Here’s why Trudeau’s second year will be tough

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers are heading into a tough second year, according to Sir Michael Barber, a British consultant and the guru on so-called deliverology (or the art of ensuring governments deliver on their promises).

Barber spoke to the federal cabinet during the first day of its two-day retreat. He noted Trudeau and his ministers spent the first 10 months of their mandate consulting with Canadians on dozens of different issues and setting the stage to deliver on Trudeau’s agenda.

Read: Future of economy is in diversity and innovation, says Trudeau

But now, says Barber, is the time for implementation. “If you want to generate results […] then, in year two, you really need a focus on relentless implementation [and] on taking some difficult decisions. You can’t please all of the people all the time.”

And, Trudeau faces no shortage of hard choices–on everything from electoral reform to pipelines, from climate change to fighter jets.

One of the biggest challenges looming this fall is a planned first ministers’ meeting that’s supposed to hammer out a national strategy to combat climate change, including putting a price on carbon.

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna conceded there are “some difficult issues” to overcome. But she insists progress has been made in behind-the-scenes negotiations. She vows Canadians “will see a serious climate plan in the fall,” as planned.

The government’s need to make some hard choices comes against the backdrop of a stagnant economy that is showing few signs of life. Canada lost more than 31,000 jobs in July, for example, while job creation fell to its lowest level since the recession.

Read:

• Stronger short-term outlook for Canada, says Conference Board
• Don’t look now, Canada’s economy is getting ugly

Finance Minister Bill Morneau says some of the measures taken in last winter’s budget to stimulate the economy, including investments in infrastructure and a more generous child benefit, are likely to start having “some traction.”

As well, Morneau says the federal government has struck agreements with most of the provinces on disbursing infrastructure funding, which will “enable us to make the investments that we know will be positive in the short term and positive in the long term for the Canadian economy.”

Read: Federal infrastructure money yet to flow

For his part, Trudeau says one of the big themes of the retreat was working on relationships (with indigenous peoples, and provinces and territories, and the United States).

Impact of the U.S. election

During the retreat, Canada’s ambassador to Washington, David MacNaughton, briefed the cabinet on the potential opportunities and challenges presented by the American presidential election in November.

Among other things, MacNaughton noted that both Republicans and Democrats and their respective presidential nominees, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, have adopted anti-trade stances that could wind up hurting Canada.

“There is a deep concern in the United States about how people don’t think that trade deals have worked to their benefit,” he said outside the retreat. “I’ve said frequently [that] there are nine million U.S. jobs that are dependent on trade with Canada, and the problem is that nobody in Congress understands that.”

Read: U.S. economic issues that Trump and Clinton are ignoring