Golden rule of life: never underestimate your rivals.“ Sid Waddell

Canadians made a big decision on October 19th when they decisively gave the boot to Stephen Harper and his Conservative government who had been in power for almost a decade. Ten years is a long time for any government to be in power. Harper led Canada through some tumultuous times and he deserves a great deal of credit for guiding Canada through the 2008 global recession that threatened the very underpinnings of the Canadian and world economy.

Canada came through that crisis better than any western country. No Canadian banks failed, and the economy stood firm while the economies of many other countries teetered and bowed down to severe austerity programs. On the basis of this economic record one would think Harper would be given another mandate.

Canadians however were unsettled. There was a very brutish side to Harper and the Conservative government. They were secretive, angry, ideological, parsimonious and prickly. They took controversial stands internationally that were seen as contrarian to the more moderate approach for which Canada had built its reputation for decades. The Harper government bravado on both the Ukraine and  Syrian crisis was not matched with meaningful contributions on the ground that made a significant difference. Moreover, its shameful and mean-spirited response to the Syrian migrant problem was the nail that would seal Mr. Harper’s fate. This issue became front page fodder in the election and ignited a big debate about Canadian values and our place and responsibilities in the world.

The perceived callousness of the Harper Conservatives towards helping Syrian refugees upset millions of Canadians who thought the response was vulgar and contrary to core Canadian values. While Germany had accepted over 800,000 migrants, Canada accepted less than 2000 and Harper and his somewhat inept and nasty Minister of Immigration Chris Alexander suggested that there was a possibility that many of the migrants were security risks and seemed to be deliberately suggesting the migrant crisis was really about a fifth column entering Western countries to cause havoc. Harper’s comments that Canada was doing more on Syria than it was being credited for was blown to pieces by Canada’s former Chief of the Defence Staff, General (retired) Rick Hillier who said that not only was the response wrong, but that Canada could and should bring in 100,000 refugees by Christmas. Game.Set.Match.

Trudeau is the eldest son of the 15th Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau. Pierre Trudeau is recognized as the Father of Modern Day Canada. As Prime Minister in from the late 60’s through the early 1980s, Pierre Trudeau brought in multiculturalism, the expansion of universal healthcare and most importantly he repatriated Canada’s Constitution brought in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Pierre Trudeau also fought battles against the separatist parties in Quebec who wanted independence and soundly defeated them.

Justin Trudeau grew up in his father’s shadow in the public eye, and Canadians have always referred to him as „Justin.“ He earned a BA in literature from University and a B.Ed from the University of British Columbia. In October 2000, he captured the nation’s attention when he delivered a heartfelt eulogy at his father’s funeral. After graduating, he worked as a teacher in Vancouver, studied engineering and began a masters degree in Environmental Geography. He used his public profile to advocate for various causes including the Canadian Avalanche Foundation in honour of his brother Michel who was tragically killed in an avalanche in British Columbia at age 23 in 1998.

In hindsight it seems like the Tories were out to get Trudeau from early on. Even before he got into politics they derided him as a lightweight and dilettante. When he finally decided to run in 2008, Justin Trudeau took a pass on running in safe liberal seat and instead went head to head against a sitting Bloc Quebecois separatist MP in the working class riding of Papineau in Montreal. Against the odds, he won. In September 2009, he was appointed the Liberal Party’s critic for Youth and Multiculturalism. In September 2010 he became critic for Youth, Citizenship and Immigration. After the Liberal Party’s defeat in the 2011 federal election, interim leader Bob Rae appointed Trudeau critic for Post Secondary Education, Youth and Amateur Sport. The Harper Conservatives continued to attack Trudeau as an elitist progressive lightweight.

In Canada, GRIT and authenticity is important. Canadians don’t like swagger but they do respect someone who can take a punch and stand their ground. In January 2012 a well known and respected Conservative lobbyist named Walter Robinson asked Trudeau to fight Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau in a charity boxing match on behalf of a cancer benefit called „Fight for the Cure“. With good humour, Trudeau agreed to participate. Brazeau was a trained martial artist and in the month leading up to the match the Conservatives and especially the very Conservative SUN News Media were having a field day suggesting Trudeau was going to be pummeled. By the time of fight night, Sun Television had the rights to broadcast the event live. In the first round Brazeau came at Trudeau with a flurry of punches and energy that had the mostly Tory audience in ecstasy.

Brazeau was spent and in rounds 2 and 3 Trudeau literally beat the crap out of him. The fight was stopped in the 3rd round. Against all the odds-makers, Trudeau won. As on savvy insider said,

the Tories made a big mistake – they forgot that is the son of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and no son of Trudeau is going to let anyone beat him up in public“.

After the fight it came out that Trudeau had been involved in Olympic style boxing for over a decade as part of his weekly fitness training regimen in a Montreal gym. He never advertised it. He let his gloves do the talking. After that event Trudeau entered and easily won the 2013 Liberal Party leadership election. His charisma, sincere nature and positive approach to issues resonated with many.

Next up was the main event-the 2015 federal election. At the beginning of the election in August 2015 Trudeau and the Liberals were in 3rd place trailing both the Harper Conservatives and the Official Opposition New Democratic Party (NDP). In the 2011 election the once dominant Liberals had been decimated to just 35 seats in the 308 seat Parliament. During the 2015 campaign, Trudeau’s positive „Sunny Ways“ message contrasted sharply against the angry and negative approach of the Conservatives. His call for a government with a greater spirit of generosity and one focused on hope rather than fear resonated big time with Canadians. NDP Thomas Mulcair came across as creepy at times or smug and short-tempered. Trudeau seemed to have his pulse on the mood of the country. In the dying days of the election Harper referred to Trudeau and the Liberals as “all unicorns and rainbows” while Trudeau talked about being positive and hopeful and building a better Canada. On election day Canadians voted massively in favour of Sunny Ways.

The Liberal Party led by Justin Trudeau won 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the Prime Minister-designate of Canada. The Conservative Party led by incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper won 99 seats, becoming the Official Opposition after nine years in Government. The New Democratic Party led by Thomas Mulcair won 44 seats, becoming the third-largest party in the House of Commons after having formed the Official Opposition following the 2011 election. Minor parties won 11 seats: the Quebecois won 10 seats and the Green Party won 1 seat.

The Liberal Party's increase of 148 seats from the previous election was the largest-ever numerical increase by a party in a Canadian election. The Liberals' success came at the expense of 60 seats from the Conservative Party and 51 seats from the New Democratic Party, and was the largest total number of seats won by a single party since the 1984 election. Prior to the election, the Liberals had held only 36 seats—the fewest seats ever held at dissolution by any federal party that won the following election. The Liberals also became the first federal party in Canadian history to win a majority government without being either the Government or the Official Opposition in the previous Parliament, and this was only the second time a party went from having the third most number of seats to the most number seats (the first being in 1925).