There’s a lesson to be learned from Canada’s recent elections for a new prime minister.
Before his landslide win, Justin Trudeau graciously withstood the attack of the country’s conservative prime minister who portrayed him as “inexperienced. ” In his acceptance speech, Mr. Trudeau referred to his conservative colleagues across the aisle not as enemies but as neighbors and thanked the outgoing prime minister for a decade of service to the country, offering praise for his devotion to Canada.
And the outgoing prime minister was also gracious in defeat.
“The people are never wrong. The disappointment is my responsibility and mine alone.”
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Hopefully, America’s presidential candidates will take lessons from our neighbors to the North, who accepted both winning and losing with equally gracious diplomacy.
Author Albert Payson Terhune put it this way:
“Win without boasting. Lose without excuse.”
Despite his legacy as the son of Canada’s beloved Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau from 1968 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984, Mr. Trudeau’s humble character and heartwarming humor have made him a crowd favorite—not only as a politician but as a human being.
He greeted Syrian refugees arriving in Canada with, “Welcome to your new home.”
When asked about his take on political division in the U.S. and the infamous border wall, Mr. Trudeau laughed,
“Every election…there are people who swear that if the candidate they don’t like gets elected, they’re moving to Canada! If that were the case, we’d have more people in Canada than the United States right now, instead of being one-tenth your size.”
“Fear is easy. Friendship? That takes work.” he continued. “But Canada and the United States have proven, time and time again, that finding common ground is worth the effort.
“I have tremendous confidence in the American people and look forward to working with whomever they choose to send to this White House later this year,” Mr. Trudeau concluded.