Justin Trudeau’s Support Among Young Canadians Dropped 10 Points After Meeting Greta Thunberg

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s much hyped meeting with 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg did not go very well, it seems.

According to a new poll commissioned by CTV and The Globe and Mail, Trudeau’s support amongst voters aged 18 to 29 plummeted from “nearly 35% to a little more than 24%” following his meeting with Thunberg at last week’s climate strike.

According to the pollster: “I think we’re going to call this the Greta Thunberg effect,” said pollster Nick Nanos, who conducted the poll. “What’s it like to have Greta Thunberg tell the prime minister … ‘You’re not doing enough?’”

The back story: “Justin Trudeau, for example, praised her last week while unveiling new climate policies that fell short of Thunberg’s goals. After meeting with him, she claimed Trudeau was ‘not doing enough’ on climate – and she has previously called his government’s doublespeak on climate policy ‘shameful’,” wrote the Guardian, underlining the perception Trudeau is two-faced on climate change.

Trudeau’s response: “I recognize, and I said this directly to Greta, that we have to do more,” Trudeau told reporters.

mans is protesting his own government I am confusion ???!!! https://t.co/RDAhOOBJtv

— Sarah Jama (@SarahJama_) September 28, 2019

A few highlights from Trudeau’s record on reducing emissions:

• After calling Stephen Harper’s emissions reduction targets “the weakest” in the world, the Trudeau government decided to stick with the same targets  Harper set for fighting climate change.
• Despite Trudeau’s claim Canada is “on track” to meet Harper’s 2030 target, under a best-case scenario, Environment and Climate Change Canada estimates Trudeau will miss Harper’s target by at least 37%.
• According to the Trudeau government’s own data, the gap between Canada’s current greenhouse gas emissions and Harper’s 2030 targets actually grew wider last year.

[CTV News]