Trudeau’s political talents on full display during town hall stop in city

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This article was published 01/02/2018 (3118 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The heckler would not be denied.

About halfway through Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s town hall forum at the University of Manitoba Wednesday night, Clayton Thomas-Muller stood up to loudly condemn the Liberal government’s decision to allow pipeline development. Anti-pipeline protesters are a staple at events involving leaders from just about every party.

As is the style of hecklers, Thomas-Muller was angry and loud. After being interrupted several times, Trudeau finally turned to face him and relented, inviting him to ask his question.

Thomas-Muller demanded a wireless microphone, at which Trudeau frowned. “You could have said ‘please’ when you asked for the mic,” the prime minister chided.

Thomas-Muller paused, then apologized. And before asking a question, he smiled and said, “Damn, you’re good.”

It’s unlikely Trudeau changed his mind. He stayed firm to his government’s policy that responsible pipeline construction, as loathed as it is by many environmentalists and First Nations people, is much safer than other forms of petroleum product transportation. But his deft handling of the interruption did seem to provoke some sort of grudging respect.

Welcome to the Trudeau show, the national town hall tour that the prime minister has made an annual rite of the midway point of the Canadian winter. As was the case one year ago when he appeared at his first town hall in Winnipeg, the circumstances were very familiar: same rolled-up shirt sleeves, same loosened tie, same array of questions.

Over the course of this year’s forum, Trudeau was asked about workplace bullying at Canada Post, mental health and poverty, illegal immigrants from the United States, pardons for small-time pot traffickers, support for abandoned dogs in rural Manitoba, and Russian meddling in western democracies.

Along with an encyclopedic knowledge of government files, one of Trudeau’s great talents appears to be his ability to take almost any question on any subject and pivot with the grace of an Olympic figure skater to an answer that highlights a specific government policy or program.

Trudeau does not solve any specific problem on the spot, but he seems to do a good job of listening. Political opponents scoff at the whole idea that Trudeau is sincere, but the reaction of the crowd at each one of these events clearly shows they like what they are hearing.

As for hecklers — and regular attendees of these events have come to not only expect but crave a bit of noisy disruption — Trudeau has developed a diabolically efficient method for deflecting angry shouters.

He first tries to get them to wait their turn to ask a question, or he suggests they do not interrupt another person who has asked a question. When that doesn’t work (and it usually doesn’t) then police surround the heckler, and remove him or her from the event. And as they leave, Trudeau delivers his knock-out punch: “Ma’am/Sir, have a good evening.”

The reaction to Trudeau’s strategy is, quite frankly, remarkable. In almost every instance, Trudeau gets thunderous applause. This was the reaction to a young woman that started yelling at Trudeau over pipeline development. As she tossed a stream of F-bombs at the first minister, he smiled and wished her “a good evening.” Cue enthusiastic applause.

Even though he’s good in this kind of forum, you might ask why it is that Trudeau would put himself through this kind of abuse?

The cross-country town hall tour is an opportunity for the prime minister to accomplish two principal goals.

First, this series of unscripted confabs with Canadians is a devastatingly clever way to keep his finger on the pulse of the nation.

Every question and answer can be measured and weighed against the mood in the room. Even though it’s hardly scientific, these forums function as a political laboratory in which Trudeau can test every one liner, every retort, every assertion to see if it passes the smell test.

It’s also an shrewdly effective way of keeping the prime minister and his government at the top of the daily news cycle.

National news organizations are generally compelled to cover every minute of every public appearance made by the prime minister; for local news, these events are almost always the biggest story of the day. It all adds up to front-page, top-of-the-newscast, front-and-centre-on-the-homepage news that tends to eclipse other parties and leaders.

Other than providing some much needed distraction, and a shadow big enough to swallow his political opponents whole, are the town hall meetings working?

It’s always hard to say, but Liberal support has remained largely unchanged over the past year or so. Recent poll results show the Grits holding a firm if modest lead over the Tories, with some surveys showing that Trudeau retains the margin necessary to win another majority. This despite the fact that the Liberals have generated a number of nagging controversies for themselves.

Still, what Trudeau is doing creates significant contrast with other parties and leaders. Some may try to replicate the Trudeau experience, but for now, it’s a hallmark of the current prime minister. He gets thunderous applause when he arrives, and is mobbed for photographs when he leaves.

The next election is still 18 months away. That means Trudeau will have at least one more opportunity for a national town hall tour. And if you’re a Liberal, that’s not a bad thing.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca