Canadian Elections

Unless you're living under a rock, you've heard that Canada elected a new Prime Minister(PM), Justin Trudeau, this past Tuesday. Interestingly, Trudeau is the son of the a former PM, Pierre Elliott Trudeau who was often touted as one of the country's foremost intellectuals during his time in office. His wit and ability to play of the media was unlike any other; there may have been comparisons to JFK Jr, however I reckon Trudeau was the brighter of the two...anyways this blog post concerns the elections and recently elected leader. This was the biggest election in recent times - it even garnered international attention; that's big time! Canada rarely makes international headlines, however this election seemed to pique the interest of several different stations, including the BBC. Okay, I'll move on to discussing the actual election...

It seems whenever election season rolls around in the U.S, the media speculates who will be running two years in advance. I understand this has to do with advance polling and primaries etc., however it all seems so foreign when one looks at how elections are carried out across the border. In Canada, the influence of interest groups is not as prevalent, although it does exist...which makes campaigning a lot more accessible for the 'average joe.' A study would have be carried out to see what the average income is of the members of parliament and whether or not there is a stark difference with those in Parliament vs. the Legislature.

Stephen Harper, the former PM was in office for nearly a decade, and had been quite successful at maintaining a certain level of influence. Justin Trudeau was first elected as a member of parliament in 2008 for a riding in Quebec (Papineau) and re-elcted twice (in 2011 and 2015). Many critics have cited his lack of experience makes him unfit for the job, however politics is one of the fields where on the job training provides the most significant experience. Trudeau has been vocal about marijuana policies, climate change, leaving the American-led bombing campaign against the Islamic State, and restructuring economic spending. The greatest change has been in the tone, with emphasis on moving forward and positivity. This sweeping victory will show the world, (at least Canada) what vision Trudeau has in mind and if he can cast off his critics.  It appears for a moment, the world has laid watchful eyes on a country that is often overlooked.