https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
It wasn’t long ago that the thought of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being a one-term wonder would have been unthinkable. Not any more.
A confluence of issues and events – hello, India! – have reshaped the Liberal Leader’s image in the unkindest of ways. However, it’s his government’s contentious environmental agenda, and his handling of the dispute over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which have shaken the confidence and trust many Canadians had in him to lead the country.
As things stand now, the federal Liberals very well may be wiped out completely in the Prairies, while perhaps getting a seat or two in Metro Vancouver. Maybe. Such is the level of animosity that has enveloped Mr. Trudeau’s environmental plan, especially with the national carbon tax that he’s attempting to bring in. But people in the West are equally furious over the Prime Minister’s handling of the pipeline conflict between B.C. and Alberta.
Fair or not, there is a perception that the Prime Minister allowed this issue to take a back seat to other, lesser, priorities, while basking in the glow of a fawning world press wowed by his progressive, feminist credentials.
But in the West, the pipeline is the biggest issue, one now enveloped in generations-old complaints. If the aggrieved party was Quebec, instead of Alberta, this matter likely would have been solved by now. (Mostly by ensuring Quebec got whatever it wanted). At least, that is the sentiment this clash has sown west of Ontario.
For the rest of this column: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-why-a-pipeline-could-cost-justin-trudeau-the-next-election/