MEETING THE PRIME MINISTER

or How I Am So Glad I Don't Have That Job

The woman, in her late 50s, ran across the street and gave me a hug.

I was sure she was mad.
Maybe a brazen pickpocket and feigned mistaken affection was her tactic.

But no.
She was a ‘fan’.
(I put ‘fan’ in quotes because it still feels weird to say/write.)

It was 2013 and I was heading to a Vine Meet-Up where followers could meet and interact with some of their favourite creators.
I had been asked to come along.
Even though I felt horrendously out of place as a 43 year old man standing on stage beside people like 14 year old Shawn Mendes (I mean, our ages were practically just backwards versions of each other), I went.

The hugging woman partially released me from her embrace but held onto my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. She then told me that my videos had gotten herself and her family through a hard time with health issues recently. They’d share them with each other and welcomed the brief moment of nonsense that the videos offered.

I was floored but I had read in a book about music once that as the artist you should never make someone who compliments your work feel bad for doing so with forced modesty. Just take the compliment gracefully and move on.
So I did.

That meet-up and that interaction was the first moment in what I feel has been my creative/professional journey to date.

Fast forward ten years…

I turned the corner and greeted an old friend.
Well, it felt like I was greeting an old friend.

We had never met in person before but I certainly knew his face and (let me have this) he knew mine.

We had been contacted by the Prime Minister’s Office who noticed that Shannon and I were in Ottawa for an event.
The message came in as we enjoyed breakfast in The Metcalfe hotel.
I showed Shannon the message on my phone screen.

“Would you be interested in meeting with the Prime Minister?”

Shannon stopped chewing her bagel and momentarily froze.
Then said, “Fuck… we kinda have to, don’t we?”

We assumed we were being snuck in for a handshake and a quick photo.
This was not the case.

Before I go further, let me say this…

I remember being at the White House in 2016.
The woman who was in charge of me while I was there worked for the Obama administration. I asked her if she enjoyed working there and she said without hesitation, “I have never worked with smarter people in my life.”
As she seemed pretty smart to me herself, this was a reassuring notion.

The Prime Minister’s Office staff are amazing.
Like when you go to an actually really great restaurant or hotel and the staff make you feel instantly at ease because you know they are prepared, intuitive and smart… and they’re all doing a million things at once.
The restaurant comparison is unfair as government isn’t about that kind of service, of course, but you get what I mean.
They were smart and welcoming.
It felt reassuring.

So, not expecting much more than a quick greeting and picture in a side office and with little time to prepare we arrived in our regular clothes avec mid-season coats… and then suddenly found ourselves sitting down in the Prime Minister’s Office in the West Block of Parliament.

My mind went blank for what seemed ages.
I then thanked the Prime Minister for his work through the pandemic.
Was it perfect? No.
But the pandemic was one of those events where what would have been perfect only becomes evident in hindsight when you have way more information.
The Prime Minister was using the best guesses of our smartest people.
That was our smartest bet.

Then… he thanked me.
He thanked me for the videos I had made to assist with public health messaging during the pandemic (note - none of those public health messaging videos I made during the pandemic were paid for by the government… in fact, they weren’t paid for by anyone… making those videos is what’s called in business a ‘terrible decision’).

I don’t want to overstate my impact here, so let’s do a quick reality check:
I made and make silly videos for social media.
Some are funny. Sometimes.

As the Prime Minister thanked me my mind was taken back ten years to the woman at the Vine meet-up.
I’m not sure exactly how or why but what I create has found utility.
People can use what I create to make their experience in life better or more enjoyable.
That is an incredible feeling.
It’s also incredibly motivating.

But it’s not just me.

Anyone who creates and puts what they create into the world to make life a bit better has the same effect.
You never know what nonsense will become a life preserver for someone.
If you create things, give them to the world.
Someone in the world needs them.

Our chat with the Prime Minister went on.
We laughed and shared stories.
We talked about how we seem to be grappling with an extraordinary amount of different issues as a country currently.

He’s smart, charming and genuine.

It was evident, despite the Fuck Trudeau flags and very loud anti-him sentiment currently, that he cared.
A lot and still.

I’ll be honest, prior to meeting him and our conversation, I wasn’t sure he was the right person for the job moving forward.
You need an inordinately healthy ego to be a world leader but sometimes that ego is only serving itself and not the best interests of the nation.

We see that in some other politicians.

The best case scenario is a politician with a massive ego based on the notion that they wish to the best servant to the country that anyone has ever seen.
That’s the feeling I got from the Prime Minister.
In the best way.

To be clear, I do not belong to any political party (see my book - please).
I’ve found fault in some of the things the Prime Minister and the government have done.
I even testified in the Senate to voice my opposition to the government’s C-11 bill.

Is it “sunny ways” time still?
No, I don’t think so.
It’s “how do we get out of this bucket of shit” time.

Some may try to blame that bucket on the Prime Minister but those folk weren’t Prime Minister when an unexpected and unprecedented global event occurred.
I think too many people conveniently forget the pandemic happened these days.

Though we, the public, are fickle and often idiots that choose change over challenge.

With all that in mind, I left feeling reassured that he is still, in fact, the person for the job right now.
That may change, but for now… he’s the guy.

I also never want his job.

###

(Pictured: Author chooses photo that attempts to suggest that he had something worthwhile to say to man who deals with actual world issues every day)