Canadians’ impressions of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have worsened after his handling of the truckers convoy protest in Ottawa, while many are still in support of the use of the Emergencies Act.
The Wall Street Journal reported, according to polling from Ottawa-based Nanos Research, Canadians’ approval of Trudeau’s Liberal Party is getting close to a 12-month low as of last week.
Another Nanos poll showed that Canadians were more than twice as likely to say his handling of the Truckers Convoy worsened rather than improved their impression of him. In the poll, 47% of Canadians said that Trudeau’s handling of the protest worsened their impression of him, while 31% said it had no impact, and 20% said it improved their impression of him.
However, the polling shows that Canadians appear to be more likely to support the use of the Emergencies Act to address the protest.
“Nearly two thirds of Canadians support (53%) or somewhat support (12%) freezing the bank accounts and credit cards of the Trucking Convoy Protest Organizers, while one third oppose (28%) or somewhat oppose this (six per cent). Canadians from Quebec (62%) and older Canadians (55 plus)(61%) were most likely to support this,” the poll stated.
Additionally, more than six in ten Canadians supported or somewhat supported “the Trudeau Liberal government for introducing and passing the Emergencies Act to deal with the Truckers Convoy Protest, while two thirds support (50%) or somewhat support (14%) the NDP for voting in favour of the Emergencies Act,” it added.
Notably, the poll showed that Canadians were twice as likely to oppose or somewhat oppose rather than support or somewhat support the Conservatives in their actions voting against the Emergencies Act.
“Trudeau’s government invoked the Emergencies Act after truckers, protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates and quarantine requirements, formed a convoy blockading much of Ottawa and border crossings for several weeks,” The Daily Wire highlighted.
“Under that state of emergency, Canadian officials arrested and detained protesters, froze financial accounts belonging to those involved, and even threatened to take physical custody of pets that were left uncared for if their owners were detained,” The Daily Wire added.
Trudeau didn’t give up the emergency powers right away.
On February 21st, “Trudeau said in a public statement that even though the protests had been disbanded and the truckers had been either arrested and detained or sent home — some with their financial accounts frozen as well — the state of emergency was not yet over.”
“As I said, the Emergencies Act is not something to undertake lightly, and it’s something that needs to be momentary, temporary, and proportional. That’s why every single day, I am receiving briefings and we are reflecting on how much longer the Emergencies Act needs to be in place,” Trudeau explained. “We don’t want to keep it in place a single day longer than necessary.”
“But even though the blockades are lifted across border openings right now, even though things seem to be resolving very well in Ottawa, this state of emergency is not over,” Trudeau continued. “There continue to be real concerns about the coming days, but we will continue to evaluate every single day whether or not it is time and we are able to lift this state of emergency.”
The Daily Wire reported on February 23rd, “the Associated Press reported that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will revoke the Emergencies Act after using the powers to break-up and target key organizers and participants in the Freedom Convoy protest.”