Voters decide when politicians pass best-before date

Prime Minister Trudeau afforded another chance to grow into role

Like milk and yogurt, politicians come with a best-before date.

For most — sadly? — voters decide when it's arrived. Others have the good sense and sound political instincts to get out on their own terms, before the dreaded date with disaffected voters – see Stephen McNeil, former premier of Nova Scotia.

Monday, across the nation, voters notified a number of incumbent MPs (I tried to count but got hopelessly lost) that their time was up. Included among them are two Nova Scotian Liberals — both women, although if gender played a role in their de-election it was marginal.

Former fisheries minister Bernadette Jordan, as expected, fell to Conservative Rick Perkins on the South Shore, and voters in Cumberland-Colchester recalled, and returned to, their Tory roots, leaving Lenore Zann seatless.

FISHERS DISPUTE SUNK JORDAN

Jordan's best-before date was determined, not by the passage of time, but by the dispute she could not mediate or de-escalate between Indigenous fishers and commercial fishers.

Jordan lost because the fishers and their communities are (euphemism ahead) ticked off at her and her government.

Her boss, our unenthusiastically re-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a characteristic display of poor judgment, kept her in the eye of the storm that swept her out to sea, or at least out of office.

Zann lost CumberlandColchester to Stephen Ellis, whose campaign signs were festooned with his honourific and professional designation — “Dr.” — lest voters forget he is of that most-coveted class.

To his credit, and assured political advantage, Ellis found his primary care successor (another doc to take his patients) before departing medicine for politics.

Now he's earned a place on the opposition benches in Parliament, where he'll discover that partisan priorities trump reason, logic and rationality — stuff that, no doubt, served him and his patients well.

ONE MORE CHANCE FOR SINGH?

Moving, unaided by a smooth segue, from the local to the national, the members of the major parties that lost (the Conservatives) or under-performed (the NDP) will decide whether their leaders are past their best-before dates.

Polls consistently say that NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is more popular than his party, yet in two elections he's been unable to deliver more NDP seats in Parliament. Regardless, so-called progressive Canadians like him, as do New Democrats, so he'll likely be around for one more election.

Moderately deluded Conservatives saw a minority CPC government coming Monday right up until the votes were counted.

Conservatives have a wellearned reputation for impatience with losing leaders.

Nevertheless, their current commander, Erin O'Toole, took a chance and his party to the centre where they have a hope of eventual electoral success.

Whether the right wing of his right-wing party will abide the shift and thereby O'Toole's continued leadership is TBD, but even Conservatives have to realize that the revolving door on their leader's office doesn't spin them any closer to government.

TRUDEAU NOT GOING ANYWHERE — FOR NOW

Which brings us — finally — to the prime minister himself.

Justin Trudeau has no intention of stepping down and, barring a most unlikely internal revolt, he will lead the Liberals into the next election whether it's 18 months, two years or four years out.

If, in those ensuing months or years, Canadians are miffed by more of Trudeau's poor judgment — the WE debacle, the Lavalin scandal, Governor General Payette — his bestbefore date will have come and gone by the next election, and soon thereafter so will he.

On the other hand, should the better angels of his nature prevail over his flawed and impulsive instincts; if he acts like and becomes the adult in the room; if he is able to summon a touch of humility, and if his government gets us to the other side of the pandemic economically intact, his best-before date could well be extended beyond the next election and, like his father before him, he might lead the Liberals to four victories at the polls.

CHILDISH BEHAVIOUR

But Trudeau's personal performance over the past six years causes more than a little concern in Liberal circles.

He has too often followed his instincts — see partial list above — to the eventual embarrassment of his party and his own ethical censure.

Likewise, too often he behaves more like the petulant or carefree kid than the adult in the room. Think of his peevish response when thenjustice minister Jody WilsonRaybould refused to bend to his political will, or the bizarre photo ops in India.

And, let's face it, humility is not his long suit.

All of which is to say that on Monday night, Canadian voters gave Justin one more chance to prove he's not past his best-before date. Now it's up to him.