By George provides you with the kernels of six great conversations you may wish to prompt when discussing Justin Trudeau's momentous victory and the changes that are a-coming to Ottawa and our country.

 

The Trudeau Legacy Revisited

It has been 31 years since a young Justin called 24 Sussex Drive home. Now, as a father with a young brood, he returns. It's a fairy tale come true. The Toronto Star today ran a telling comparison between Pierre and son Justin. Questions: "Will Justin prove to be a chip off the old block?" or "Is it even fair to compare the two when their feats come three decades apart in a country and a world that is so different?"

 

The Vote Results

It was a Liberal tsunami - a total reversal of the Grits' 2011 fortunes, climbing from 36 to 184 seats. The Liberals have a strong centralist and urban caucus, and are a truly national government with MPs from every region of the country. The red wave washed out many good MPs, it has brought in many new faces, and the composition of the new Parliament is markedly different. Numbers and new faces are one thing, but how will this turnover impact Parliament's ability to take up the economic and social challenges before Canada? Who are the MPs to watch and what can be expected in the new Parliament?   

 

A Majority Government and the PMO

On the campaign trail, Trudeau said his approach to political decision making would be different. The issue is that our Parliamentary traditions have been eroded and usurped by all powerful PMO boys-in-short-pants and this trend can be traced back 45 years to P.E.T.. Campaign promises of Parliamentary reform have been broken when PMs have been handed majorities. So, given Justin Trudeau's intimate insight into this dynamic, will this time be different? Will he restore a Parliamentary balance of power?

 

Promises and Expectations

From infrastructure to native rights, from climate change to pension reform, the Liberal platform had countless promises. Can it all realistically be accomplished? CBC's Neil Macdonald explores the comparison between the high hopes of change that swept in Trudeau to those that ushered in President Obama in 2008. Recall, "Americans were weeping with happiness too..." What of the promises for change? What of this sobering comparison? 

 

The Promised Deficits

Justin Trudeau made hundreds of billions of dollars of promises during this campaign and he stated up-front that he would run consecutive deficits to pay for everything. We are about to enter into the Liberal economic planning cycle of tax-and-spend-and-spend-some-more. Provinces and interest groups have begun to line up. So, how much spending will be enough and how big will the debt hole get before the Liberals stop digging? Will all this borrowed money buy happiness?

 

The Loser's Legacy

The Prime Minister exited this morning. It will be years before we can truly appreciate what lasting impact Stephen Harper has had on this country. In office, he was successful is shrinking government, lowering taxes, increasing trade opportunities and ensuring the federal government became less active in the daily lives of Canadians. Ten years hence, will his efforts be recognized? What of Stephen Harper's lasting legacy? (Perhaps John Ibbitson's thoughtful G&M obituary is a good place to start this discussion.)

 

If you missed By George Journal's first special election edition this weekend, you can read it here: The Campaign Wrap. Through this week, visit By George Journal to read political commentary and background articles on the transition period of our federal government and what it means for those waiting to stake their claims in the new Ottawa landscape.