Even though it makes my job as a member of the Official Opposition a little easier, I am genuinely disappointed that this Conservative government didn’t hold true to the principles that brought it to power.

And I’m not even talking about their abject failure to be fiscally responsible, their total inability to be smarter and leaner with government spending, or their enthusiasm for patronage and pork. I’m referring to the basic premise of the old Reform Party, the call for a government that is open, accountable, and respectful of democratic values and the rights of its citizens.

Instead, over the past 4 years, Stephen Harper has carefully nurtured and encouraged a level of cynicism about politics and politicians heretofore unseen in Canada. With only lip-service to the actual Conservative principle of less government, he uses his petty group of yes-drones to make people believe less in government.

Simple, short-term policies chosen for maximal communicability with minimal real impact were the first step (think GST cuts instead of income-tax cuts, or 100$ child-care cheques instead of actual child-care spaces). Add to that a propensity to launch vicious personal attacks on anyone –politician or citizen– with the temerity to disagree with them, and the tried and true Bush-era tactic of loudly repeating semi-truths and falsehoods often enough for them to take hold, and it’s no wonder that a weary populace has been turning away from the goings-on in Ottawa.

The fact that Stephen Harper didn’t anticipate the strength of the prorogation outrage is proof that he overestimated the effectiveness of his campaign of induced cynicism. And, yet again, he underestimated Canadians’ faith in our democracy. Because for all the undeniable short-term voter-suppressing impacts of wedge issues, of attacks ads, and of the politics of division, Canadians resist because we know that we deserve better.

We are a people of differences, in languages, religions, backgrounds, histories, cultures, and colours, but we are a people bound together by values that run deeper. We are open, compassionate, and generous. We seek justice, liberty, and opportunities for all. But above everything, we respect each other, and demand that respect in return.

And that’s why Stephen Harper’s strategies of secrecy, small-mindedness, and cynicism will ultimately fail, because simply put: Canadians will never trust a government that does not trust Canadians.

Author:Justin Trudeau, MP for Papineau,Elected on October 14th 2008 as Member of Parliament for Papineau, Justin Trudeau is passionate about engaging young Canadians in politics.