It wasn乌鸦传媒檛 quite as colourful as his father乌鸦传媒檚 Salmon Arm salute, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wasn乌鸦传媒檛 without moments of friction when he made his way to Kelowna this week.
The photogenic photo-bomber met hecklers head-on at least twice during his nearly week-long visit.
During the UBC Okanagan town hall meeting that brought 2,600 area residents to the campus, someone from the crowd yelled that he was a liar when Trudeau said the province had benefits for doctors in need of maternity leave.
乌鸦传媒淚 said I was fairly certain and I乌鸦传媒檓 happy to be corrected,乌鸦传媒� Mr. Trudeau said, calmly, fingers politely enclosing a microphone in a way I wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 have been able to muster.
Earlier that day, while Trudeau was speaking about why he prefers the term acceptance to tolerance at a Canadian citizenship event, a passerby yelled out what sounded a lot like 乌鸦传媒淔&** Trudeau, go home乌鸦传媒� at the prime minister.
Without pause, Trudeau looked up, smiled and said, 乌鸦传媒渁nd I tolerate you too, sir.乌鸦传媒�
The quick response brought laughter from his audience and, while it wasn乌鸦传媒檛 nearly as controversial as the gesture, it showed that the West has yet to be fully won over by Canada乌鸦传媒檚 first family.
For those who don乌鸦传媒檛 remember the details of the famous 乌鸦传媒渟alute,乌鸦传媒� Canada乌鸦传媒檚 15th Prime Minister乌鸦传媒擯ierre Elliot Trudeau乌鸦传媒攆lipped the bird to B.C. protesters from a rail car in 1982.
According to archive newspaper articles, protestors had met the prime minister on the rail line to express their displeasure about the use of the plush railway car in a time when there was 30 per cent unemployment.
Trudeau appeared at the coach window with two of his sons, 乌鸦传媒渟miled then scowled and then gave us the old Trudeau one-finger salute and pulled down the shade,乌鸦传媒� read one account.
Trudeau trouble in the region, of course, is Liberal party trouble.
Only twice in Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 history has a Liberal MP been elected.
The first time was when Trudeaumania swept the nation, in the 1960s. Kelowna got a one-term Liberal MP, who fell out of favour along with the party leader.
Next was in 2015 when Kelowna-Lake Country MP Stephen Fuhr was elected along with 184 Liberal MPs.
It will be interesting to see if Fuhr乌鸦传媒檚 future is tied to that of the current PM, especially as more controvery arises.
While it seemed as though he could do no wrong in the last year, the tide of public opinion is starting to change and these proposed taxation changes could be just the thing to see him lose favour with Kelowna residents, at the very least.
This is what they call the 乌鸦传媒渃radle of free enterprise乌鸦传媒� and goodness knows rocking it is always a problem.
We still have a few years to see how it all shakes out, mind you, but it乌鸦传媒檚 always interesting to keep an eye out for whether history will repeat itself.
