BC Business
With two massive deals already in place at the beginning of this month, Justin Trudeau appears to be in a good situation
Before October, there hadn’t been much in the way of positivity for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Whether it was his disastrous India trip, the purchase of the Kinder Morgan pipeline or a ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal that the federal government had failed to adequately consider Indigenous concerns about expanding that project, it wasn’t easy to find good news about the federal government.
And while no policy is ever going to appease everyone in a country of 36 million, it looks like Trudeau and company have at least started to turn around public perception with their efforts this month.
First, there was the new trade deal with the U.S. Although it’s not perfect (how was it ever going to be, with America playing the role of the bully with not nearly as much to lose as Canada?), the deal represents a milestone for the Canadian government. Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives can talk all they want about “negotiating a better deal,” but it’s hard to take that as anything but posturing.
And then today, Trudeau announced the “largest private sector investment project in Canadian history.” The decision to build a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Kitimat was, again, not met with universal support. BC Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver, who is propping up the BC NDP, wasn’t happy with that government’s backing of the plant.
But around the province, there were waves of support for the project, including from the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT), which called the $40-billion investment a “monumental win.”
“The implications of today’s decision for British Columbia’s reputation as an attractive jurisdiction to invest and build major projects will be profound,” said Iain Black, president and CEO of the GVBOT. “There will be substantial economic benefits for Indigenous partners and B.C. businesses—including those in Greater Vancouver—who will have opportunities in the construction and ongoing operations phases. This is a big win for British Columbians around the province.”
No matter what side of the ideological divide you stand on, it’s hard to deny that Trudeau has some serious momentum so far in October. And that’s not even counting the impending legalization of recreational marijuana later this month, a historic moment in its own right.
As Canada prepares for another federal election in 2019, it appears that Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party are gaining steam at the right time.