When Canadian author Naomi Klein came to Dublin on a book tour in 2016, the audience giggled as she presented a photo of Justin Trudeau and referred to him as her “hunky new prime minister” or "ikemen shusho" as they refer to him in Japan. Like Barrack Obama, fresh-faced Trudeau campaigned on a platform of “change” and the world was smitten. He straddled a line between left and right politics and led the Liberal Party of Canada back into power in 2015 after their worst showing in history just four years earlier.
| Even my own heart skipped a beat last April when Trudeau schooled a reporter on quantum computing, and I wished there were more politicians in the world like him. Like most romance, fifteen months into Trudeau’s premiership, the glimmer is fading. His empathy for the disadvantaged and public support of climate action is darkened by his neo-liberal advocacy of global trade deals and oil pipelines. | |
At a town hall meeting in Alberta last January, Trudeau defended his pro-pipeline stance by saying:
The responsibility of any Canadian prime minister is to get our resources to market and yes, that includes our oil sands fossil fuels.
Compare this to Trudeau’s gutsy 2015 campaign commitment to “work in partnership with the United States and Mexico to develop an ambitious North American clean energy and environmental agreement” and your heart starts to break.
| Trudeau’s nationalistic approach to fossil fuel infrastructure ignores Canada’s commitment to the United Nations’ climate agreement. Canadian tar sands contain approximately 240 gigatons of carbon or half of the world’s carbon we can burn to stay under the 2-degree Celsius limit considered “safe” for humanity. If we’re serious about addressing climate change, most of that tar sand oil needs to stay in the ground and building a pipeline to transport it is a regressive move. |  Canadian tar sand extraction. Photo credit: greenpeace.org |
Trudeau has already approved three pipelines in his short tenure as prime minister, most notably the Keystone XL pipeline between Canada and the U.S.A. which Barrack Obama vetoed following high-profile protests in the United States. SCROTUS Donald Trump recently reinstated plans for the Keystone XL pipeline, a move that was welcomed by Trudeau.
 | In a joint statement between Trudeau and Trump this week, they explained: “As the process continues for the Keystone XL pipeline, we remain committed to moving forward on energy infrastructure projects that will create jobs while respecting the environment.” |
Building an oil pipeline does anything but respect the environment or the ability of future generations to meet their needs in an uninhabitable climate, but such contradictory statements are becoming more frequent as Trudeau attempts to appeal to a diverse electorate who want to retain jobs in dirty tar sand fields while miraculously preserving the environment and leading on climate action.
On the other side of the pond, Trudeau’s behavior is equally troubling. He is championing the Canada-Europe trade deal, CETA, which will remove customs duties between Canada and the EU. Global trade deals are designed to improve efficiency for global companies, meaning job losses and lower wages. For Europe, CETA is likely to impact the agricultural sector worst of all as Canadian agriculture can out-compete due to lower regulatory standards and more intensive farming practices.
| Modern trade agreements also create arbitration courts that let companies and investors file lawsuits against countries who pass regulations that damage their profits. This has grave implications for any public health and environmental regulations a country may want to pursue in the future, but Trudeau calls CETA "one of the most progressive trade deals ever proposed" and continues to ignore widespread public opposition to the agreement. |  |
Trudeau has been described as the progressive counterweight to the likes of Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen. However, on climate and on trade, Trudeau has adopted a similarly nationalist agenda that pits Canadian self-interest against the environment and neighbouring economies. It would be nice if Trudeau represented a new generation of leaders with vision and joined up thinking, but the evidence suggests he is just another man who speaks out of both sides of his mouth to appeal to the widest voter base.
 | Perhaps actress Jane Fonda summed up Trudeau best last month when she said: “I guess the lesson is we shouldn't be fooled by good-looking liberals no matter how well-spoken they are." |
If we want an antidote to the extreme nationalism sweeping the globe, it appears “hunky Trudeau" is not our knight in shining armor.
 | All the more reason for the rest of us to "keep fighting the good fight" for ourselves rather than wait to be rescued! Happy Valentine's Day! ;-) -Cara |
* CETA is scheduled to be voted on by EU Parliament tomorrow. Find out how your MEP plans to vote and contact them here!
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