The nine-year reign of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party came to a sudden and stunning end on Monday night at the hands of Justin Trudeau, the young leader of the Liberal Party. Starting with a sweep of the Atlantic provinces, the Liberals capitalized on what many Canadians saw as Mr. Harper’s heavy-handed style, and the party went on to capture 184 of the 338 seats in the next House of Commons. The unexpected rout occurred 47 years after Mr. Trudeau’s father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, first swept to power. Justin Trudeau, who will be 44 on Christmas Day, will become Canada’s second-youngest prime minister and the first to follow a parent into office. While the Liberal Party had emerged on top in several polls over the past week, its lead was short of conclusive and Mr. Trudeau was an untested figure. There was no ambiguity, however, in Monday’s results. The manner in which Harper politicised the use of the niqab as an election issue typified his disdain for traditional multicultural values and attempt to erode Canada’s traditional liberal values. That it was Trudeau, the son of the late prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who ended Harper’s reign, will indeed be a bitter pill for Harper to swallow. His decade in power attempted to erode those liberal principles that Trudeau the elder had so boldly shaped. As prime minister, Harper radically altered Canada’s foreign policy, transforming it from an impartial arbiter to an assertive power with its own agenda. It included strident support for Israel at the expense of the Palestinian people and Trudeau’s election should hopefully see Ottawa return to actively supporting true justice. Trudeau has said that he will withdraw Canadian troops and planes from missions in Iraq and Syria and will refocus efforts on rebuilding Canada’s tarnished image as a peacemaker to that of a peacekeeper. During Harper’s reign, Canadians who live overseas were treated as second-class citizens, denied voting rights and deprived of consular and embassy services after five years. His attempt to create a class system of Canadians was one that was repugnant to the very values of being Canadian and it was one that Canadians ultimately rejected on Monday. Harper changed Canada like no other prime minister did. The challenge now for Trudeau is to restore the country’s pride of place as a beacon of multiculturalism, a neutral force of friendship on the international stage and a prosperous land welcoming and tolerant of all.
pk.shafaqna.com
