Is Justin Trudeau the candidate women have been waiting for?" That is how Chatelaine magazine headlined their interview with Justin Trudeau last week.
This question is loaded with assumptions. It suggests that Canadian women comprise a homogeneous gender-based voting bloc. Perhaps more offensively, it implies that Canadian women have been mooning around and pining for some sort of machismo political saviour figure.
Oh, please.
After Justin Trudeau's total fumble of the debate regarding containing the ISIS threat, you'd think his strategists would never have allowed this piece of fluff go to print. Even his supporters woke up to his inability to lead when he uttered his flippant 'whip out our CF-18s' comments on the mission. The timing of this sugary mess of an article certainly didn't help to dispel the idea that he's "just not up to the job."
But I digress.
An article on someone's personality is one thing, but this piece was set up to position Trudeau as a "women's issues" candidate. While the article suggested it was about policy, it was a tabloid piece that could have been placed next to a story about the Kardashians. The Chatelaine article says that he wants to engage female voters, then goes onto describe him as "sockless, cuffs undone, yet still impeccable in khakis and a blue windowpane shirt…".
Is this what "engaging female voters" means for the Liberals? After marketing a "Ladies Night" event with gender-stereotype based language, using tabloidism as a way to "engage female voters" is becoming a pattern for Trudeau. If he was truly engaged, he'd know Canadian women take their vote seriously, and weigh all sides of policy. Further, we know that forward vision and leadership trumps a cult of personality when it comes to managing the business of our nation.
The Canadian women I know want equality of economic opportunity. We are concerned about what our country's foreign policy looks like. We worry about job creation, the taxes we pay, reducing poverty, health care, the safety of our communities, the environment and any number of other of serious issues which require serious thought and serious leadership, which our government has provided to Canadians over and over again.
We also have much to be proud about. It was this federal government that gave matrimonial property rights to Aboriginal women. We also lowered the tax burden of the average Canadian family of four by $3400. We are helping hard-working Canadian families make ends meet, by making important priorities like child care and after-school sports more affordable - measures Justin Trudeau promised to reverse. With Prime Minister Harper's strong, dependable leadership our country is weathering the economic downturn and creating jobs - there is more work to be done, though, and the global economy remains fragile. We work hard for all Canadians, including Canadian women — no pink sandbox or windowpane shirt required.
In the next election, the stakes will be high: We have a tested, strong, principled leader in Stephen Harper. The alternative? Someone in "impeccable Khakis" who thinks vacuous puff pieces are the way to a woman's vote.
I know how I'll be voting.
Is Justin Trudeau the candidate women have been waiting for?