Weekly Quiz: The Problem with Presidential Powers, Covering Climate Change, and Justin Trudeau’s Second Act

1 2 const title = "The Problem with Presidential Powers, Covering Climate Change, and Justin Trudeau’s Second Act"; const date = "June 21, 2025"; const data = [ { image: "https://walrus-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/img/WAL_Web-Kaur_JUN25_002-1536x1024.jpg", title: "Justin Trudeau Lost the Plot. Now He’s Looking for a New One", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/justin-trudeau-lost-the-plot-now-hes-looking-for-a-new-one/", question: "Many former prime ministers have been eager to return to professional life after leaving office, and after being spotted shopping at Canadian Tire, the public is now wondering: What’s next for Justin Trudeau? What does Arthur Milnes, former speechwriter for Stephen Harper, suggest Trudeau do?", options: [ "Reignite his teaching career, this time at the university level", "Carve out a campaigner role advocating for good causes", "Write a memoir about the legacy of the Trudeau family in Canadian government", "Retire from the public sphere entirely and become a stay-at-home parent", ], answer: "Carve out a campaigner role advocating for good causes", correct: "Milnes believes there’s one particular skill set of Trudeau’s that could still be sought after, at least in the rest of the world if not here at home. “I don’t mean this the way it sounds, but he’s very good at selling things. He was a great campaigner, and he can fire people up in the positive sense, so he might carve out a role advocating for causes that mean a lot to him.” The younger Trudeau may not seem someone destined for a low-key role, but the worst thing he could do right now is come back on the scene, says Stephen Maher. “He would be well advised not to play a prominent role in Canada for some time. People are still tired—exhausted—of him and blame him for a lot of things.”", incorrect: "Milnes believes there’s one particular skill set of Trudeau’s that could still be sought after, at least in the rest of the world if not here at home. “I don’t mean this the way it sounds, but he’s very good at selling things. He was a great campaigner, and he can fire people up in the positive sense, so he might carve out a role advocating for causes that mean a lot to him.” The younger Trudeau may not seem someone destined for a low-key role, but the worst thing he could do right now is come back on the scene, says Stephen Maher. “He would be well advised not to play a prominent role in Canada for some time. People are still tired—exhausted—of him and blame him for a lot of things.”", }, { title: "The Crisis That Made Trump Possible Didn’t Start with Trump", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/trump-presidency/", question:"Over the last ninety years, liberals’ push to centralize the US government has gradually shifted decision-making powers away from Congress, giving presidents the opportunity to more aggressively wield their executive authority. Recently, Joe Biden faced criticism from the Supreme Court for taking that power too far when he made what controversial decision?", options: [ "The introduction of a $400 billion (US) student debt relief program", "Creating a federal rent cap on all private housing", "Making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for all US citizens, regardless of employment", "The implementation of a federal ban on assault weapons", ], answer: "The introduction of a $400 billion (US) student debt relief program", correct: "The party system that exists in the US today is what reformers wanted in the 1950s. But the world has changed in unexpected ways since then. Checks on party warfare dissolved after the 1990s, plunging Washington into an era of polarization and gridlock. This not only fuelled the American public’s frustration with their government, but also became a pretext for more aggressive use of presidential powers. When Congress failed to act on Democratic president Barack Obama’s call for an overhaul of education law, Obama invoked his discretion under existing law to implement his own plan for education reform. He relied on presidential discretion again in 2012, when Congress failed to protect unauthorized immigrants who had arrived in the US as children. Many liberals argued that Obama’s actions were justified because Congress had defaulted on its responsibilities. The same logic was applied in 2022, when president Joe Biden, another Democrat, launched a $400 billion (US) student debt relief program that relied on emergency powers granted after 9/11. The Supreme Court said in 2023 that Biden had stretched the law too far. Now, they will judge whether President Donald Trump has gone too far.", incorrect: "The party system that exists in the US today is what reformers wanted in the 1950s. But the world has changed in unexpected ways since then. Checks on party warfare dissolved after the 1990s, plunging Washington into an era of polarization and gridlock. This not only fuelled the American public’s frustration