Toxic Trudeau kept off campaign trail as he focuses on memoirs
He dominated Canadian politics for a decade. But almost nothing has been seen or heard of Justin Trudeau since he stepped down as prime minister last month.
His Liberal Party, with a new leader, has the advantage as the country heads into a general election on Monday.
Just so long as it can avoid reminding people of the scandals and missteps that eventually ended his political career.
'It's astonishing. It's almost Soviet-like how he's been erased from history. He never comes up, nobody ever talks about him,' said Dan Robertson, a conservative strategist.
'He's just vanished. And of course, if I were a liberal, if I were a liberal strategist, I'd be very happy with that.'
It is not unusual for a candidate to distance themselves from a problem predecessor.
Last year, Joe Biden was all but absent from Kamala Harris's campaign trail once he was forced to ditch his re-election bid amid concerns about his age and fitness for office. It meant Ms Harris could position herself as a candidate for the future, while aides claimed Mr Biden was simply busy being president and was not, as most observers believed, simply a political liability.
Sources told a Canadian newspaper that Mr Trudeau had no plans to appear on the campaign trail, but was weighing two book deals and a proposal for a documentary.
For now, he is reportedly renting a home in the capital Ottawa, so that his children can finish their school year, before moving to Montreal.
The Liberal Party has moved quickly to remove his fingerprints from its manifesto, ditching some of his signature policies.
It is working. Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England who replaced Mr Trudeau as Liberal Party leader, is now favourite to win.
It marks a turnaround from earlier this year. With Mr Trudeau in office, the Canadian Conservative Party looked odds on to win power for the first time in 10 years as they capitalised on his unpopularity.
His personal stock had taken a pounding from a string of scandals, often self-inflicted.
Photographs emerged of him in 'blackface' from before his time in politics.
He was found guilty of breaching conflict of interest rules by accepting holidays on a private island and flights from the Aga Khan, a philanthropist and head of the Shia Ismaili religion.
And an ethics watchdog concluded that he tried to improperly intervene in a criminal case against a construction company.
His handling of the Covid pandemic, with vaccine mandates and shutdowns, provoked a backlash, and inflation soared as the country emerged from the crisis.
By the end of last year, his approval rating had crashed to 22 per cent, and he was buffeted by ministerial resignations.
'This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,' he said when he announced he was stepping down.
He has barely been seen since then. A day after his successor was sworn in, he posted a photograph of himself buying a potato masher and other kitchen implements from Canadian Tire, the sort of store that sells everything from car tools to homeware.
For his part, Mr Carney quickly distanced himself from some of his predecessor's most important policies. He axed a consumer carbon levy and cancelled a rise in capital gains tax.
That leaves it for Conservatives to remind voters of the man who led the country until a few weeks ago. Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader, has repeatedly described Mr Carney as Mr Trudeau's 'economic adviser' and in a televised debate accused him of using the same talking points as his predecessor.
Mr Carney responded: 'I know you want to be running against Justin Trudeau. Justin Trudeau isn't here.'
Nor is the former prime minister expected to be seen any time soon.
'He's staying far away from it all,' David Coletto, founder of polling firm Abacus Data, 'because Justin Trudeau is a liability for Mark Carney.'
