Trudeau’s bold change pledge was a ruse. But Canada now has a fighting chance | Martin Lukacs

Liberals took up a progressive mantle when the NDP failed to project a vision of environmental and social justice - now it's up to the public to bend them to their will

On Monday night many Canadians breathed out a sigh of relief. Then they breathed in a whiff of apprehension. The ousting of the Conservatives was a victory, a rejection of Stephen Harper's politics of fear and outright hatred. But Canadians now confront a Prime Minister gifted in the art of warm, fuzzy claptrap. They won't be offered what they dreamed of: that was never an option in this election.

The election's most revealing poll was scarcely reported by the media. Those voting against Harper - sixty to seventy percent of Canada, a progressive majority holding steady through his decade in power - were asked in late September what kind of change they desired. They answered overwhelmingly: not moderate but ambitious, not incremental but immediate. In other words, most people didn't just want Harper out: they wanted plentiful jobs, a healthy environment, indeed a far more just and fair country.