While Canadians Struggle, the Liberal Government Is Focusing on Messaging
Canada’s housing crisis is off the charts, and half the country lives paycheck to paycheck. In a classic show of disconnect, some Trudeau Liberals think the party's greatest problem is that people don’t understand how fabulous a job they’re actually doing.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau addresses local Liberal Party supporters on August 26, 2023, in Edmonton, Canada.(Artur Widak / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Hey, people of Canada — if you’re struggling to get through the day, the Trudeau government wants you to know . . . it’s done great things. At least that seems to be the approach the governing Liberals are taking at a moment when half the country is living paycheck to paycheck, enduring punishing debt, and weathering a housing and homelessness crisis, while working families increasingly rely on food banks to get by.
In response to all this, the Liberals are resting on their laurels and promising solutions to come. In fairness to them, they are almost certainly working on something, but that’s cold comfort to those who are struggling to pay their rent and stock their kitchen cupboards right now. After eight years of the Liberal Party in power, Canadians are, more than reasonably, asking whether they’re getting a fair shake.
“But Don’t You See How Great We Are?”
Early September brought welcome news that the Bank of Canada was, for now, holding interest rates steady. Governor Tiff Macklem indicated the bank could raise rates again down the road if inflationary pressures persist, however. Days later, the monthly jobs report from Statistics Canada found that after three months of rising unemployment, the rate held at 5.5 percent as the country added 40,000 jobs.
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