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
25 minutes ago
- New York Post
Andrew Cuomo raises his voice to wrongly insist COVID nursing home deaths were not undercounted: ‘That's the Trump line'
Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to get heated — and raised his voice — as he insisted nursing home deaths were not undercounted in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also refused to say if he edited his administration's controversial report on coronavirus deaths in nursing homes — the lynchpin of the investigation into his time as governor by the Department of Justice. NBC 4 'There was no doubt that my administration produced the report, and it did not undercount the deaths,' Cuomo eventually said but continued to defend his record. 'It's very, it's very clear that's the trump line, the MAGA line.' The moderators continued to push the ex-gov, but he refused to answer. 'I was very aware of the report,' he said.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Canadian metals industry warns of layoffs, lost sales due to new US tariffs
(Corrects name of Marid industries in paragraph 6) By Divya Rajagopal TORONTO (Reuters) -Canadian companies and a major union said on Wednesday higher U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum could result in more job losses and lost sales, as Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada is preparing reprisals. The U.S. tariff hike on the two metals to 50% from the 25% rate introduced in March took effect at 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Wednesday. Canada is the largest seller of the metals to the U.S., exporting to its southern neighbor roughly twice as much aluminum as the rest of the top 10 exporters' volumes combined. "So this is going to have a very quick impact, I will say to you, on steel industry," said Lana Payne, president of Unifor, which is Canada's private sector union. The Aluminium Association of Canada, which counts Rio Tinto among its members, said 50% tariffs could result in its members diversifying to Europe. Tim Houtsma, CEO of Nova Scotia-based Marid Industries, a medium-scale steel fabricator, told Reuters that the tariffs make it impossible to sell to the United States. "We are going to tighten our belt and we are going to need to watch our cost because we are going to be shut out of the U.S. market for some period of time," Houtsma said. Canada is prepared to strike back against the United States if talks with Washington to remove tariffs do not succeed, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday. "We are in intensive negotiations with the Americans, and, in parallel, preparing reprisals if those negotiations do not succeed," he told the House of Commons. Unifor called on Carney to retaliate immediately and urged Canada to pause exports of critical minerals to the United States. Hundreds of Canadian steel workers have lost their jobs since initial tariffs took effect. Unifor warned layoffs in the auto and aerospace industries could also occur. In March, Canada imposed 25% tariffs on C$29.8 billion ($21.79 billion) worth of imports from the U.S. Carney has said previously there is a limit to how far Canada can go in imposing tit-for-tat tariffs. Jeremy Flack, CEO of Flack Global Metals, a U.S.-based steel trader and manufacturer, said the tariffs have led to a pause of orders and reduced demand for steel. "We are not getting any orders. Volumes starting from February have begun to decline," Flack said. ($1 = 1.3674 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Caroline Stauffer; Richard Chang, Andrea Ricci and Sandra Maler) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Post
33 minutes ago
- New York Post
Chinese researchers' alleged plot to smuggle crop-killing fungus into US is an ‘attack on US food supply': feds
National security authorities and members of Congress are raising alarm over the alleged plot by two romantically involved Chinese researchers to smuggle samples of a dangerous crop-killing fungus into the US. Yunquing Jian, 33, a Communist Party loyalist and lab researcher at the University of Michigan who received Chinese government funding for her work, plotted the illicit transport of the pathogen with her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, the FBI alleged. Liu was was caught at Detroit Metropolitan Airport last July after allegedly attempting to sneak packages of Fusarium graminearum into the country, the feds said. 'This is an attack on the American food supply,' one senior Trump administration official told The Post. Advertisement 4 Yunqing Jian (pictured) initially denied that she was aware of her boyfriend's intent to smuggle the pathogen. University of Michigan The fungus is already present in the US, but if it was manipulated to become resistant to treatment or to spread more easily, it could have the potential to devastate American farms, one expert told The Post. The US should be testing the fungus sample for any evidence it's been tampered with, the expert added. There are similar allegations that the virus that causes COVID-19 was enhanced by China's Wuhan Institute of Virology as part of US-funded 'gain-of-function' research of the naturally occurring SARS pathogen. China denies that COVID leaked from the lab, but US intel agencies now say that appears to be the most likely cause of the pandemic. Advertisement 'The CCP will use every tool in its warfare toolbox to cripple the United States and bring us to our knees. A pathogen like this, if successfully introduced into a crop, could inflict significant economic loss for U.S. agriculture producers,' House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) told The Post. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said it appears the FBI may have intercepted a 'potential bioweapon.' 'We are very fortunate the Trump administration and federal law enforcement stopped this potential bioweapon before it compromised our nation's food supply,' Ernst told The Post. 4 Chinese national Yunqing Jian, 33, a University of Michigan lab researcher, is charged with her fellow researcher boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, of conspiring to smuggle a potentially dangerous fungal pathogen into the US. Sanilac County Jail Advertisement 'This is exactly why I have always said and will continue to say – food security is national security. Between this latest bioweapon and China's highly-concerning purchases of U.S. farmland around our military bases, we must stay on guard against the threat from Communist China in our own backyard.' According to the feds, the Chinese couple discussed how they could smuggle Fusarium graminearum into the US — a biological pathogen considered 'a potential agroterrorism weapon' capable of destroying crops and poisoning both livestock and humans, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Michigan Monday. Both Jian and Liu were charged Monday in a federal criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the US, false statements and visa fraud. 