[rubecube]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle23971424/

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that he was “unequivocally opposed to any sort of coalition” with the NDP. That makes perfect sense. It would be far more logical for the Liberals to make common cause with the Conservatives.

Wednesday, the Liberal Leader declared once and for all that he was categorically opposed to a coalition with the NDP, in part because “there’s too many big issues on which the NDP and the Liberal Party of Canada have deep disagreements.”

He’s right. Under Mr. Trudeau’s leadership, the Liberals on most major files have become virtually indistinguishable from Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.

On the question of taxes, for example, the Liberals would retain all the Conservative measures, save for a minor income-splitting tax cut. The NDP, on the other hand, would raise corporate taxes.

On the environment, Mr. Trudeau appears content to allow the provinces to lead the fight against global warming, as does Mr. Harper. Mr. Mulcair is committed to compulsory national standards to reduce carbon emissions.

On natural resources, Mr. Trudeau backs the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and supports oil sands development, while Mr. Mulcair opposes Keystone and talks of a “Dutch disease” of oil dependency.

On national security, the Liberals support Bill C-51, the Conservative anti-terrorism legislation that the NDP opposes. The Liberals are also behind the Canadian military training mission in Ukraine, which the NDP insists must first be approved by Parliament.

Neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives support the proposed $8-billion NDP child care program. The Conservatives prefer direct payments to parents. The Liberals are silent on the issue.

And on Quebec separation, both the Conservatives and the Liberals back the restrictive Clarity Act, while the NDP endorses the Sherbrooke Declaration, which would make it much easier for Quebec to separate.

Ideologically, then, it would make far more sense for a minority Conservative government to seek the support of the Liberals on a case-by-case basis, than for the NDP and Liberals to seek common cause.

I kind of agree with the author. Obviously the Conservative and Liberals aren't going to form a coalition, but I think Trudeau is walking a fine line in trying to appeal to centrist voters without pushing away the left, and I think he's doing a poor job of it. He's done nothing recently to distinguish himself from Harper in any notable way, other than his stances on ISIS and Northern Gateway.