ASSESSMENTS

In Canada, Trudeau Battles His Past as Elections Loom

Sep 24, 2019 | 09:30 GMT

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses the media in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Sept. 19, 2019, regarding photos and video that have surfaced in which he is wearing dark makeup. Trudeau will have to battle himself and Andrew Scheer's Conservatives if he is to win again.

(JOHN WOODS/Getty Images)

Highlights

A bribery affair and a racism scandal have taken the shine off Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but they might not have that detrimental an effect on the ruling Liberal Party in Oct. 21 elections, which will focus on the cost of living and the environment.
The main opposition Conservative Party has pulled slightly ahead of the Liberals in polling figures, but projections still suggest that Trudeau's party is likely to capture the most number of seats in Parliament.
The dead heat between the Liberals and Tories could pave the way for a minority government that is unlikely to last much more than two years.

It's an election in which health care, affordability and climate change are foremost on everyone's minds, but when Canadians go to the ballot box on Oct. 21, the polls might as well also be a referendum on the performance -- and personality -- of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In February, he became embroiled in a scandal amid accusations that his office acted improperly in preventing the prosecution of Quebecois engineering giant SNC-Lavalin for bribery in Libya. And on Sept. 18, the prime minister received a bigger blow to his image when decades-old pictures surfaced showing him in blackface at a number of parties. For a leader who prides himself on being inclusive, the revelations will undoubtedly hurt his image and potentially derail his chances of besting the opposition Conservative Party in a race that's currently too close to call. According to polling figures aggregated by state broadcaster CBC on Sept....

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