Trudeau and Poilievre have very different theories of change

The first days of Parliament in 2024 sounded a lot like the last days of Parliament in 2023. The basic disputes and arguments are by now familiar, even to those who haven't been paying much attention.

But beneath the back-and-forth over the Liberal government's carbon tax and the Conservative leader's agenda, Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre are also duelling over very different theories of change.

Trudeau used the theme of "change" to begin his remarks to a Liberal gathering just before Christmas last year. Canadians, he said, are living through a "period where we're all experiencing a lot of change."

"Change in interest rates. Change in the world order. Change in the environment. Change in the way we work. Change in culture," he added.

All of this change, he said, "can be disorienting."

It's fair to ask whether there was ever a time in human history that was relatively free of change. But that doesn't undermine Trudeau's observation, or the unsettled feeling that may now be lurking in the guts of many Canadians.

"But this is why the choices we make right now are so consequential," Trudeau continued. "Because the world is going through change and we need to make sure that this change benefits Canadians."

Political leaders, he concluded, need to decide whether they want to "tackle" the problems facing Canada or "exploit" those problems. The implication behind Trudeau's framing is pretty clear.

Poilievre also talks about change — he did again on Sunday. But he talks about a different kind of change.

"You know, when people stop me on the streets, they tell me they don't recognize the country," Poilievre said in remarks to his parliamentary caucus to mark the return of Parliament.

He said he spoke recently in an airport with a woman who asked him, "Where's my Canada? What happened to this place?"

It used to be, Poilievre said, that this woman could comfortably afford housing and food in a neighbourhood that was safe. His refrain on Sunday was that such things are no longer possible "after eight years of Trudeau."

"The good news is life wasn't like this before Justin Trudeau and it won't be like this after he's gone," Poilievre said.

That wasn't the first time Poilievre has used that particular line — it goes back at least as far as his speech to the Conservative convention last September. It underpins a sweeping thesis that claims Trudeau is not only to blame for some of the bigger problems Canada is facing, but that his time in office has marked a departure from the way things used to be.