By Mark Bonokoski
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has to face the music: Not everyone likes him, particularly the Indigenous.
That came out loudly and clearly in a recent Pollara survey that suggests the Conservatives have a 12-point lead amongst Indigenous voters, which some believe could be partly due to the party’s talking points on fiscal responsibility and spending.
Following that online poll, strategists say the Liberals cannot afford to “rest on their laurels” from past accomplishments.
Instead, they will need “future-oriented goals and innovative ideas” to show that they remain the party to make continued progress toward Indigenous reconciliation and self-determination, a sermon the prime minister has been preaching to lacklustre results for eight years.
But after those eight years and a growing dissatisfaction with the Liberals’ “over-promised and under-delivered” agenda, policy analyst Melissa Mbarki told the Hill Times that a good first step to addressing those shortcomings is recognizing the diversity of views among Indigenous voters and that “not everyone likes (the Liberals).”
