Well, well, well, Mayor Gregor Robertson has got be happy about Monday’s election results.
In fact, the mayor said so in a statement emailed from his office Monday night after it was clear that Liberal leader Justin Trudeau won a remarkable majority, ending a 10-year run for Stephen Harper’s Conservatives in Ottawa.
“I want to congratulate prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau on his victory tonight after a hard-fought campaign that inspired Canadians with a clear vision for change and a progressive plan to meet our biggest challenges, particularly in cities,” Robertson said. “At this pivotal moment in our politics, I look forward to working closely with the new Liberal government on priorities such as building the Broadway subway, investing in new affordable housing, rising to the urgent challenge of climate change and supporting Vancouver’s leading edge economic growth.”
Wow, such praise.
But not surprising.
Keep in mind that Trudeau and Robertson are tight.
Trudeau tried to lure Robertson to run for his party, congratulated him in a video message on his 50th birthday and has an insider in the mayor’s office, Braeden Caley, who is Robertson’s media guy and doubles as president of the B.C. wing of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Coupled with those connections is that Trudeau is basically on side with all Robertson’s asks of the federal government. Improved transit, a national housing strategy, legalizing and taxing marijuana, drug injection sites – check, check, check, check.
That symbiotic relationship was evident when Trudeau spent one morning of his 11-week campaign at Cambie and Broadway, where he announced that a Liberal government would work with the City of Vancouver and provincial government to get rapid transit built along Broadway.
“The lack of federal funding will no longer be a roadblock to action,” Trudeau told reporters and a crowd that included Ian McKay, the CEO of the Vancouver Economic Commission and former national director of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Trudeau made the announcement on a rooftop patio that is used by the city’s engineering staff. He was the only federal leader to use the space, which is leased by the city, and only leader to mingle with city workers and meet briefly with then-city manager Penny Ballem and acting-head engineer Jerry Dobrovolny.
Can’t imagine Harper doing this.
But for all the good vibrations between Trudeau and Robertson, there’s this little issue about Kinder Morgan proposing to build another pipeline from Alberta to Burrard Inlet.
I’ve heard Trudeau supports the proposal given, of course, that it meets his party's environmental standards, which I’m still not clear on. Robertson, of course, has been on a tear for several years to ensure the pipeline doesn’t get built.
That issue will make for interesting politics since protecting the environment is of great concern across the city, particularly in the ridings of re-elected Liberals Joyce Murray (Vancouver-Quadra) and Hedy Fry (Vancouver-Centre).
In his statement Monday night, Robertson congratulated Murray and Fry and Vancouver’s other four winners – NDPers Jenny Kwan (Vancouver-East), Don Davies (Vancouver-Kingsway) and newcomers Harjit Sajjan (Vancouver-South) and Jody Wilson-Raybould (Vancouver-Granville).
“Canadians have voted for change and Vancouver’s voice will be stronger than ever before in the next Parliament,” Robertson predicted. “As mayor of one of Canada’s most diverse cities, it’s encouraging to see that Canadians rejected the politics of division and fear that was offered during the later stages of this election campaign. We’re stronger as a country when we are united.”
We’ll see.
@Howellings
