Trudeau Shouldn’t Have Used Vaccine Mandates As a ‘Wedge Issue,’ Morneau Says

Finance Minister Bill Morneau announces his resignation during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Aug. 17, 2020. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shouldn’t have used vaccine mandates as a political wedge while running for re-election in the 2021 federal election, says former finance minister Bill Morneau.

“I didn’t see that as something that was helpful,” Morneau told host Matt Galloway during an appearance on CBC radio show “The Current” on Jan. 17.

Galloway had asked Morneau about certain assertions he makes in his new book, “Where To From Here: A Path to Canadian Prosperity,” in which he says Trudeau’s style of governance over the past several years has in some ways added to political polarization across Canada.

“What does that mean?” Galloway asked. “These are very polarized times. How has he added to that through the way of governance you’re describing?”

“When you react to social media, when you react quickly to the 24/7 news cycle, you find yourself taking decisions, saying things that exacerbate the strongly held opinions of the people who are putting out those points of view,” Morneau replied.

“Like what?” asked Galloway.

“I would say a really good example would be the decision in the last election campaign to use the vaccine mandate as a wedge issue,” Morneau said.

The former finance minister went on to say he believes COVID-19 vaccines to be “critically important,” but said discussion surrounding the issue should always remain open.

“I want to make sure that we listen to people, that we understand what they’re feeling, that we try to work with them, and we try to rise above that day-to-day fray,” he said.

“That’s what I think is important for government.”

‘Politicization of the Pandemic’

Trudeau said at one point during the 2021 election campaign that the pandemic will end “with vaccination” and said individuals opposed to vaccination “are often misogynistic, often are racist.”

“There are not many of them, but they take up a lot of space. As a leader, as a country, do we tolerate these people or do we say come on,” he said during an interview with a Quebec TV station in September 2021.

Liberal MP Joël Lightbound said in February 2022 that he believed the federal government’s vaccine mandates in place at the time were divisive, thus taking a stance in opposition to his party’s leader.

“From a positive and unifying approach, a decision was made to wedge, to divide, and to stigmatize. I fear that this politicization of the pandemic risks undermining the public’s trust in our public health institutions,” he said during a solo press conference on Feb. 8.

Lightbound’s comments were followed shortly after by Liberal MP Yves Robillard, who said on Feb. 9 that his colleague “said exactly what a lot of us think.”

Trudeau has denied making derogatory comments about the unvaccinated, saying that he “did not call people who are unvaccinated names.”

“I highlighted there is a difference between people who are hesitant to get vaccinated for any range of reasons, and people who deliberately spread misinformation that puts at risk the life and health of their fellow Canadians,” the prime minister testified at the Emergencies Act inquiry on Nov. 25.

Noé Chartier contributed to this report.