The Syrian Refugees Crisis

The story of the Syrian refugees and how it became an election provides a way to analyze political leadership and what Canadians understand to be effective leadership. The introduction of Syrian refugees to Canada was a hotly contested issue during and after the Canadian election. At the time of the 2015 election the civil war in Syria had been raging on for approximately 4 years. Given the refugee crisis that was affecting European nations was centre stage and covered extensively in the media throughout 2015, the issue was prominent in the election. At the time, the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe was still raging on, images coming from Europe of refugees making the dangerous journeys from their home countries in the search for a better life
83). Trudeau attempted to articulate these values in a passionate way that seemed to elude some of the other leaders. Trudeau criticized the Conservatives approach to the issues of Syrian refugees and said that the Harper Conservatives had resorted to politics of fear and division (Globe and Mail, 2015).
The official Liberal election platform on Syrian refugees involved expanding Canada’s intake to 25,000 refugees from Syria through immediate, direct sponsorship by the Government of Canada, working with private sponsors to intake even more; investing an additional $100 million this fiscal year to increase – without reducing standards – refugee processing, as well as sponsorship and settlement services capacity in Canada; and providing an immediate $100 million new contribution to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to support the critical relief activities in Syria and the surrounding
The interactions a politician or political leader has with the media is of crucial importance in Canadian political culture, especially in the present day where the rise of new media, particularly social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, play such a large part in educating voters on election issues and creating a sense of greater democratic involvement. For any government or political party, positive press is important. How ideas are communicated to the public and how these ideas are perceived is another essential part of effective political leadership. In the 2015, Trudeau was able to use his personal celebrity and the constant coverage of him in the media to the party’s