PM Trudeau vows to continue ‘fighting’ for Canadians despite signs of slumping popularity

In a year-end interview with CityNews and OMNI on Thursday, a reflective Justin Trudeau vowed to forge on into the next election despite signs that he’s become increasingly less popular with Canadians burdened by a barrage of financial pressures.

Trudeau said he would stay on as Liberal Leader, with hopes of defeating a surging Pierre Poilievre when Canadians once again head to the polls.

“I think this is the kind of job that you’ve always got to ask whether you’ve got the energy for it, whether you’re still committed to it, whether you’re the right person for the job,” Trudeau, who turns 52 on Christmas day, admitted.

“But there is so much more at stake right now … because what I owe Canadians, and mostly what I owe my kids in fighting every day for a better future, means I am here to stand with Canadians and fight for them every day.”

Despite his vows of unwavering commitment, recent polls have shown Canadians have grown increasingly skeptical of his leadership.

A recent survey found almost two in three Canadians have a negative impression of Trudeau and half want him to resign before the next election.

It’s no coincidence that his popularity has sagged while prices of almost everything have skyrocketed for cash-strapped Canadians.

But Trudeau didn’t seem overly eager to absorb the blame for the current affordability crisis, listing a slew of causes that were out of his control when asked about it.

“It’s a really tough time right now and it’s a really tough time because of global circumstances that are hitting really, really hard whether it’s global inflation and interest rates, whether it’s disrupted supply chains from the pandemic, whether it’s continued instability because of wars and geopolitics, it’s having an impact everywhere,” he said.

Watch full year-end interview with PM Trudeau:

At the same time, he touted how his government is helping Canadians save.

“Here in Canada we are focused on being there to support people with really tangible things: we’ve been able to cut childcare fees in half right across the country just at the time where costs of groceries and mortgages have gone up. We’ve been able to deliver dental care to families who haven’t been able to send their kids to the dentist and as of next year seniors are going to have those options too.  We are bringing in more competition for grocery stores to bring prices down. There’s a lot of work to do and people are struggling but we are going to continue fighting for them every single day.”

He also touted the “tangible benefits” of his government’s grocery rebate, saying it helps 11-million Canadians, as well as the new grocery code of conduct that’s been met with resistance from grocery behemoths.

“I think it’s actually a good sign that big grocery store owners are worried about the impact of our grocery code of conduct that is going to drive down some of their exorbitant profits and be there to support people. Yes, we are using a tough level of tools with the big grocery owners because they are making record profits at a time where Canadians are having trouble affording (food).

Trudeau also puffed his chest out a bit when discussing recent investments in housing, including $471 million slotted for Toronto, where affordability issues and lack of housing remain a cruel marriage for many.

He took the chance to take a jab at his rival, Poilievre and his Conservative party, when discussing the issue.

“What’s interesting is the leader of the opposition and the Conservatives have voted against our housing measures. They voted against cutting the GST on rental construction, they voted against our rapid housing initiative,” Trudeau said.

“There is lots more to do but we started this in 2017 with a national housing strategy that reversed all the inaction that happened when Pierre Poilievre was housing minister under the Conservatives, and they didn’t get any housing built.”

Trudeau also defended his government’s plan to increase immigration to 500,000 people a year.

He defied the suggestion his immigration plan is contributing to the housing crisis.

“Let’s be very careful about how we talk about immigration because there’s a number of different pieces in that and I think it’s very important for people to understand. First of all, yes, we are increasing our immigration levels up to close to half-a-million people because we need to be bringing people into this country to continue to create the incredible diversity and economic success that immigrants bring.”

Trudeau said the real issue is irregular asylum seekers, an influx of international students, and temporary workers that all arrive without the necessary supports from international partners, educational institutions and employers.

“We have to make sure we are working with international partners to make sure that people who arrive here irregularly reduce in numbers,” he stressed.

On international students he said: “What we’ve actually done is demanding that if the federal government is going to approve international students coming in, the educational institutions need to make sure they’re doing their job to make sure there’s housing available for those international students.”

On temporary workers, he added: “If a company needs to bring in a temporary worker to do a job that Canadians can’t or won’t do, they have to be more responsible for finding housing.”

“So I don’t like the fact that people are setting immigration against housing because that’s not the full story, but there are specific problems that have cropped up in the past couple of years that we are directly leaning in to address to keep Canadians’ confidence strong in our world-class immigration system and in the incredible advantage it is to bring people into Canada from around the world.”

When asked why his government took so long to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, Trudeau cited the complexity of the issue.

“We recognize and will always stand with Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law but there is an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe In Gaza that requires the world to push towards a ceasefire, but that ceasefire can’t be unconditional, it has to have Hamas lay down its arms, it has to have Hamas stop using humans as shields, it has to have Hamas release all hostages.

“And Hamas, which is a terrorist organization, cannot be involved in the future governance of Gaza, as we move towards a two-state solution. That is Canada’s position. We know we need to see peace in the Middle East but that happens as we build with partners towards a two-state solution of a secure Palestine living alongside a secure Israel.”

Trudeau said he’s been disheartened witnessing the Middle East strife touch down on home soil.

“One of the things we are also seeing that is really concerning is the level of anger and frustration and even intolerance among Canadians – we are a country that does diversity better than just about any other place in the world and the level of grief and anger and mistrust and even hate that we are seeing amongst Canadians is not helping in finding a resolution over there. Because if we can’t figure out how to start talking together and working things out then who else will around the world and that’s where we are continuing to step up.”

In the end, Trudeau believes he’s on the right track, whether the electorate agrees or not, and says there’s too much on the line to back down now and step aside.

“There’s no question in my mind that this is the time where everything is in the balance everywhere around the world, whether it’s democracy, whether it’s the environment and the fight against climate change and the desire to build a strong economy that works for everyone, the fight to be more inclusive, to stand up for everyone’s rights.

“I couldn’t be the person I am and walk away from this fight right now.”