Justin Trudeau continues to make announcements about good public policy with zero supportive government advertising. It is almost as though Trudeau wants to lose the next election.
By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on December 2, 2024.
OTTAWA—Doug Ford is talking tough against Donald Trump.
He knows it is good politics. Canadians are extremely upset about the possibility that our economy will be bludgeoned by a bully.
As premier, Ford is in a position to talk tough and face few of the repercussions that would rain upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau if he were to say the same thing.
Ford also took a nasty shot at Mexico, demanding they be turfed from the North American Free Trade agreement for allowing Chinese auto production into their country.
Ford has a point, and the new Mexican government may have to rethink the trade policy.
Trudeau must proceed cautiously because the reported animus that Trump feels for him could cost our country dearly.
Canadians are in for a rough ride as Trump also knows that most Canadians do not like him. He is a man who needs to be loved.
Ever since the president-elect won a majority, news from south of the border is nothing short of cringe-worthy.
Putting an anti-vaxxer in charge of health policy, especially one as crazy as Robert Kennedy, is nothing short of deadly.
Kennedy has promised to ban fluoride in all American water systems. Democratic state governors are already lining up to block any federal edicts that infringe on their jurisdiction.
Hulk Hogan is publicly ruminating that he will be given a senior position on the Trump team. An alleged sex philanderer had to drop out as Trump’s pick for attorney general.
Ford attacked Trump for claiming illegal drugs and migrants were coming from Canada. Instead, according to Ford, Canada is the recipient of illegal guns and drugs coming north.
Trudeau is working with premiers on a joint approach to the Trump threat to impose an immediate 25 per cent tariff on all goods entering from Canada on the day he is sworn in.
While Trudeau and Ford may be working together on that issue, they are going to be at political odds in upcoming elections.
Ford has already made noises about moving to the polls early, and his advertising strategy seems to confirm that intention.
His government is running non-stop messaging on radio and television to explain the strength of the Ontario economy. One of the reasons is the move to electrification of vehicles.
At the same time as government ads are lauding the new investments (made in tandem with the federal government), Ford’s party ads are designed to trash Trudeau’s price on pollution.
Trudeau’s fight against global warming is one of the reasons the federal government has invested heavily in alternative energies, and public transit.
In Ford’s party ads, the premier takes all the credit for these investments, when in reality, the push came from the feds.
Ford is intending to run his campaign against Trudeau.
Meanwhile, Trudeau continues to make announcements about good public policy with zero supportive government advertising. It is almost as though Trudeau wants to lose the next election.
In the past week, Ontario became the third province to join the federal government’s plan for a national school food program.
Newfoundland was the first to sign on to the national initiative, followed by Manitoba and now Ontario.
But while the announcement was well-received in each province, there is been little change in the poll numbers for the federal Liberals.
That is partly because of the unpopularity of the prime minister, but it is also because the government has not spent any real money explaining why helping children’s nutrition in schools will lead to stronger communities.
The only federal ad I saw last week was a vague reference to how our banking investments are covered by a government agency known as the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation.
For some reason, some idiot in federal advertising thinks the inner workings of CDIC are more important than telling Canadians about the new school food program.
The other recent huge-ticket item was a GST pre-Christmas holiday on some items and a $250 bonus for workers with incomes under $150,000. The Liberals have since split the bill and separated the GST break from the $250 cheques which will be sent to most working Canadians in the spring.
How did that giveaway work for the government?
With zero advertising to support the initiative, what made the news was that those who did not work were upset about being left out. What was supposed to be a gateway to a positive story is now more bad Liberal news.
The New Democrats now say they won’t support the program unless it is expanded.
This multi-billion-dollar announcement should have been launched in tandem with a national advertising campaign.
Why not follow Doug Ford.
Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.
