Canada’s new Liberal Prime Minister under pressure to deliver promises

“On behalf of the Government and people of Saint Lucia, it is my great pleasure to extend congratulations to the Liberal Party and to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the overwhelming victory of his party at the recently concluded General Elections in Canada”. And there was a sense in Canada that Harper had been heavy-handed in pushing conservative issues on Canadians who are mostly center-left in their politics, as IBD’s Andrew Malcolm has noted.

During the election campaign, Mr Trudeau criticised Mr Harper relentlessly for turning Canada into a “pariah” on climate change issues. Justin Trudeau, son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, is the new Prime Minister.

Trudeau said he’d spoken with US President Barack Obama to make clear his plans to withdraw Canada’s role in the bombing missions but maintain humanitarian aid and training.

Instead the Liberals won a stunning landslide Monday, easily winning a solid majority in Canada’s parliament.

“That’s something we look forward to taking up, but from the federal side of it, moving it to a place where it is controlled and regulated is something we will start doing immediately”, said Trudeau who’s admitted smoking cannabis “maybe five or six times”.

Foreign policy nerds and Canada-philes will love this episode.

However, he said he would keep Canadian military trainers in northern Iraq, the AFP news agency reports. But what will the new government mean for Canada’s oil and gas sector? More broadly, Washington has complained that instead of hitting Islamic State fighters, Russian airstrikes are mostly targeting rebel forces fighting the Syrian government. It’s now up to Trudeau and his party to reaffirm Canadians’ trust in them and fulfill their campaign promises over the next four years.

But his tone Tuesday suggested he’ll try to manage the political symbolism. One thing is sure: the Canadian electorate seems as fickle as ever – one minute they want you, the next they are looking elsewhere. Earlier this month, a few polls showed his Conservative Party in the lead.

The Jamaican Prime Minister noted that Jamaica and Canada share a long and dynamic friendship, and expressed the commitment to working with Mr. Trudeau to strengthen this relationship during his term of office.