Trudeau Cabinet Now At 34

Well, it’s done. Prime Minister Trudeau has added five new cabinet ministers to the public payroll bringing the total to 34, 13 more than what there are in the United Kingdom which has a population that doubles Canada’s.

Political pundits are speculating this new drain on the public purse is all about Trudeau posturing his team for the 2019 election. So, I guess you can also speculate this is more self-serving than anything else. If it is based on actual need, why did it take so long to address?

When it comes to re-elections, and with the exception of those diehard voters who are glued to their political parties regardless of whatever they may or may not do, most people will cast their ballot on what the governing party has done or what the challengers have to offer. While the Trudeau government may score some points with their approach of trying to correct all past perceived injustices with an apology, and in many cases with a load of cash, along with their ‘don’t worry, be happy’ group hug photo ops, it has been a challenge to identify what exactly is being done for the average Canadian.

With the government’s focus on selected social issues and ramming through legislation on marijuana, and notwithstanding their commendable efforts at standing up to the bully south of the border, there are some that feel the government has overlooked the vast majority of those Canadians that straddle the middle of the voting spectrum, the ones that ultimately decide who gets to govern.

Unlike some problems which can be ignored until they eventually lose traction and go away, the Liberal’s overall unimpressive performance remains an ongoing issue. As the momentum for a change in government is already underway, Trudeau and his team have a little over a year to show why they deserve to be re-elected. Right now, they don’t.