Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday October 22, 2015

We did it! Open Sources Guelph survived its first election season, and now it’s time for the post-game analysis. Canada is back, said Prime Minister Designate Justin Trudeau, but what kind of Canada will it be now that the Liberals are back in charge, is it change we can believe in, or will they fall back on old habits? And what of the opposition parties, and our own new Member of Parliament here in Guelph? What is Canada going to look like in the next four years? We’ll prognosticate; you decide.

This Thursday, October 15, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

1) Seeing Red. While not exactly a surprise that Justin Trudeau now sits as the Prime Minister Designate, and head of a Liberal government, it was a little surprising that the victory was so sweeping, and so decisive. To what do we owe the young Trudeau’s success, and the Liberal Party’s Cinderella-like story going from third place party to the government in waiting? Was it the youth and vigour of the Grits’ leader? Was it their decidedly left-wing progressive policies? Was it Harper fatigue?

2) Harper Out. Mulcair Stays. Almost as startling as the Liberal sweep was the crush of the Orange Crush. The NDP are left with just a third of the seats they once held, and their governmental ambitions were derailed thoroughly on the cusp of them becoming a reality. How long will Tom Mulcair stay, or can he leave when the NDP front bench has been decimated? And what of the former Prime Minister? How long can Harper sit in Parliament looking across the aisle at his rival in his old seat, and who might take up the mantle as the Tories new leader?

3) Royal City Rumble. Former Chamber of Commerce president Lloyd Longfield beat all competitors to win a decisive victory for the Liberals in Guelph Monday night. Longfield will be going to Ottawa thanks to the support of nearly half of Guelph voters, doing even better in the polls than his predecessor Frank Valeriote. Was Longfield caught up in the Red Wave and the change vote? What happened to support for the NDP and the Greens? And to what to we owe the increased voter turnout in the Royal City?

4) The Future. So we’ve got at least four years of Trudeau Mania ahead, what can we expect? Who will form Trudeau’s first cabinet? Will the new Prime Minister and his caucus be able to deliver on their promises? Is electoral reform really in the cards this time? When will be see the process to marijuana legalization begin? Will deficit spending be the key to jump starting the economy? And how long can the honeymoon for Trudeau last? It’s murky future, and we’ll get out our crystal balls.