OTTAWA -- The federal Liberals started the year with so much hope and optimism, freshly elected and full of positive messages. Nearly a year later, the government faces allegations that donors can buy access to Trudeau and some of his cabinet, the firm promise of electoral reform by 2019 seems bound to be ignored, and the economy remains stagnant. Yet Trudeau remains strong in the polls, due in part to having three temporary leaders opposing him: the Conservative, NDP and Bloc Québecois leaders are all either interim or departing in 2017.
Pollster Nik Nanos says one reason Trudeau remains popular more than a year into his mandate is that the scandals he's dealt with so far don't have a direct impact on Canadians' lives.
"We have to separate between things people take an interest in and what drives behaviour," Nanos said.
For example, the image of Trudeau jostling opposition MPs in the House of Commons seemed like something that would push his numbers down, at least temporarily. But they didn't suffer, Nanos says.
"That's because, if you don't have a job, the fact that one politician might have shoved or bumped another politician on the [floor of the] House of Commons doesn't stack up, " Nanos said.
"Issues that affect the day-to-day lives of Canadians move the numbers. Other issues, it's hard to move the numbers. We haven't really seen any substantive issues this year that have directly touched the day-to-day lives of Canadians."
As 2016 draws to a close, CTVNews.ca looks at some of the year's low points in Canadian politics.
Egos and elbows
Tempers flared last spring, as the government sought to pass its assisted dying legislation in time to meet a Supreme Court-imposed deadline -- and the opposition did what it could to slow them down. When the Liberals moved to limit debate on the bill last May, New Democrat MPs milled about the floor of the House of Commons, blocking the route for Conservative whip Gord Brown to get to his desk for the vote. Frustrated with the delay tactic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau strode across the House and grabbed Brown's elbow to guide him to his seat. In the process, . He that night, then apologized personally to Brosseau, and again to the House the next day.
Tootoo much for cabinet
The government was seven months into its mandate before encountering a scandal that necessitated an eviction from cabinet. On May 31, Fisheries Minister , via the Prime Minister's Office, that he was stepping down to seek treatment for "addiction issues." But Tootoo didn't just resign from cabinet - he also quit the Liberal caucus. Months later, the MP for Nunavut admitted he stepped down after a consensual but inappropriate relationship, and the Globe and Mail reported he had been involved in simultaneous and her mother. Tootoo remains an independent MP.
Maryam Monsef's rewritten history
Tootoo wasn't the only cabinet minister to create controversy in 2016. Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef came under scrutiny in September, when it was revealed she was , as she had always claimed. Monsef said she only discovered the truth when a reporter contacted her about the story.
Monsef arrived in Canada as a refugee, along with her mother and sisters, in 1996. She said she knew the family had spent time in Iran while she was growing up, but wasn't aware she was actually born there. Opposition MPs raised questions about whether Monsef's mother correctly listed her birthplace when they arrived in Canada, while Monsef said she has to correct her passport, which listed her birthplace as Afghanistan.
That wasn't the end of Monsef's trouble. The democratic institutions minister is the face of the government's promise to reform how MPs are elected. A parliamentary committee dispatched to study alternatives came back with mixed results and the Liberals launched an online consultation roundly ridiculed for posing questions that aren't specific to any electoral system. While Trudeau still says the Liberals are committed to having a new system in place by the 2019 election, the government is running out of time to adjust Canadian law and Elections Canada processes.
Cash for access
All politicians hold fundraising receptions and dinners, but stories about Trudeau and Liberal cabinet ministers headlining events pitched to stakeholders as a way to discuss business has the opposition complaining to the ethics and lobbying commissioners. are the most strict in Canada, while the party says it has complied with all laws.
Prices have gone as high as $1,500 for tickets to the events, just under the maximum donation allowed under the federal limit.
