A funny little poll came out late last week. It was the first national poll conducted after the Liberals selected Justin Trudeau as their new party leader. Oddly enough, the results of the poll showed that the Liberal Party holds a seven point lead over the governing Conservatives.

While there are plenty of explanations that one could attribute to the reason for the swing in polling numbers, my theory is that it comes down to the Conservative response to Trudeau’s election. Rather than promote themselves, the Conservatives have gone back to the well with attack ads about Trudeau’s inexperience and past statements. Could this mean that their old attack ad strategy might not be working anymore?

I think that there are three legitimate reasons for the Conservatives dropping in the polls. The first is the Trudeau honeymoon. With Justin and the Liberals in the news, they’re getting their names and ideas out there. The comprehensive media coverage gave the Grits a massive platform to get their message out there. Any publicity is good publicity and news coverage on TV, radio, print and online seems to have done well for the Liberals’ popularity. The NDP received a similar bump in 2012 after Tom Mulcair took the party’s top job.

I suppose this could be some form of the coattail effect of party politics. Pierre Trudeau is a popular, if divisive, Canadian Prime Minister. It only makes sense that his son, as a sort of Canadian political royalty, comes in with a massive amount of popularity. That popularity, from both his family tree and recent election as party leader, probably helps to prop up the Libs in this poll.

The second reason that the Liberals have taken the lead is because the Conservatives have been failing in their promised fiscal responsibility.

Chief among the examples of fiscal irresponsibility is the government’s handling of the F-35 purchase. In 2010, Prime Minister Harper announced that the Canadian Air Force would get 65 new F-35 fighter jets to replace their current 80 CF-18 jets. In 2010, the cost was pegged at $16 billion all-in. At the end of 2012, the lifetime cost of the planes were pegged at closer to $45 billion. Yes, in two-and-a-half years, the costs of new fighter planes nearly tripled.

The problem was that there wasn’t really a bid or tender process undertaken to replace the CF-18s. As far as the public knew and still knows, this was an untendered contract for billions of dollars. Sure, the government backed out of the deal in late 2012 because of the cost but the fact that they were willing to part with billions of dollars when there was no immediate need to replace the CF-18s and there was time to find the best deal doesn’t scream fiscal responsibility.

Let’s not forget some basic economic principle violations by this government. The rollback of the Goods and Services Tax from 7% to 5% would be great during a recession. Lowering taxes is a classic way to stimulate spending. Unfortunately, the Harper Government did this during a growth period. When the recession hit around 2008, there was nowhere to go with the GST to stimulate retail spending.

Also, while not disclosed in the time period of the poll, the Auditor General found that over $3 billion in anti-terror funding has gone missing. The Public Security and Anti-Terror Initiative had $12.5 billion in funding allocated to it but $3.1 billion in funding couldn’t be accounted for as having actually gone toward anti-terror programs. That’s a quarter of total funding just missing. Tax and spend, indeed.

The final reason, and my suspected reason, for the Liberals vaulting the CPC is because of the ugly turn that politics has under the Conservatives.

The Conservative Party’s tactics for dealing with the Liberal Party is not to go after its policy proposals or its track record but go for the jugular of the party leader. The party leaderships of Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff were short-lived as the Conservatives spent a great deal of money on attack ads to make them look like poor choices.

While attack ads aren’t unusual in politics, the fact that the Harper Conservatives seem to rely exclusively on them to win elections has left a bad taste in many people’s mouths. Constant negativity doesn’t give people much reason to give reason to rally to your cause. Focusing on accomplishments and policies can rally people to the Conservative cause. Instead, they’re just browbeating everyone with negativity.

The Canadian government under Prime Minister Harper has also undergone a rebranding. It’s no longer the Government of Canada or the Canadian Government. In 2006, the government was branded “Canada’s New Government.” The “Harper Government” moniker was introduced in 2009. Hell, there was a Freudian-type slip earlier this year where the government was referred to as “Harper Canada.”

While it’s fair for the press to use that sort of moniker to describe a government, the government rebranding itself in the name of one man doesn’t really sound like it keeps in the spirit of a government. It’s supposed to be a government of and for the people not the government of one man, even if he’s the Prime Minister. It’s always struck me as a bit egotistical. Kind of like, “I’m the boss. I’m the CEO. Don’t you forget it.”

Whatever the reason for the Liberals’ lead, one thing I hope we can all agree on is that attack ads do no good.

This isn’t a partisan shot at the Conservative Party and their politics. Attack ads distract us from actual politics. If all we’re doing is focusing on name-calling, we’re not focusing who has the best plan for Canada but why various party leaders are not Prime Minister material. That doesn’t do the country, as a whole, any good.

Elections and politics should be about what politicians can do for you and your country. However, so little of it actually is. This poll could be a small bump in the political road or this could be the start of the electorate steering back to what actually matters: Doing the best for the most Canadians and making Canada a better country.

Sources:
Canadian Press – Trudeau Liberals Lead Conservatives By 7 Points: Poll
The Globe and Mail – Ottawa officially scraps F-35 purchase as audit pegs costs at $45-billion
The Globe and Mail – Tories re-brand government in Stephen Harper’s name
The National Post – Oops: Government agency rebrands country ‘Harper Canada’
The Vancouver Sun – Auditor general finds $3-billion shortfall