By Aly Kamadia, Editor-In-Chief, iDose
Dear Readers,
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People who have been reading and watching the news lately can be forgiven if they feel overwhelmed.
That includes my fellow Canadians – whose idea of moving fast involves proceeding at the pace of a paralyzed turtle.
A rapid change of pace has taken over Canadians, which was perhaps marked domestically by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s downfall.
Trudeau’s approval ratings became so embarrassingly low and untenable that he was forced to resign.
As is the case in politics, there were many in Trudeau’s own party celebrating his downfall and ready to replace him.
The most prominent Canadian politician at the time was Chrystia Freeland. Dying to become Canada’s next Prime Minister for at least the past decade or so (see here for a 2019 article that iDose featured), Freeland had stood by Trudeau as the staunchest of allies for virtually every second of his highly questionable tenure.
But Trudeau’s most recent lack of loyalty towards Freeland perhaps made it easy for her to champion his toppling.
Unfortunately for Freeland, her ambitions to become the next Prime Minister collided against a mysterious force known as the ‘real world’.
It slapped her in the face, so to speak.
How else is one supposed to characterize the situation when an economic elite and technocrat, without even a seat in Parliament, Mark Carney, came out of nowhere and claimed the crown? And to add insult to injury, the former central banker absolutely eviscerated Freeland and all other contenders in the Liberal leadership race.
Of course, one can’t deny that Carney’s political skill is in serious need of refinement at the current moment.
This wasn’t blatantly obvious in the beginning.
For instance, before bothering to do any Canadian interviews, the former central banker went on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart (US). I was so surprised after the interview that I made a few calls and encouraged people to watch it, as I described Carney “as an economist who actually appears to have a personality”. (To be fair, there are economists out there with a personality, even if it tends to be uncommon.)
That interview seems like it was an eternity ago, and last week, Carney’s attitude towards Canadian journalists had even some Liberal supporters describing him as ‘arrogant’ – hardly a look that Canadian voters will embrace.
I’ll likely have more to say about Carney and the election in the coming weeks, only to conclude by stating that insofar as polls are capturing the current moment, it’s a coin toss between the Liberals and Conservatives.
Oh and, for those who want to read some commentary, iDose Magazine has posted a new article about Carney ahead of our next issue.
Aly Kamadia
Editor-In-Chief, iDose
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