Justin Trudeau Canada’s Obama?

By Imogen Grace, staff writer

Canada is on the eve of what could be a monumental political movement. Just as in Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign, the new leader of Canada’s Liberal Party is bringing a tidal wave of promises to the political process.

Justin Trudeau has become the country’s most popular underdog. Unseating incumbent Bloc MP Vivian Barbot in the 2008 election by a narrow margin of just over 1,000 votes, Trudeau began his unlikely ascent to becoming leader of the Liberal Party.

It was a foretelling boxing match last spring against Conservative Sen. Patrick Brazeau that saw Trudeau reign as the unexpected victor, and had the press dub him, ’The Contender.

It is remarkable that Trudeau has managed to be portrayed as the party’s dark horse, considering his not-so-humble roots. His father, the former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, left an indelible mark on Canada’s history after 16 non-consecutive years as a charismatic and sometimes controversial leader.

Despite having been born and mostly raised on Ottawa’s 24 Sussex Dr., the young Trudeau stands accused by his opposition of being too inexperienced. One such attack was made by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. Mr. Trudeau is not in touch with the values or the real issues that face ordinary Canadians, said Kenney, following the third Liberal leadership debate. ’I don’t really know what his background is. I don’t think he’s ever run anything.

This is much of the same discourse that occurred in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election. During the race between Democrat Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain, the latter was quoted saying, ’I have the background, knowledge, and judgment to lead this nation; my opponent does not.

McCain wasn’t completely wrong. The President-to-be was then 47 years old, four years older than the 41-year-old Trudeau will be at the 2015 Federal Elections. At that time, he had a career as a civil-rights lawyer, seven years in the Illinois State Senate, served as a U.S. Senator for three years, and published two biographies to leverage his public image.

Trudeau’s resume is even leaner. He began his career with the Liberal Party in 2006, after being appointed to chair a task force for youth renewal in the party. He narrowly won the Papineau, Que. riding in 2008 and won again in 2011 by a larger margin. He has a degree in English Literature from McGill University, and a Bachelor in Education from University of British Columbia. He was chair of Katimavik youth engagement organization, a teacher, a snowboarding coach, and had a stint as an actor in the CBC mini-series, The Great War.

The excitement generated across the country by the charismatic, brown-eyed politician, however, is marked. Since his announcement to run for party leader in October, Trudeau has traveled the country packing auditoriums, signed up over 160,000 new potential voters, and most recently won the Liberal Leadership with almost 22,000 votes more votes than his closest competitor, MP Joyce Murray.

As Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper currently sits in his seventh year in power, 56 per cent of Canadians are unsatisfied with how he’s running the country. Trudeau’s campaign slogan is ’Be Part of the Change, something he insists his supporters and Canadians are ready for.

Obama pledged the same possibility five years ago when it seemed he might take over office from a President who was often seen as polarizing, disconnected from the public, and had made many contentious decisions. The slogan Change We Can Believe In was used to brand his platform of restoring the U.S. government to an engine that works for the people.

Both potential leaders stepped onto the political stage when conditions were perfect for change, and the public hungry for action. The hungriest among them were immigrants, women, minorities, and millennials.

Both left-of-center politicians created an unprecedented growth in youth political involvement. Time Magazine called 2008 ’The Year of The Youth Vote, as 50 per cent of Americans age 18 to 29 turned out to vote. These voters favoured Obama over Republican Mitt Romney 60 per cent to 37 per cent, and were vital to the Democrat victory.

Image courtesy of cbc.ca

Trudeau has dedicated much of his life to working with youth, and considers them to be his political raison d?.

’No group is more important to me than young people, not just because it’s an under-addressed group, but because the challenges we’re facing as a planet, as a civilization, are going to require a fresh way of thinking, Trudeau said in a speech to grade 11 students in Pointe Claire, Montreal.

It is exactly this fresh thinking that Trudeau uses to connect with young voters. He has expressed his support for the decriminalization of marijuana as well a strong environmental policy, and is not in favour of the proposed Keystone Pipeline.

Social media has been monumental in both campaigns to mobilize this valuable demographic of young voters. Obama used social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to galvanize a legion of cyber supporters. This innovative strategy garnered tens of millions of dollars in campaign donations and over 700 volunteers. The viral circulation of information and photos painted Obama in a relatable and progressive way.

Likewise, in a conversation with Facebook Canada’s Managing Director Jordan Banks, Trudeau embraced social media saying it ’helps to get to know the real people you’re voting for. He currently touts over 193,000 Twitter followers. (His latest Tweet at the time of writing this article was a response to a fan who was cynical he composed his own Tweets: ’How do I prove that…I know: tell your friend that they’re full of s***. The Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada spelled out the whole word, however.)

In Obama’s 2008 campaign, there was a happy ending. Though his circumstances are rife with similarities, there is no telling if Trudeau will be welcomed with cheers and tears as the new leader of the nation. The next Canadian Federal Election is scheduled for Oct. 19, 2015. There will be much name calling and offensive strikes for Trudeau to combat in the long road ahead.

’The Contender’s charming and youthful influence is casting a glow of idealism in a country that has long been more involved in American politics than its own. But there are still many questions. Will his popularity carry him to victory on Election Day, as it did with Obama? Or will we watch him be deflated by aggressive Tory attacks and a flimsy policy platform? ?Will he continue his family legacy? Will his many new young supporters take their interest beyond their computer screens, and vote?

Is Justin Trudeau the change that he says he is, and does Canada want to be a part of it?

—–

Imogen is a journalist, writer, and film maker?áliving in Toronto. Her work explores?across-cultural stories of immigration and gender.?She writes copy for the creative design studios Half Hunter. She is the writer of the short film?”The Haircut”, which will adebut at ReelWorld Film Festival?áthis spring.?