Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, has seen his approval ratings plummet amid criticism of his handling of the trucker protests, including bringing in controversial emergency legislation. The Telegraph has the story.
Ottawa, the nation’s capital, was brought to a standstill for three weeks and road borders with the U.S. were clogged up as hundreds of truckers blocked streets and highways in protest at vaccine mandates.
The chaos ended only when Mr. Trudeau enacted emergency powers not used by a Prime Minister in more than 50 years and dozens of people were arrested.
Nearly half of Canadians said that their impressions of Mr. Trudeau have worsened over his response to the convoy, according to one poll, while another said a majority of people thought that his words and actions inflamed the situation.
A Nanos Research survey found that 47% of Canadians said their impressions of Mr. Trudeau worsened over his Government’s response to the demonstrations, while only 20% said theirs improved.
Nik Nanos, a pollster, said in an interview with The Globe and Mail newspaper: “What’s clear from the survey is that even though Canadians generally support what the Prime Minister has done, his personal brand has taken a hit as a result of the truckers’ convoy protest. There’s no political windfall for Justin Trudeau coming out of implementing the Emergencies Act.”
Another survey by the Angus Reid Institute, a British Columbia-based polling organisation, revealed that 65% of respondents polled in February thought Mr Trudeau’s remarks targeting protesters worsened an already tense situation.
When the protests started, Mr Trudeau called the group a “fringe minority” that held “unacceptable views”.
Last autumn, he angered protesters further by saying that some of those fiercely opposed to vaccination are “often misogynist, often racist, too. It’s a small group but takes up space”.
It seems you can’t go full Stalin in Canada and expect the voters to reward you. Given the numerous opinion polls in many countries over the last couple of years suggesting majorities in favour of draconian restrictions and penalties for the unvaccinated – encouraging leaders like Trudeau, Macron and Ardern to bring in ever more extreme policies – it’s welcome to find a poll chastening one of them for overreach.
Worth reading in full.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.