Tony At 10: LIBERALS IN CANADA; BLOG # 2133; FRI APR 20

THE MESSAGE:

What is a liberal?

a man of free birth
a man marked by generosity
a man not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or traditional forms
a man associated with the principles of political liberalism
a man associated with the ideals of individual freedom, greater participation in government, and constitutional, political, and administrative reforms that are designed to secure these objectives

THE BLURB:

WHAT ARE WE FACING AS CANADIAN CITIZENS?

FEDERAL LIBERAL PRIME MINISTERS

Sir Wilfrid Laurier,(1896–1911)

William Lyon Mackenzie King,
(1921–1926, 1926–1930,
1935–1948)

Louis St. Laurent,(1948–1957

Jean Chrétien, (1993–2003)

Lester B. Pearson,
(1963–1968)

Pierre Elliott Trudeau,(1968–1979,

1980–1984)

Paul Martin (2003 -2006) Justin Trudeau (2015 -present)

A recent survey released by Abacus Data shows that if an election was held today, Liberals would garner 39 per cent of support, the Conservatives 35 per cent, and the New Democrats would get 15 per cent of votes.

Andrew Scheer

The Liberal party has a narrowing lead over Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives. When the same survey was conducted last July, it found that Liberals would get 43 per cent of support, and the Conservatives 17 per cent.

The main reasons for the fall in party support appears to be centred around:

A) SMALL BUSINESS TAXES.

The Liberal government had infuriated small business owners with its recent proposed changes to the tax system; however, after weeks of blowback, Bill Morneau claims that the tax proposals were designed to invite discussion and criticism.

The Liberals were proposing to close what they considered to be loopholes in the tax regulations that govern small businesses. There were three main principals at play here:

1) Passive investments (or taking company money and investing in long-term stocks or bonds instead of the company itself). The government wants to make sure passive investment rules aren't being used to save for an individual's retirement. But the proposal has raised all kinds of questions about the ability of a small business to keep money on hand to invest on even a short-term horizon.

2) Capital gains rules around the payment on dividends.

3) Income sprinkling (spreading a company's profits among family members to lower the tax burden. Even in cases where those family members had nothing to do with the company at all). Liberals claim Morneau’s income sprinkling tax changes would mostly hit professionals like doctors, not farms and mom-and-pop shops.

As an apparent attempt to stay the criticism, Ottawa announced its plans recently to cut the small business tax rate from 10.5 per cent to nine per cent by 2019.

B) FINANCE MINISTER BILL MORNEAU

He was surrounded by controversy because of his introduction of Bill C-27, which would encourage businesses to purchase pension-related services from the few companies in Canada that provide them. One of those firms is Morneau Shepell, in which the minister owned about a million shares, worth around $20-million, through a holding company.

C) THE GOVERNMENT’S HANDLING OF REFUGEES

The Trudeau government's approach to dealing with the more than 190 extremists suspected of terrorist activity who have a connection to Canada seems to be one of de-radicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration. Many don't agree and question the security threat these individuals could pose to the Canadian public and the possibility of prosecuting them abroad.

Ralph Goodale Minister of Public Safety seems to admit that Canada is struggling to prosecute returned ISIS fighters.

Meanwhile, the U.K. minister of international development, said recently that the only way of dealing with British citizens who joined ISIL is to kill them. The British have also been active in stripping citizenship from dual nationals and banning them from returning to the U.K. The U.S. has stated explicitly that its mission is to make sure that any foreign fighters who joined ISIL in Syria, die in Syria. Australia and France have taken a similar approach, with French special forces co-operating with Iraqi units to hunt down and kill French fighters.

Ivison of the National Post says "The consistent refrain of balancing rights and security will haunt the Liberals, if a returning fighter commits an atrocity here. Remember whose rights are being protected."

These issues have aroused Conservative Party supporters and failed to generate enthusiasm among Liberal and NDP voters.

Records show that the number of illegal immigrants crossing Canadian borders has increased.

While the party support has dwindled, its leader, the ever smooth ever 'uhhing' always hand gesturing, Justin Trudeau, seems to have maintained a slight lead among Canadians. When it comes to policy, Trudeau has developed the clever strategy of right leaning approaches that occasionally shift to the left and then end up some where in the middle where most Canadians generally are as well.

Some popular moves included creating a gender-balanced cabinet and, until his recent fiasco in India, an improvement to Canada’s reputation on the world stage. Younger Canadians are most likely Trudeau's strongest followers and have consistently been his most faithful base of support.

Trudeau has figured out that overexposure leads inevitably to underwhelming election results. Today, Trudeau seems to appear less regularly in the news or on television. His advisors have convinced him that political popularity is maintained by doing more and appearing less.

When contrasted with the slime oozing out of the White House, Trudeau continues to look positively angelic. For a Liberal caucus and cabinet so replete with rookies, Trudeau has experienced shockingly few big scandals. Also the smaller T has avoided controversy with the Canadian Provinces. In many cases his policies are very difficult to challenge by local governments including those with left leaning ideals.

He has managed to avoid the global populist surge, terror attacks, hackers, fake news and clumsy campaign strategies, unlike the big T in the U.S.

Trudeau is the guy in high school who gets invited to every party, breaks up fights, challenges bullies, plays every sport and makes sure no one drives home drunk. He isn't a straight-A student or the valedictorian, but that's also why you don't hate him.

Justin Trudeau is an anomaly. He grew up surrounded by wealth and privilege, but he personally embodies neither, somehow pulling off the middle-class lifestyle. For older voters who adored Trudeau Senior, he offers the occasional similarity.

THE QUESTION: