Michael R. Strain, Columnist

Trudeau’s Populist Pose Could Hurt Canada’s Economy

Plans to ban foreigners from buying homes for two years and impose surtaxes on big banks and insurers aren’t going to help the country’s economic performance.

August 30, 2021 at 1:00 PM UTC

By Michael R. Strain

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

Borrowing from Trump’s bag of tricks?
Photographer: Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada would reject claims that his leadership style is similar to that of former U.S. President Donald Trump or British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But in at least in one respect the comparison is getting closer to hitting its target.

To win back the majority government his Liberal Party lost in the 2019 election, Trudeau is engaging in populist pandering that, if acted upon, could damage Canada’s economic performance.