Steve Scherer

OTTAWA, Reuters – Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, supported vaccine mandates to fight COVID-19 five months ago. But now he is increasingly isolated due to the lifting of restrictions around the globe.

Denmark, Ireland, Sweden and Norway as well as the United States and Canada are relaxing or lifting COVID regulations.

Trudeau doubled the federal vaccine mandates, and invoked emergency power this week to stop weeks of protests against government pandemic restrictions.

Since late January, protesters have been occupying Ottawa’s core and cutting off important trade routes to the United States.

Trudeau is seeking to regain power, but has come under sharp criticism from his Liberal Party colleagues, such as Nate Erskine Smith who stated that it was time for “divisive speech” to be stopped.

According to independent pollster Nik Nanos (founder of Nanos Research), “The problem for the Prime Minister lies in his tendency to be dogmatic and not pragmatic.”

Nanos explained that the protest movement “has put a spotlight onto him being… divisive” and added it would be harder for Trudeau now to win another election.

Although most Canadians support the mandates, 80% of them are vaccinated. However, many Canadians are tired of having to deal with pandemic restrictions after just two years.

The protests saw the largest number of 10 Canadian provinces (including Ontario and Quebec) begin lifting the bans. They said they did so because COVID-19 cases were falling rapidly in recent weeks rather than under pressure from demonstrators.

Doug Ford, Ontario premier, stated Tuesday: “The pandemic has ended in the world. Let’s move on.”

Ford indicated that he would remove proof of vaccination requirements from non-essential establishments like restaurants starting March 1. According to a Leger poll, a third Canadians believe now is the right time for all restrictions to be lifted.

Trudeau believes that vaccines are the best method to overcome the pandemic. Trudeau also defends mandates in spite of the dramatic drop in Omicron cases.

An Abacus Data poll found that the approval rate for Trudeau’s government fell by six points in between January 12, when protests started, and February 8, during them.

Joel Lightbound of Trudeau’s own legislature accused Trudeau last week of being divisive for embracing vaccine mandates as an issue wedge in the campaign.

Lightbound stated that “it’s time for Canada to stop splitting Canadians and to stop pitting one portion of the population against the other,” on February 8. Stop with divisions and distracting behavior. We must choose coercive, positive methods.

A small number of backbencher lawmakers, such as Erskine Smith, support Lightbound’s positions. Lightbound, while resigning as Quebec caucus Chair, is still a Liberal lawmaker.

Candice Bergen (leader of the Conservative Party) stated that Trudeau has “a political emergency” with his caucus and his party. Following the resignation of her predecessor earlier in this month, she was elected leader of the Conservative Party.

Liberals claim that the election of recent years has made clear Canadians’ preferences.

“We campaigned to support vaccine mandates. Parties that supported vaccine mandates won the majority of seats in the house. When asked by a senior Liberal Party source about criticisms from the party, he said that they were able do the vaccine mandates as soon as they got elected.

Federal workers now have a mandate to get vaccinated after an election, which has boosted the federal employee vaccination rate to 98%. A vaccine mandate for federal workers was implemented in January to protect cross-border truckers. This has resulted in an increase of 90% vaccination rates among international drivers.

Trudeau invoked emergency power to end the protests this week, but he was aware of a divide in public sentiment.

I know that people feel frustrated. “I hear it… However, blocking roads and other critical infrastructures and denying your neighbours their rights is not the way to protest. He stated.