The last federal election was an eye-opener for many Canadians. We awoke to the rude shock that the leaders of two of the three major political parties had lost their constituency elections and, consequently, their seats in Parliament. The leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, lost his riding to a Liberal candidate, Bruce Fanjoy, who, three years earlier, began working to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of unseating the leader of the opposition party, who, a few months before the election, was viewed as the next Prime Minister of Canada. Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party, also unbelievably lost his seat, and he subsequently resigned as the leader of his party.
This election was probably the most groundbreaking in recent times. Among the surprises this election produced was the new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who was somewhat unknown before the election unless you were familiar with national and international economic matters. He had never contested an election before.
The more I reflected on Carney’s unexpected emergence as Prime Minister, the more the Roman philosopher Seneca came to mind. Seneca once said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Many might view Mark Carney as one of the luckiest individuals on planet Earth because of his victory. Others will rightly conclude that little or no luck was involved since he exemplifies the concept of preparation meeting opportunity.
Before Carney was chosen by the unpopular Justin Trudeau, he had already acquired one of the most impressive resumes in the world. At a time when America, under Donald Trump, is looking inward with the mantra “America First,” Canada needs a leader with the education and experience to navigate these challenging times.
For many Canadians who have experienced the lackluster performance of the Liberal Party over the past 10 years, there has been a desire for change. However, they also understood that change must not come at the expense of competence. For years, Canada has been governed by those who could, at best, be described as career politicians or, at worst, as politicians with little or no real-life education and experience to lead a nation like Canada. Many of the politicians leading numerous ridings would not be employed if they submitted their resumes for managerial roles in Canada. Chief among these categories of politicians is the leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre.
During the last election, Canadians were presented with two choices: “change” with a career politician lacking real-life management experience or a seasoned economist trained at Harvard and Oxford University, who commendably has served as the Central Bank Governor of Canada and England, among other highly esteemed positions that make him supremely qualified to lead Canada now.
What happened to Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party in the last election reminds me of the need to prepare for whatever outcomes we seek in life. Pierre Poilievre had not prepared for the role of prime minister; therefore, when the opportunity arose, it was his to lose, and he lost it spectacularly. Whatever you aspire to become, prepare. Engineers must excel in math, lawyers must be eloquent, meticulous, and proficient with language, and aspiring leaders must possess both soft and hard skills along with leadership experience.
By Timothy Wilson
