Faith, In Things Seen

Election Leak Day Thoughts

Everybody is reporting that we will be in an election period as of Sunday, with the reporting suggesting it’s probably April 28th (but possibly May 5th). I’m pretty sure it’s the 28th, as I’ve thought/been vaguely told this entire time, but who knows, maybe it’s the 5th. That’s not the point of this column.

On Sunday, I’ll have my big preview, but today’s not about how we got here or even necessarily what will happen. It’s about something different, something more, something innately true that feels so far nevertheless. It’s about faith, that indescribable sense that things will work out in the way they should, even if we’re not sure why or how.

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When I had David Coletto on my podcast the week before Chrystia Freeland resigned, I asked him a simple question: would the Liberal Party be in a better place if Justin Trudeau had followed my advice and resigned in July? His answer was, essentially, “probably”, amid a general sense that the Liberals would be slightly less fucked if Trudeau had gone. The funny thing is, as it happened, we’d probably be immeasurably worse off if Trudeau had listened to me, with hindsight.

I was obviously right to want Trudeau out, and none of this would have happened with him still in the permanent leadership, but as it worked out we stumbled ass backwards into the ideal circumstances. Had Carney been dragged down by the slog of the Fall Parliamentary sitting, I’m sure he’d be smelling less like roses. Hell, if JT resigns in July, it’s a lot easier to see Chrystia Freeland winning that leadership contest without having the whole “having knifed Trudeau” thing hanging around her in campaign.

It’s not like Trudeau planned this or could have known, but that’s the point - sometimes things work, or they don’t. There’s a frightening amount of luck in life and in history that we love ignoring, because we love to pretend that we are the sole authors of our own stories in a way we’re just not. We are victims or beneficiaries of luck and fortune. We’re golfers, playing our own scores, yes, but also utterly dependent on what others around us do to win or lose.

The reason I’m thinking about all of this is because I have faith. I’m not, I think longtime readers will say, usually someone who finds solitude in sentimentality. I’m a heartless bastard, a Professional Asshole in so many ways, and I’m sure I’ll be back to that tomorrow. But today I have faith in my countrymen and women.

Canadians have risen to the moment in 2025, even if Pierre Poilievre wins. We have stood firm against Donald Trump’s attacks on our sovereignty, we have stood together in celebration of what makes our great country what it is, we’ve stood for decency and humanity, and we’ve shown a considerable commitment to our country in how quickly people have come around on both Trudeau and Carney. Angus Reid had Trudeau’s favourables essentially tied this week, a 50 point reversal since December, because even died in the wool Trudeau haters couldn’t ignore the fact that he’s done very well. That’s a good thing.

If Pierre Poilievre wins, which I don’t think he will, I hope he does well, and when he does well, I’ll freely compliment him. We must live in a country where partisan tribalism comes after acknowledgement of political reality, and we do. We absolutely do, because if we didn’t Carney wouldn’t be winning right now. It’s heartening to know whatever Canadians thought about Trudeau in December or early January, they are not letting blind hatred stop them from judging the moment we are in.

We live in a time when we need seriousness. We need it from our political leadership, our media, our civic leaders, but we also need it from ourselves. We need to meet the moment, because while it isn’t a war, it might as well be. It’s a fight for our soul, if not for the actual borders of our land. It’s a fight for who we are, and for the fact that whatever divides me from those who bitterly oppose my politics, there is in fact more that unites us than divides us. There has to be, if only because I can’t imagine a world where there isn’t.

At some point, the universe has decided that our test would be this. At some point it became our reality, not through our choice, but through someone else’s. And we are meeting that moment. We have a robust debate about our future, one that will force both Liberals and Conservatives to think long and hard about where our country has gone wrong and where we need to go from here if they want to win. We might not have wanted this moment, but we’re not going to let this happen to us without meeting this moment.

My grandfather worked in the Sun Life Building in Montreal for decades, and everytime I go back to Montreal I find my way to Dorchester Square. It is one of the few places on earth that I feel truly safe, tranquil, and at peace. It is, in so many ways, where I feel the most free - free of the stresses of regular life, but also of worry and panic.

Right now, I feel a similar way about our country. Trust me, a Poilievre government would not be good, and I’ll do my damndest to stop him in the coming weeks, but I spent all of my 2024 trying to get my party to get its head out of its ass so it could win 100 seats. Now, 100 seats would be seen as a failure. We may live in interesting times, but it’s worth remembering that the worst case scenario - that looked like the certainty 3 months ago - is now basically off the table. That’s worth celebrating.

We can survive whatever comes. We are Canadians, and we meet the moment we are called unto. Whatever happens between now and election day, I will remain endlessly proud of how Canadians have risen to this moment - and I remain endlessly hopeful that they’ll make the right call. It’s called faith, except I have a lot of evidence because of the things I’ve seen.M