Justin Trudeau's legacy

As Justin Trudeau hands in his resignation letter, what will he be mostly remembered for? I'm sure there will be many such analyses of Trudeau's legacy in the press in the days to come, but CityNews offers one early list:

• Legalizing cannabis - a promise kept, but probably not a defining moment.
• Reneging on election reform - he expressed his sadness for not having pushed through the proportional representation reforms he promised us (although he had plenty of opportunity while the Liberals had a majority government).
• Indigenous reconciliation - much more remains to be done, but Trudeau has "done more to improve the quality of life for First Nations than any other prime minister" according to AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse.
• Canada Child Benefit - the new non-taxable income-dependent benefit went a long way toward reducing poverty in the country.
• Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act - a much-needed revenue-neutral carbon tax, and the first time a leader put their money where their environmental mouth is (although, paradoxically, it is now probably the main single reason for the Liberals' current unpopularity, even if it was a popular move at the time).
• COVID pandemic measures - not a bad job of handling an unhandlable situation (even if some Western truckers didn't like the vaccine mandates, they saved countless lives).
• NAFTA re-negotiation - he and his team made the best of a bad deal, as he did in more general terms in handling the unhandlable Donald Trump.

All in all, not a bad resumé, really. To this one might add: the establishment of a gender-balanced cabinet, "because it's 2015" (although it wouldn't last); the welcoming of tens of thousands of Syrian and Afghan refugees; enacting access to medical assistance in dying (MAID); unflagging support and aid to Ukraine in its existential war against Russia; $10-a-day subsidized childcare; the important first steps on comprehensive dental and pharmacare. Yes, he lost his way towards the end, but this is nevertheless an impressive list of achievements

Other, less generous, commentators might try to pin inflation on him, as Pierre Poilievre does, but they know in their hearts that it was not due to specific policies (the rest of the world also experienced the same thing). Necessary pandemic stimulus, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, global supply chain problems - there are many elements to the spike in inflation (now largely under control after central bank interventions), but Justin Trudeau is not personally responsible for the fact that things cost more now than they did a few years ago.

Nor is the country "broken" after 9 years of Trudeau, as Poilievre has managed to persuade many Canadians. Canada actually came through a particularly challenging time in pretty good shape, all things considered, and better than many other countries. I don't think Poilievre could have done much better, however much he blusters.

Immigration? Trudeau has always been gung-ho on immigration, and indeed it has been our saving grace in the face of a naturally-shrinking population, whatever the Conservatives might tell you. Maybe the temporary foreign workers program and the international student population has been mismanaged and ballooned out of control, but large cuts to immigration to pacify Conservative xenophobes is not the solution.

And all those scandals? They don't really amount to a hill of beans in the scheme of things. If youthful blackface, the SNC Lavalin/Jody Wilson-Raybould and WE charity pseudo-scandals, and holidaying with the Aga Khan is as bad as it gets, things could be much worse.

Yes, Trudeau should have resigned much earlier, for the good of the country he claims to love so much. Like so many leaders, he overstayed his welcome. But his administration has been far from disastrous, and he has achieved much that he - and the country - can be proud of. Just watch Pierre Poilievre try his damnedest to undo as much of it as possible.