OTTAWA— It was a year ago on Oct. 19 that Canadians headed to the polls in a federal election that elevated the third-place Liberals and Justin Trudeau into power with a comfortable 15-seat majority in the House of Commons.
Since then, the political honeymoon for the Liberals appears little diminished, with a variety of opinion polls placing support for the party consistently in the mid-40s to low 50s and the prime minister’s personal approval ratings even higher.
Canadians have no doubt learned a lot about Trudeau in the year since he was elected prime minister. Here are five examples:
1. He plays his cards close to his chest. Before and during the election campaign, Trudeau would let you know where he stood on issues. Marijuana? Legalize it. Deficits? Down with it. Raise taxes on the top earners? Of course. But since coming to office, he has kept particular views to himself.
On the specifics of building pipelines and electoral reform, for example, Trudeau doesn’t say what projects or voting system he backs. When asked about pipelines, he talks about the economy and environment going hand in hand, the need for social license and to work with aboriginal communities. “He’s a waffler in the grand Liberal tradition,” says Nelson Wiseman, director of the Canadian Studies Program at the University of Toronto.
