that Trudeau’s ascension has not been completely a doing of his own. They reference the growing disdain for Stephen Harper that has been boiling up since 2006. This lack of approval for the sixth-longest serving Prime Minister in Canadian history is what cleared the way for Trudeau and secured a Liberal victory.
Regardless of how or why Trudeau got here, he’s here; he is Canada’s new Prime Minister. With his victory comes a redefined Canada.
Trudeau has made it the mission of the Liberal Party to spark a change in the way Canada operates on an economic and cultural level. He plans to implement a change in the tax bracket for Canadians, including cuts for the middle class and hikes for those making C$200,000 or more. His plan also includes slashes in defense spending.
Trudeau has set his sights on legalizing marijuana throughout Canada with a system similar to that of Colorado and Washington in the US. Another progressive measure covered under the Liberals’ agenda is creating tighter background checks for those who wish to buy handguns in Canada.
The 2015 Canadian election has been characterized as a victory for center-left politics. This election is an indicator for the shift in political outlook that can be seen mirrored in the United States as many members of the Democratic Party are reaching farther left to accommodate for a new generation calling for more progressive measures.
A victory for Trudeau and the Canadian Liberal Party is a victory for world progressivism as a whole.
