2024-01-22 00:22:30
At its lowest in the polls, the Trudeau government is proposing to “return to [ses] roots” this winter. The Prime Minister and his ministers will establish their major action priorities during a three-day retreat in Montreal.
At the heart of the program: efforts to “support the middle class”. Ministers will notably discuss measures to reduce the cost of living, build more housing and improve the health system.
The cabinet’s retirement also comes at a time when the issue of immigration weighs on the government. Last Wednesday, Quebec Premier François Legault urged the Canadian Prime Minister to curb the influx of asylum seekers, otherwise Quebec will reach its “breaking point.”
“We found Mr. Legault’s letter very constructive and very useful. Now, it is up to us to find common solutions,” declared the Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez, at the end of the first evening of the ministers’ retreat, Sunday evening.
“We must look at the pressures coming from foreign students and temporary workers… We agree [sur le fait] that it’s a challenge, we’re going to solve it together,” he added, speaking to journalists.
Earlier this week, Justin Trudeau invited higher education institutions and businesses to find housing solutions for these temporary residents. Same thing for industries claiming to have a significant need for temporary workers.
The issues of cost of living and housing were at the forefront of Canadians’ concerns in 2023, according to several national polling firms. However, two out of three Canadians believe that the federal government is doing a “poor” or “very poor” job in implementing policies aimed at making housing in Canada more affordable, according to a Nanos poll released earlier this year.
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives now lead the Liberals by 17 points, according to the most recent Abacus poll. At the same time, the same poll also revealed that approval of the Trudeau government was declining, with disapproval now reaching the highest level recorded since the Liberals were elected in 2015.
A return of Donald Trump?
In the context of the imminent presidential election, where a possible return of former US President Donald Trump to the White House is being considered, discussions on relations between Canada and the United States will be on the agenda .
Last week, Donald Trump won the Iowa Republican caucus in a landslide, capturing 51 percent of the vote.
Already, the Prime Minister has affirmed that a possible second Trump presidency “does not [serait] not easy “. Justin Trudeau served as Canadian prime minister throughout the former president’s first four-year term, during which relations were at times difficult.
“Do they want to be a state that is optimistic and committed to the future? Or will they choose a throwback, nostalgia for a time that never existed, a populism that reflects a lot of anxiety and the fury that people are experiencing without necessarily offering solutions? » launched Mr. Trudeau during a discussion at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal earlier this week.
“We are seeing a democratic shift, a decline in democratic values across the world and at many levels,” he added.
A second retirement
The retreat of the Council of Ministers which began in Montreal is not the first to focus on the cost of living and the housing crisis. These same questions were also the “number one priority” of the last retreat in Charlottetown, the capital of Prince Edward Island, last summer.
At the end of this retreat, the Prime Minister promised to make life accessible to young people affected by the rise in housing prices, without however announcing concrete measures.
“We have made considerable progress on these issues. The Minister of Housing and other ministers have worked with their provincial and municipal counterparts to implement very concrete measures that will have a positive impact on affordability issues,” said Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc. Sunday night.
Minister LeBlanc and some colleagues also took the floor to announce a National Summit to combat vehicle theft, including the shipping of stolen vehicles across borders.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not respond to questions from journalists upon his arrival Sunday evening. “It’s a pleasure to see you at my place,” he simply told journalists.
All federal parties will hold caucus meetings before Parliament resumes on January 29.
To watch on video
1705897377
#Trudeau #government #return #roots