Justin Trudeau - The Savior of the Liberal Party of Canada

With the results of the federal election sinking in, it is clear that the old guard of the Liberal party has been completely rejected across Canada. Michael Ignatieff did not captivate Canadians, despite his famous tours designed to endear him with the general population of Canada, and he has resigned. Justin Trudeau, however, has retained his seat and may become the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

On April 26, 2011, Justin mentioned that the Liberal party has not managed to connect with ordinary Canadians. How true his words seem as the May 2, 2011 has delivered a crushing defeat to the party. Who could have imagined that the NDP, under the leadership of the late Jack Layton, would take over the role as Official Opposition? This historic event clearly shows that big changes are needed in the Liberal party leadership. Jack Layton of the NDP was seen to be a strong force while the recent Liberal leaders were not. With the untimely passing of Jack Layton, the era of change in Canadian politics is clearly far from over.

With the coming of a new reality in government, hard questions must be asked about the Liberal party. Was it wise to pick Michael Ignatieff to lead the party? It sure seems like a bad decision now. One could hardly imagine that the new leader would be worse than the previous, Stéphane Dion, yet that is true as well. Actually, Mr. Dion now seems to be a relative success, measured by the collapse that is the fault of Ignatieff. If there is any consolation for the party, it could be that the Bloc Québécois has actually done worse. Mr. Duceppe has removed himself from the political scene. For the Liberal Party, however, the fortunes of the separatist party is simply a parallel disaster.

Justin Trudeau is a man worth watching seriously now. Already a successful politician, he must be thought of as a candidate to lead the Liberal Party of Canada now or in the near future. Whether his time is soon or not, remains to be seen. Eventually, the Liberal party must choose him as their leader and savior of the party. When you look at Justin Trudeau, you see an intelligent young man who is bilingual, educated and the son of a very successful prime minister. There can be no other man who represents an honest savior for the party. Of course, this is assuming that the Liberals are able to survive after the election disaster of May 2.

With the state of Canadian politics today, there needs to be someone that people actually want to vote for. Most Canadian elections have had people vote against someone. They have mainly been protest votes for years. Justin Trudeau can distance himself from the past and show that the time is right for a new type of young, capable leader who has the intelligence to lead well. Although Justin has indicated that he is undecided, and that his family must come first, there is a large number of people who believe him to be worthy of leadership.

Certainly the Liberal party will have to seriously be re-examined since they faltered so badly on election day. The leaders they have had since the departure of Jean Cretien have not done much to galvanize public opinion. In fact, if anything they have driven people away from the party. The old solutions and old styles are not going to work well into the future and certainly need to be changed after the May 2 election debacle that was delivered to the LIberal Party of Canada.

As many have noticed, the Conservative majority government means federal stability for at least four years. This gives the Liberal party time to evaluate everything from the leader to funding to public support. There may still be an opportunity for the party to improve its image with Canadians. It will now be the NDP who are closely observed by the public and the media as they attempt to pick a new leader to build on Jack Layton's vision. Whether the focus ever comes back to the Liberal party remains to be seen. Clearly, however, if they reject Justin Trudeau for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, then they might have to fold completely.