It’s a cliché now to say that Justin Trudeau’s government is being ‘tested’. But the test it faces now might be something new — a test of whether he can soothe Canadians’ anxiety when they have abundant reasons to be anxious, and the threats are not easily contained.
The crises of the first two months of 2020 — the shooting down of PS752 over Iran, the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in China, the Indigenous protests that blocked Canada’s major railways, the cancellation of the Teck Frontier oilsands mine — now seem like prelude to the grand global crisis that came into view this weekend.
A dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia has driven down oil prices and COVID-19 continues to spread. Stock markets are panicked. A global recession is possible.
It is too early to know where this is headed, but it does not feel great.
“Obviously, people are quite anxious, looking at the changes in the stock market today,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Monday afternoon, stating the obvious in his usual unexcitable manner. “We’re seeing a good deal of anxiety because of the issues that we’re seeing in terms of the potential economic impacts of COVID-19.”
Shortly afterward, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared before the cameras to offer his condolences to the family of the first Canadian to die from the virus, and also to “reassure Canadians” that this country’s “top medical experts” and “top scientists” are on the job and everything is being done to align with the World Health Organization’s guidelines.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offers condolences to the family of the first victim of the coronavirus outbreak in Canada, and says the federal government is doing everything it can to keep Canadians safe. 0:33
It’s a cliché now to say that Justin Trudeau, his agenda or his government are being “tested.” There have been any number of great “tests” over the last five years. But the test it faces now might be new — a test of whether he can soothe Canadians’ anxiety when they have abundant reasons to be anxious and the threats are not easily contained.
The opposition parties are eager to establish that the Trudeau government might share some kind of blame for whatever is about to happen.
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