'The bacteria infects wheat, barley, corn and rice. When it does, it can devastate crops,' one national security source who specializes in agricultural microbiology told The Post. Advertisement 'The key question is if the bacterial strain being brought in has been modified to make it resistant to treatment or to make it more pathogenic.' 4 Liu was caught at Detroit Metropolitan Airport last July with four plastic baggies containing 'fibrous material' infected with the pathogen. AP The source added that it could be dangerous 'if the Chinese manipulated the strain' and that federal investigators should 'have a genome sequence done' on the samples Jian and Liu allegedly conspired to smuggle into the country. On July 27, 2024, Liu, who works as a researcher at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, arrived in Detroit on a Delta flight from Shanghai and was interviewed by Customs and Border Patrol agents about the purpose of his travel. He claimed he was in the US to visit Jian, a lab researcher at the University of Michigan whom he identified as his girlfriend. Upon searching his belongings, agents found four plastic baggies containing 'fibrous material' infected with the pathogen, as well as a round piece of filter paper with a series of circles drawn on it, concealed in his backpack in a ball of wadded up tissues. According to the criminal complaint, Liu initially denied the items were his, suggesting someone else had put them into his bag without his knowledge. However he later admitted they were different strains of Fusarium graminearum he intended to research at the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction (MPMI) Laboratory at the University of Michigan, where Jian conducts research on similar pathogens. He also acknowledged he hid the materials when traveling to the US because he knew border patrol agents would confiscate them if they were discovered. Advertisement The circled filter paper found in his possession contained 10 separate coded samples, including one that 'would allow a researcher to propagate live Fusarium graminearum,' the complaint states. Liu told investigators that he planned to clone the different strains and make more samples if the experiments on the bagged materials failed. He was denied entry into the US and fast-tracked for removal to China. While searching one of Liu's cell phones, they found an article in PDF form titled '2018 Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions.' Authorities said the article specifically referenced Fusarium graminearum as 'an example of a destructive disease and pathogen for crops' and is 'responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year.' 4 Fusarium graminearum can have a devastating effect on staple US crops including wheat, barley, corn and rice. AP Advertisement The FBI interviewed Jian at the MPMI Laboratory in February, where she first claimed she only learned of the alleged smuggling scheme when Liu was caught by CBP, and denied assisting him in his research of Fusarium graminearum. Upon searching Jian's cell phone, the FBI said it discovered a document she signed originating from Zhejiang University, where Liu conducts research on the pathogen, which included a loyalty pledge to 'adhere to the four basic principles' and 'support the leadership of the Communist Party of China.' FBI Special Agent Edward Nieh said in his affidavit that one of the principles Jian signed her allegiance to includes 'upholding Mao Zedong thought and Marxism-Leninism.' Investigators said she signed the document Jan. 11, 2024, just six months before Liu allegedly flew to Detroit with the samples in tow. Advertisement Further investigation into Liu and Jian's communications indicate it wasn't the first time the pair had discussed smuggling the fetid fungus into the US. One unearthed exchange from Aug. 12, 2022 on the Chinese messaging app WeChat reveals the couple scheming on how to sneak the seeds past US customs officials, with Liu advising Jian to hid the materials in her shoes. A day later, Jian arrived at San Francisco International Airport on a United Airlines flight from Seoul. Authorities reviewed records from her entry and found she did not declare she was importing any biological materials. Rutgers University molecular biologist Dr. Richard Ebright told The Post that Fusarium graminearum causes estimated losses of $200-400 million to US agriculture every year. Advertisement However, he said, the fungus has been endemic in the US for more than 40 years, and that new introduction of the organism into the US does not, by itself, pose a new threat. 'Importation of Fusarium graminearum without a USDA PPQ526 permit should not have occurred,' he said. 'However, unless the imported strain was a new strain having enhanced transmissibility or virulence, its importation likely posed no threat to US agriculture or US security,' he added, noting that if Jian had gone through proper permitting procedure to obtain the pathogen, it 'almost certainly would have been approved and arrests would not have occurred.' Jian, who received a J1 visa to conduct research as a postdoctoral scholar at a University of Texas lab, was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan before being offered a job in August 2023. The University of Michigan did not respond to The Post's questions about whether she is still employed there following the allegations. The Post also reached out to Jian at her university email address but did not hear back. Liu secured a B2 tourist visa in March 2024, which does not allow foreign nationals to perform work or scientific research during their visit. Jian was temporarily detained by authorities on June 3 until her detention hearing scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. Her case has been assigned to the public defender's office but an attorney had not been named by Wednesday evening. Liu remains at large with a warrant out for his arrest.
