Billy
Too weird - Trudeau a populist and Harper not!
Harper is the total populist, He ran against Ottawa, against federal institutions of every kind.
You are right though when you write that we were lucky. Had the election been later, Harper would have gone all in with a populist anti-elite platform and might not have lost so badly.
Trudeau would do well to de-fang the populists though and he has made a start with his pandering to big oil and Alberta.
The disasters of populism from Trump and Brexit should also quiet the ravings from the gringes well before the next election.