Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,
Congratulations on the Liberal Party’s landslide victory in Canada’s 42nd federal election. And I’ve got to be honest: my wife, Emily, and I spent most of the night watching the results come in, and reading commentary on Twitter, more or less dumbfounded. Not because we were entirely surprised by the outcome, but because it was so unprecedented. Never before has a third place party moved to a majority of parliamentary seats in just one election. By this act alone, you’ve earned a place in Canada’s history books.
Mr. Trudeau, you’ve got a big job ahead (but you already know this). Within the next two weeks, you’ll be sworn into office. You’ll have assembled your team and be transitioning control of the machine that is Canada from the Conservative government to your own. And I don’t envy you in this. I don’t look forward to the unpleasant surprises that will spring up along the way. I don’t look forward to the trolling you’ll inevitably face on social media. I especially don’t envy you for the serious toll your new role will take on you personally and on your family.
Listening to your victory speech last night, you told us all that “Conservatives are not our enemies, they are our neighbors.” As one of your conservative (small “c”) neighbors, I am grateful to hear this, because as your neighbor, I want you to know that regardless of my feelings about the outcome of the election, or the policies of your party, I am praying for you:
- I am praying that you will lead wisely.
- I am praying you will lead fairly.
- I am praying you will truly hear the voices of all Canadians, as you have said you want to.
But there is more than that that I am praying for. Though I do not know your religious beliefs, I am also praying that you will know it is God, the maker of heaven and earth and sustainer of all things, who has placed you in your position (Romans 13:1). That you will recognize that you are his servant, to execute justice for every Canadian at every stage of life as his servant in this land. You are accountable to the people of Canada, without question. But you are also accountable to the One from whom your authority flows.
I am also praying that you will begin to see every life as equally valuable. That you will will no longer be so resolutely pro-choice, but begin to see that every human being, from their earliest stage of development to their final breath is made in the image of God and full of dignity and value.
I am praying that every Christian in Canada—every Canadian who believes that Jesus Christ was God incarnate, and came into the world to save us from our sins—will take every opportunity to bless you. That we will speak life into you and your family at every opportunity. We might forget this on occasion, and for that I hope you will forgive us.
Finally, I am praying that, you will someday experience the greatest blessing of all: that you will see your need for Jesus Christ. That you will know that Christ has died for you—for every mistake you’ve ever made, for every error you’ll make in office, for every moment of overconfidence at your successes—and that you will bow your knee to him in faith. You have many long days ahead, and though you are undoubtedly capable of a great deal, you will reach the end of your abilities. When you do, you will find Christ there waiting for you.
May God bless you as you lead this nation,
Aaron Armstrong
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Hope you realize the value of Canada being a Christian country and letting us hold this up against giving the religions that threw us out for being Christian . Freedom of dress comes with a price; respect the safety and welfare of all; before you make decisions on this; you have kids too; yes your money will protect them; so please do not grab into our miniscule wages to fatten yours. Middle class in Ontario is hit hard by your party in a negative way; hope you can be fair and just to all.
“And he said to me, “Do not
seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the
evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still
do right, and the holy still be holy.” Rev 22:10-11
The people chose legalized drugs;
give it to them, abortions? Give it to them, brothels? Give it to them… God does not force Himself on the people but at
the end He will see all of us face to face.
“Behold, I am coming soon,
bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am
the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the
end.” Rev 22:12-13
Thanks for writing this letter, Aaron, and thanks for posting it for us.
Did this letter actually get sent to Mr. Trudeau so he can read it? Because he really needs to.
It has been sent, yes.
as I read this it touches my heart because it feels this is the way to work together as a people no matter what and where we came from God bless our new Prime minister. where there is unity God commanded blessing
Thank you so much for your hopeful letter! The letter shed a lot of good light in this Extreme time of need to get back to our roots of faith! I will also join force with you and pray for Mr. Trudeau to lead our country with morals and righteousness!
