Justin Trudeau deems his first 6 months 'a pretty good start'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau surveyed his six-month-old Liberal government Wednesday and told his caucus that even though they've done a "fair number" of things, the party's campaign slogan about doing better still applies.

"We've made a pretty good start, but let us remember there is a lot more work ahead of us than behind us," the prime minister said Wednesday morning, in a speech reporters were invited in to hear and record.

"We got elected on a platform of investment in our country, of openness, of transparency, and we've been delivering that, but as I always said during the election campaign, 'better is always possible,' and that applies to us over the past six months too," Trudeau said.

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The well-known Star Wars fan began by wishing his MPs a happy Star Wars day and saying "May the Fourth be with you."

But the celebratory tone of the milestone the Liberals were marking was tempered as Trudeau expressed his support for the people of Fort McMurray, Alta. as they battle a destructive wildfire.

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The prime minister said people across Canada have connections to the northern Alberta city and paid tribute to everyone offering support at the community's difficult time.

"Canada is a country where we look out for our neighbours," he said, expressing gratitude for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale's "extraordinary strength" and depth of experience in coordinating the federal government's response.

'They talk a good game'

Trudeau highlighted the new Canada Child Benefit (which has yet to roll out) and the Jan. 1 middle-class tax cut as having a "significant impact."

But opposition parties' reckoning on the six-month milestone faulted a lack of progress or failures on other fronts.

"I'm hoping that they enjoy the honeymoon," former Conservative cabinet minister Tony Clement said before his caucus met. "Politics changes fast and I hope Justin Trudeau is enjoying his yoga poses and his GQ interviews because I'm here to tell you the Conservatives will be back and will be back strong." 

Conservatives distributed a "reality check" to reporters offering a list of promises they believe the Liberals have broken so far, including:

• Keeping deficit spending to under $10 billion annually.
• Allowing the justice minister to attend a "high-priced, pay-to-play fundraiser" with Bay Street lawyers.
• Cutting the military's budget and failing to stand with Canada's allies against ISIS by withdrawing Canada's CF-18s.

After his weekly caucus meeting, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair had his own list, including the government's failure to decriminalize marijuana possession or restore home mail delivery.

"There's a pretty long list of things that they've failed to do," he said.

"They talk a good game. I will easily acknowledge that there's been a change in tone," he said. But on something like climate change, he said, Canada's not "back" until there's a concrete plan for reducing greenhouse gases.

"We're dealing with someone who's really great in terms of public relations, but isn't delivering," he said.

'That's all it is: a start'

The Green Party issued a press release that called the Liberal government an "administration with potential" but found its performance "incomplete" in 13 different policy areas.

Leader Elizabeth May said the Liberals could act more quickly to undo some of the detrimental laws the previous Conservative government put in place. The federal budget was a "mixed bag," she said, and insufficiently transparent. 

In other areas, like immigration or reconciling Canada's relationship with Indigenous people, May rated the government's performance better.

Trudeau acknowledged the opposing views.

"We find ourselves in a place that is defined by partisan interactions and oppositional tensions, which makes for better legislation," he said, repeating his oft-stated view that diversity is "a source of strength."

At a midday news conference with the Parliamentary Press Gallery, where he was pressed on issues ranging from Canadians held hostage abroad to electoral reform to trade issues, Trudeau tried to explain his office's new focus on delivering and measuring results.

"How we actually figure out whether what we are doing is having a positive impact on the lives of Canadians isn't something that governments have spent a tremendous amount of time worrying about in the past," he said. Governments have put their energy into announcements but not follow-up, he said.

"It's a shift that requires both a political lens and a public service engagement," he said.

"That's all it is," he said off the top about his first six months in office. "A start."