The Canadian system of government is a sanctimocracy: rule by the holier-than-thou

As Justin Trudeau is beset by scandal after scandal (often, if not always, reminiscent of the USA's Democrats), Canada's prime minister gets no traction from the Economist, with its article, Justin Trudeau is killing Canada’s liberal dream (His failings hold lessons for liberals the world over).

A diagnosis of anxiety fits his own government, too. Mr Trudeau and his party have traversed an arc from heroic to hapless during nine years in office, and today are despised by many in Canada. … A letter has been circulating among Liberal MPs calling upon Mr Trudeau to resign.

 … The unaffordability of housing is central. The cost of owning a home in Canada has increased by 66% since Mr Trudeau took office, with prices rising faster in this century than in any other sizeable OECD country bar Australia. … The influx of immigrants during Mr Trudeau’s decade in power has intensified the demand for housing. … The pain of high housing costs has been compounded by a mediocre economy. 

 … Climate change offered Mr Trudeau perhaps his clearest opportunity to blend moral leadership with pragmatism. But he ignored polling showing that while Canadians were concerned about the climate crisis, they were also loth to pay taxes equivalent to a Netflix subscription to fight it.

 … Instead of adapting to or confronting challenges thrown up by his policies, Mr Trudeau has preferred to attack his critics. He has seemed inert as the erosion of his party’s support accelerated. Some Liberals privately suggest the breakdown of his marriage last year distracted him. In a shuffle aimed at energising his front bench in 2023 more than half his cabinet changed portfolios, but the economic message remained the same: we will continue to deliver “good things” to Canadians. Only recently has Mr Trudeau begun to acknowledge that this fell short. “Doing good things isn’t enough to deal with the kind of anxiety that is out there,” he told the Montreal conference. He still describes his voters’ problems in psychological rather than practical terms.

In this week's edition of The Economist, a couple of readers respond to the article.

Can’t get no satisfaction

You described Justin Trudeau’s identity politics as “sanctimonious” (“The dying of the light”, October 19th). A local journalist once remarked that the Canadian system of government is a sanctimocracy: rule by the holier-than-thou.

ROBERT GENTLE
Johannesburg

The antipathy of Canadians towards their prime minister was quite apparent when, in the middle of this summer’s Rolling Stones concert in Vancouver, Mick Jagger commented on his long-standing friendship with the Trudeau family and was roundly booed. Mick quickly pivoted to the recent success of the Canadian soccer team.

Gary Phillips
Seattle