Face to face

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau answers questions at Empire Theatre

The line-up to get into the Empire Theatre in Belleville to see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday evening was four deep and stretched halfway around the block. Many were turned away disappointed as the theatre was filled to capacity—and perhaps more— with people eager to see and hear the prime minister on his cross-country tour.

Trudeau was introduced on stage by MP Neil Ellis. After thanking the audience, the prime minister gave a brief explanation of the purpose of his journey across Canada. “This, to me, is what politics should be all about,” he said. “People coming out, choosing to make their evening about political engagement, to share your views and to hear from the person who is accountable to you.” While many is the audience simply wanted to see the prime minister, a forest of hands went up whenever it was time for a new question to be asked. The questions ranged over a wide variety of topics, from services for veterans, to drinking water safety, to support for small family farms. The was only time for a limited number of questions, but most of them struck a chord with the audience and were well received.

The prime minister answered the questions in rather general terms, unsurprising in a forum such as this. There was quite a number of responses where the gist was “Our government is committed to….” or “This is something we are working towards…” He was, however, very engaging, and showed flashes of wit. During the preamble to one question, the questioner mentioned that he had twice voted for Pierre Trudeau. Without missing a beat, the younger Trudeau replied “He ran in four or five elections, you know,” to much laughter and applause. It was also during his answer to this question that he showed his ability to make a complex subject accessible, shedding some light into the thought behind the murky and muchmaligned process of electoral reform.

For the most part, Trudeau was affable, but showed just his political exterior. Several times he contrasted the approach of his government with the previous one and he was not beyond making a few partisan comments. Yet there were two occasions where his passion came through and you could get a glimpse of the person under the political mantle of prime minister. The first came in his response to a question about support for young people with mental health problems. Trudeau thanked the young woman for her courage in asking the question. “There is still a stigma around mental health, particularly in young people …” he said. “It is high time that Canada had a proper level of engagement in addressing mental health issues … I wouldn’t be my mother’s son—and I’m proud to be my mother’s son— and not know this.”

The second occasion came in his response to a question about the proposed amendments to bill C-51 and the balance between security and the rights of citizens. Trudeau launched into a spirited defence of the rights of Canadian citizenship. “It is part of our identity as a nation that if you are a Canadian, you are a Canadian—full stop—whether you had the honour of choosing to become a Canadian or whether you were born into it,” he said. “And that is something that makes us more successful in recognizing diversity as a source of strength than any other country in the world.”

Trudeau ended the evening by reiterating the reasons for his cross-Canada tour. “The only way we get to continue having the courage to stand up for our convictions and to do the things that need to happen is by continuing to engage respectfully and responsibly in the kinds of difficult conversations we are having today,” he said. “Government is about making difficult choices, but the best way to be able to navigate those choices—to be worthy of the incredible trust people place in their governments— is to continue to be thoughtful, to listen to the stories that are shared. We continually pledge to work together to keep being worthy of this extraordinary country that we’ve all inherited and want to pass along to our kids and grandkids.”