When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was sworn in on Nov. 4, he vowed that the new Liberal government would be open, transparent and committed to making 鈥渂etter decisions.鈥�
Throughout the election campaign that preceded the Liberals鈥� historic comeback from third party status, Trudeau made sweeping promises as part of his 鈥渞eal change鈥� mantra. They included economic policies to boost Canada鈥檚 middle class, an ambitious plan to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2015, an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, and a new approach to the fight against Islamic State militants.
As Trudeau and his cabinet mark their first 100 days in office, we asked three political observers to evaluate the government鈥檚 performance on these key issues:
The Liberals moved quickly on their key economic plank 鈥� raising taxes for the highest income earners in order to pay for middle class tax cuts. Their tax package passed in the , even as they acknowledged that the change would cost the treasury $1.2 billion annually for the next five years.
But the biggest test of the new government is yet to come, as Finance Minister Bill Morneau prepares to deliver his first budget.
鈥淣ow that the first 100 days are over, they have to turn 99 per cent of their attention to economic well-being,鈥� said Scott Reid, a CTV political analyst who served as an adviser to former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin.
Reid said that will be a difficult task 鈥渋n an economy that has gone nowhere but south since the campaign ended.鈥�
鈥淭hey can鈥檛 make oil prices change. They can鈥檛 make employment appear. They can鈥檛 make regional impact vanish,鈥� he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview. 鈥淲hat they have to show, that it鈥檚 their number one preoccupation, is that they鈥檙e doing everything鈥o make it better, not worse.鈥�
Robin Sears, a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and a former national director of the NDP, gave Morneau high marks for his performance so far.
鈥淚 must confess I was surprised and nervous for him for being given such a central role in the government given his absolutely green status in politics, but I don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 put a foot wrong,鈥� Sears told CTVNews.ca.
Michele Austin, a senior adviser at Summa Strategies and a Conservative, also singled out Morneau even though she is critical of the way the government has been handling the economy file.
鈥淭hey are spending too much time focusing on huge programs like infrastructure, like the role of Canada in the world, like refugees and they鈥檙e not minding the shop,鈥� Austin said.
But she said that Morneau has been 鈥渂y far their best communicator,鈥� especially while answering questions from the public and the media.
鈥淎nd frankly, I also think he has been the best to manage expectations,鈥� Austin said.
As the end of his first 100 days in office neared, Trudeau unveiled the government鈥檚 long-awaited plan from the coalition fight against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria. The Conservative Party called it a 鈥渟hameful step backwards,鈥� but some observers saw the plan to triple the number of Canadian military trainers on the ground as a substantial contribution.
鈥淭hey are in fact engaging far more directly and at a higher level of risk than the Tories were ever willing to do themselves,鈥� Sears said. Now that we are putting more trainers on the ground, 鈥渢he risks go way up,鈥� he added.
鈥淔rom a pure public opinion standpoint, (Trudeau) didn鈥檛 need to do as much as he did in terms of the commitment made to the mission,鈥� Reid said, adding that the decision to send more personnel and boost humanitarian efforts in the region seemed to be 鈥渓ess driven by domestic political consideration鈥� than a desire to maintain strong relations with Canada鈥檚 allies.
For Austin, taking three months to unveil their anti-ISIS plan is another reflection of the Liberals鈥� tendency to offer 鈥渁 lot of chatter,鈥� but lag on decision-making.
鈥淒id they effectively communicate the evidence as to why we need to pull all the CF-18s out? I would argue no,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or a government that values its ability to communicate, I think we are all unclear as to the evidence behind the decision-making.鈥�
From the start, even those who supported the Liberals鈥� plan to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2015 knew it would be a near-impossible endeavour. And by the end of November, the government agreed its self-imposed deadline wouldn鈥檛 be met. Still, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister John McCallum said he鈥檚 confident that
Given the scope and the urgency of the resettlement program, Sears said he鈥檚 surprised there haven鈥檛 been more problems as families continue to arrive in Canada.
Austin argued that bringing in so many refugees in a short period of time has not gone well, in light of reports that some families have been living in hotels much longer than expected, as they wait for more permanent accommodations.
Since the Liberals formed government, they鈥檝e reaffirmed their commitment to combatting climate change and changed the to include consideration of future greenhouse gas emissions.
鈥淯nless something goes really badly, which on this file often does, I think it鈥檚 very hard to be critical of their first steps here, both domestically and internationally,鈥� Sears said. He commended Trudeau for trying to reach out to provincial leaders to discuss Canada鈥檚 approach to climate change and his efforts to 鈥渂reak partisan differences鈥� on the pipeline issue.
Reid said the government has handled the new pipeline regulations as best as it could since it鈥檚 an 鈥渋nherently divisive鈥� issue, especially after a disastrous year for the Alberta oilpatch.
鈥淚t would be darn strange if the government had popped up and said, 鈥榊ou know what, it turns out the economy has sagged, so we鈥檙e going to abandon all the words we dedicated to climate change,鈥欌�� Reid said.
But Austin said the government has 鈥渁ccomplished nothing鈥� on the climate change front. She said the Liberals have simply embraced the previous Conservative government鈥檚 emissions target plan without brining anything new to the table.
Sticking to their vow to improve the relationship between the federal government and Canada鈥檚 indigenous people, the Liberals launched the first phase of their in early December.
Sears said the government has 鈥渢he right vision鈥nd the right take-it-slowly approach,鈥� but how the inquiry is actually carried out will 鈥渆ither haunt them鈥� or become a long-lasting success.
Sears said the First Nations file is a difficult one. 鈥淚 know how frustrated and what a high level of confrontation and anger the Liberals have inherited from the ways the Tories managed it.鈥�
Austin said that while the government鈥檚 鈥渨illingness to engage on the issue鈥� is universally applauded, this is another situation where the Liberals will have to 鈥渄emonstrate how their approach is going to be different鈥� before they can be truly evaluated.
鈥淭his is just a huge, huge endeavour,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is not something that you鈥檙e going to be able to demonstrate a win on in the next two years.鈥�
If the inquiry leads to significant change, 鈥渢his could be one of the great legacies of (Trudeau鈥檚) term,鈥� Reid said.
FINAL GRADE
(Graphics by Jesse Tahirali)
