A Leger Marketing poll conducted last week revealed a sudden increase in support for the federal Liberals. But pre-election polls are ephemeral things. Federal and provincial politicians have repeatedly called elections in the past based on buoyant poll numbers, only to watch those numbers sink as the electorate rouses itself. The funeral unquestionably left an indelible impact on all those who watched. Justin Trudeau's eulogy to his father may have affected this nation even more deeply.
Electors are far more complex and savvy than that.
This election, like all elections, will be won on the street, not in the cathedral. Jean Chr tien is the keeper of an old flame, the guardian of the remnants of Mr. Trudeau's national dream. Alliance Leader Stockwell Day, on the other hand, taps the other vein, the longing for renewal, for revitalization, that spawned Trudeaumania. The nation's loss could serve both their interests. To believe that Pierre Trudeau will alter the destiny of this country in death as he altered it in life one must believe that his passing has caused people once opposed to his agenda to permanently change their minds.