Trudeau’s pro-Khalistan stand led to one of the worst vaccination drives in a first-world nation and it has now come back to haunt him. Trudeau’s decision to not reach out to India when vaccine deliveries of Pfizer and Moderna were delayed cost the Canadians. Now the Canadian citizens are letting themselves heard as Trudeau’s popularity has taken a large dent, one from which he may never recover.
The pro-Khalistan stand and the increased influence of these factions in Trudeau’s government meant that despite being unable to procure vaccines he could not reach out to India. The pro-Khalistan factions have great influence over Trudeau’s minority government. To appease them, Trudeau took a pro-separatist stand and criticised the Indian government over the farmer’s protests in India. But the Canadian citizens paid the price and now they have lost faith in him.
According to a survey by Maru Public Opinion, commissioned by the National Post, an increasing number of Canadians believe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has failed to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the public on time.
According to the poll, 57% of respondents agreed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has done a “poor job” of delivering vaccinations to the provinces, up from 14% in the first week of January. Simultaneously, 60% of respondents said the provinces are doing a “good job” administering vaccines, up 5% from the previous year.
According to John Wright, executive vice-president of Maru Public Opinion, Canada’s poor performance in administering vaccines in comparison to other countries may have a long-term impact on public perception of the Trudeau government, particularly if new delays arise. Should parliamentarians call an election this spring, Trudeau won’t be re-elected.
Wright was quoted as saying, “If they’re looking towards an election in June, which seems to be speculation, then I would be concerned about this, because the ballot question is not so much about vaccines as it is about competence.”
Alberta residents were the most critical of the federal government, with 71% saying Trudeau did a poor job, up from 52% in January. Manitoba and Saskatchewan (66%) were the next most important provinces, followed by Ontario (61%) and Quebec (52%).
The least critical region was Atlantic Canada, with 43% saying Ottawa did a poor job, up from 27% two months ago. In Atlantic Canada, the number of people who believe Ottawa did a “good job” fell from 73 per cent to 57 per cent.
Trudeau’s vaccine diplomacy has been a failure of magnanimous proportions. His decision to support the Khalistani separatists, at the first cost the Canadian citizens their chance at a trusted vaccine earlier and now it is costing Trudeau popularity points.
Khalistani sympathisers such as Canadian Defence Minister Harijit Singh Sajjan play an important role in the Trudeau government hampering Canada’s ability to have better relations with India. Moreover, Jagmeet Singh the leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party and a staunch Khalistan sympathiser provides outside support to the Liberal party which has a minority government.
Trudeau influenced by Khalistani factions had supported the separatist forces and made uninformed comments over the farmers’ protests in India. While catering to these needs Trudeau forgot that it’s the citizens that suffered in the pandemic and maybe he even forgot that these citizens are the ones that decide his future on the Prime Minister’s chair.