2018: A Year of Failures for Justin Trudeau

A new year is here and with it a sense of hope and optimism. For Canadians from coast to coast to coast, a great deal of both is needed after the disastrous past year of soaring debt, ethics breaches, embarrassment on the world stage, and reckless spending at the hands of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the current Liberal government. They’ve told us deficits are okay and like to brag about the so-called progress they’ve made over the last year; however, Canadians know better. They know 2018 was a year of failures for the Prime Minister and the time for positive change has come.

Prime Minister Trudeau failed to represent Canada with dignity on the world stage in 2018 and failed to maintain relationships with key allies. His trip to India was a PR disaster for Canada and seriously damaged relations with the world’s largest democracy. Relations with the United States and other traditional and long-standing allies are strained. His failure on the world stage has diminished Canada’s role on important issues and damaged future trading prospects.

The Prime Minister’s carbon tax fails to address the environment and only makes life more expensive. He’s cut a special carbon tax side deal with Canada’s largest emitters, which means they will continue to pollute for free while families and small business owners are hit with the full force of the tax. His failure on the carbon tax will do nothing to reduce emissions and will only make everything more expensive.

Prime Minister Trudeau failed to secure a better deal on NAFTA. After promising Canadians he would renegotiate better terms for Canada, he capitulated to President Donald Trump on auto manufacturing; prescription drugs; Buy American provisions; steel and aluminum tariffs; and future trade deals with other countries. His failure to get a better deal on NAFTA means higher drug prices for Canadians and less control over our industry and future trade deals.

The Prime Minister has failed to equip our armed forces. He’s spending $2.5 billion less than what he promised in his defence policy. The Royal Canadian Navy is in need of new warships and the Royal Canadian Air Force requires a new fleet of fighter jets to meet Canada’s international obligations, not used CF-18s from Australia. Canada’s peacekeeping participation is at an all-time low. His failure to equip our armed forces sends the message that Canada is content to sit on the sidelines while our allies defend our values.

Canada’s veterans have been failed by Prime Minister Trudeau by his lack of support. After promising in the 2015 election that veterans would never have to go to court to obtain benefits from his government, he has spent nearly $40 million fighting veterans groups in court over benefits claims. When asked why at a town hall meeting in 2018, he said “asking for more than we are able to give.” His failure to support our veterans is a slap in the face to the brave men and women who protect our freedoms.

Prime Minister Trudeau failed to protect victims of horrific crime. He did absolutely nothing after learning police officer Catherine Campbell’s killer was receiving taxpayer-funded benefits from Veterans Affairs Canada, despite having never served a day of his life in the military. Similarly, he had to be humiliated into putting Tori Stafford’s killer back behind bars after her transfer to a healing lodge. His failure to protect victims of crime is a national embarrassment. No Prime Minister should have to be humiliated and politically damaged to do the right thing.

In 2018, the Prime Minister failed to uphold the standards of transparency, accountability, and ethical behavior he promised. In 2018, he became the first Prime Minister in Canadian history found guilty of breaking ethics laws by accepting a vacation from the Aga Khan while his ministers continued to abuse their positions of power for political gain in 2018 (Bill Morneau, Dominc Leblanc). His failure to be ethical and transparent destroys the trust Canadians have in their government.

Prime Minister Trudeau yet again failed to balance the budget. This year was supposed to be his final deficit before returning to surplus in 2019. Instead, 2018’s deficit is three times as large as projected and the budget will not be balanced until 2045. He’s spending Canada’s cupboards bare in good economic times and leaving us open to disaster when the next downturn hits. His failure to balance the budget means higher taxes down the road and less protection against the next economic downturn.

The Prime Minister yet again failed to fix the mess he created at our border with the United States. Since his #WelcomeToCanada tweet last year, 40,000 people have crossed illegally into Canada since his tweet at a cost of up to $34,000 each. By 2020, this crisis will have cost Canadian taxpayers $1.6 billion. His failure to secure our borders is costing taxpayers billions and has made it harder for law-abiding asylum-seekers and refugees to come to Canada.

All of these failures add up to one thing – throughout 2018, Prime Minister Trudeau demonstrated to Canadians his inability to get things done on the issues that matter most to them. More and more Canadians are beginning to realize that he can’t be trusted to lead the country into the future. Canadians will have a chance in 2019 to move on from Trudeau’s legacy of failure under Prime Minister Andrew Scheer and a new Conservative government.