People decide elections not God if everything that happened was the will of God everyone would choose to serve God after all Salvation has already been paid for all anyone has to do is except Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. I actually cried when Harper was voted out and this person who has wicked standards was voted in not that I was not expecting Trudeau to get in when arrogant people make mistakes they are huge mistakes not little ones and I cry out for our country I am hoping for the best and I will pray for Trudeau while he is in office for however long he is in office after all that is what we the people of God is called to do pray for our government not complain about them. So Mr. Trudeau know that people are and will pray for you while you are in office what you believe is here nor there I trust God to guide you it will be your choice weather or not you listen to God or not listen to God all the best.
AMEN,to this prayer. I also believe as a C hristain we are responsible to pray for our Prime Minister and our leaders.The bible says that God puts Leaders and governments into place. Our resposiblity is to pray for them. Their responsibility is to lead in a responsible way. GOD will control the outcome. SO PRIME Minister Trudeau you can count on our prayers.
As a individual whom believes in God, I cannot agree with this statement. Its my belief that people are given gifts in this world, some have the gift of a brilliant mind, a powerful character, a courageous empathetic heart, but its up to us how we use them. Do i believe that God controls every aspect of this world? No. I will not type on this site as if i know the truth of the world as many do, because in fact none of us know what is fact or fiction. We all have our own belief system and that is fine, but change can only happen in this world when we take charge of our own lives, including the good and bad outcomes. like quoted earlier i believe god gives us the tools but we decide if its for evil or good. We cannot predict how this man will do, but whom are we do judge? Isnt this form of writing placing just as much judgment and pushing just as much of your own beliefs on someone else, as what he is doing? This individual is just a human, with blood running through his veins, he is not immortal, and I will pray that he will use the tools given to help those without a voice! And in terms of his pro choice decision, well its not my belief system, but my name is not God therefore i will not be the one to place judgement on others for what they choose to do, but rather i would be the one to be the shoulder for them to cry on.
Good luck Trudeau!
I’ll be one of many who will be praying for our new Prime Minister.
Mark Andrew, the difference between us Christians and you guys is; We pray for our leaders whereas you guys curse those you don’t like in power. We have already prayed for Prime Minister Trudeau elect today even though he wasn’t our choice. And we will continue to pray that he will lead our country as he said he would. I’m sorry you feel so strongly about Mr. Harper the man we love.
Thank you. I am in solidarity with you in this prayer.
Thank you, Aaron.
I agree. It is ultimately God who allows all political leaders their authority and He can also take it away. I too hope and pray for respect for all human life from the unborn to the grave to be the norm in Canada.
It is God who placed him in this position? Really?! Was it also God who placed Mr. Harper in his position? Mr. Harper, who divided the population, ignored an entire section of society (Aboriginals), and scuttled almost all attempts to take care of “God’s” planet? Was God smiling down as Mr. Harper, time and time again, chose military might while claiming to follow the Prince of Peace? God does not decide election outcomes, the electorate does.
yes i suppose we as christians would see it that way. even if the elelctorate does choose, God still has sovereign control. try to wrap your head around that.. not easy. but this does not mean that Harper, or Trudeau for that matter, are perfect representatives of God, now does it? they are both still human, and as human they do make wrong choices, they believe wrong things and they make mistakes ect. even if either one of them is christian so to speak, that doesnt mean we are going to agree with everything they do. i disagreed with things harper did. im not keen on how he handled the situation with aboriginal women and im not keen on bill c-51. on other issues im fairly conservative… im going to disagree with Trudeau on various issues. That doesnt mean i dont think God isnt somehow involved here. God wasn’t neccessarily “smiling” down on harper just becuase he allowed him in office.
So my response question is, for philosophical reasons; where does free will end and god’s decision begin? You say that God decides (or allows) these individuals to take office but the actions of those elected are solely their own. However, is it not the free will of the electoral population to vote whomever they wish? Is it not then, their free will that determines who gets in power?
In your perspective, when are decisions too large for free will to be the sole decider of what occurs?
Interesting question and thoughts Dave. What if the two were not mutually exclusive? I know that goes against everything we’ve been taught in our twenty first century, western way of thinking, but are you aware that in the scheme of the world and of history we are actually in the minority on that “either-or” mentality?
In any case, I would affirm free will and agree that the electorate decided the election, however I would also affirm that God somehow has the whole thing under control and the result is what he has sovereignly decided would happen. How the two are fully reconciled is somewhat of a mystery.
For now I accept on faith that my actions have real and lasting consequences, but nothing happens that is outside of God’s control. I don’t actually know how it works in detail, but I don’t claim to understand God either.
Interesting thoughts. I appreciate the modesty that you do not claim to understand god or the way things work. But at least from my perspective the two would have to be mutually exclusive. If our actions and the path by which things occur are specifically determined (by anything, including God) then this is determinism. Not only is this not free will, it’s essentially the exact opposite.
I guess one could argue that the individual action of each person choosing who they vote for would be their own free will, but the factors that made that candidate the most likely to be chosen by a large number of the population could be the larger workings of God. Personally that’s the only way I could reconcile it, but this unfortunately in my mentality makes the point of voting and democracy a null and void concept – It’s not really chosen by the people, it’s decided by God. Which isn’t necesasrilly bad, but it certainly gives a new perspective on free will and democratic rule.
Free will to make a choice that God can turn to His advantage and purpose. He knew us before we where formed in the belly of our mothers. He knows the end, from the beginning of time. Just some scripture to ponder on.
I would also add the foreknowledge is not equivalent to causation. Just because God knows the outcome doesn’t mean he is causing the outcome to occur. As a parent I may “know” my child will touch the hot stove simply because of the curiosity I am witnessing from my child. However, I am not causing my child to touch the hot stove.
To say that God forces our hand in life goes against the very nature of creation (if you believe in creation). God created mankind with a free will, to make choices and to receive the consequences of those choices. However, while God knew my choices he did not force me to make those choices.
When it is said that God is in control we must realize it is not micromanaging mankind but simply the authority and oversight that keeps the world spinning on its axis.
To say that God causes people to be put into authority is to believe that God placed Adolf Hitler in charge of Germany to exterminate 6,000,000 Jews. I believe that God doesn’t cause people to be elected to office but instead works through those who are elected whether or not they are followers of Christ.
Pilate was not a follow of Christ and Judas walked away from Christ yet God allowed their actions to take place in order for His Son, Jesus, to be crucified and pay the price for mankind’s sin.
So God did not smile on Harper when he marginalized an entire people group in Canada, nor did he jump for joy when Trudeau was elected as Prime Minister.
Just some thoughts to ponder.
Well said!
Nice sideswipe at Harper Mark-Andrew. Not sure where the source of your allegations come from…
More accurately, Harpers opponents divided the population AGAINST harper for their own benefit. Trudeau up to the end was claiming that we are in a recession and there was no surplus despite objective data.
“The government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation. Therefore on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians, I stand before you, in this Chamber so central to our life as a country, to apologize to Aboriginal peoples for Canada’s role in the Indian Residential Schools system.
To the approxiamately 80,000 living former students, and all family members and communities, the Governemt of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that it was wrong to separate Children from rich and vibrant cultures and communities, and we apologize for having done this…The Government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the Aboriginal peoples of the country for hfailing them so profoundly.” An excerpt from Prime Minister Harpers speech on June 11, 2008.
You are aware that “climate change” is now an industry with invested stakeholders…That cap and trade, carbon tax is a financial shell game with dubious results. Harper did well to resist the push to subject the nations finances to this.
As for ISIS who systemically is lopping off the heads of people simply because they are Christians or homosexuals, how can allowing this to continue without intervention be tolerated?
Amen. Well said!