with their government, but also became a pretext for more aggressive use of presidential powers. When Congress failed to act on Democratic president Barack Obama’s call for an overhaul of education law, Obama invoked his discretion under existing law to implement his own plan for education reform. He relied on presidential discretion again in 2012, when Congress failed to protect unauthorized immigrants who had arrived in the US as children. Many liberals argued that Obama’s actions were justified because Congress had defaulted on its responsibilities. The same logic was applied in 2022, when president Joe Biden, another Democrat, launched a $400 billion (US) student debt relief program that relied on emergency powers granted after 9/11. The Supreme Court said in 2023 that Biden had stretched the law too far. Now, they will judge whether President Donald Trump has gone too far.", }, { image: "https://walrus-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/img/WEB_ReportFromTheFields_JUN2025-1536x1024.jpg", title: "Migrant Crossings into Canada Surge as US Deportation Threats Grow", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/migrant-crossings-into-canada-surge-as-us-deportation-threats-grow/", question: "The unofficial land crossing between the US and Canada at Roxham Road, just nine kilometres from the official crossing at Lacolle, Quebec, has been a longtime hotspot for asylum seekers. Then, in March 2023, Canada closed the pathway, turning away thousands of migrants. In the time since, many have instead entered the country by plane. How many migrants came to Quebec this way in 2024?", options: [ "8,580", "12,860", "18,340", "23,020", ], answer: "23,020", correct: "When Canada closed Roxham Road in March 2023, migrants showed up unaware and were turned away. Since then, more migrants seeking asylum have arrived in Canada by plane—a total of 23,020 in Quebec last year, nearly double the 11,655 in 2022, the last full year that Roxham was open. Those headed for the Lacolle crossing are facing their own risks, too. In the past, when migrants were turned away by Canadian border agents, the US Border Patrol would receive them but usually let them go. But thanks to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump in January, Border Patrol is required to take the rejected asylum seekers from Canadian authorities and turn them over to officers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, for detention and deportation.", incorrect: "When Canada closed Roxham Road in March 2023, migrants showed up unaware and were turned away. Since then, more migrants seeking asylum have arrived in Canada by plane—a total of 23,020 in Quebec last year, nearly double the 11,655 in 2022, the last full year that Roxham was open. Those headed for the Lacolle crossing are facing their own risks, too. In the past, when migrants were turned away by Canadian border agents, the US Border Patrol would receive them but usually let them go. But thanks to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump in January, Border Patrol is required to take the rejected asylum seekers from Canadian authorities and turn them over to officers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, for detention and deportation.", }, { title: "Climate Change Is Happening. Why Don’t We See It?", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/climate-change-is-happening-why-dont-we-see-it/", question: "In August 2023, as The Walrus contributing writer Pat Kane and his family were evacuating from wildfires in Yellowknife, he noticed that many of the images being published in the media missed the bigger story. Months later, Kane created a series of images that uncovered which two uncomfortable but connected storylines?", options: [ "Communication from municipal leadership was lacking, and the greatest challenges were caused by misinformation on social media", "The evacuation plans were both insufficient and tailored to the privileged", "Media coverage emphasized Northern resilience and recovery and ignored political accountability", "The evacuation plans prioritized environmental protection over human safety and downplayed the scale of the disaster", ], answer: "The evacuation plans were both insufficient and tailored to the privileged", correct: "Months after the fires, Kane tracked down some of the evacuees and created a series of portraits and photographs of small items that were significant to each person during the evacuation. He wrote a story about every person he photographed, published in The Walrus in August 2024. This approach allowed him to uncover two uncomfortable and connected storylines: how insufficient the emergency plans in place actually were, and that the evacuation was very much tailored to the privileged. “I think, among people who live here, it was shocking to see just how much was not planned for, how people fell through the cracks,” says Kane. For him, the experience also demonstrated the value that local journalists bring to climate change coverage.", incorrect: "Months after the fires, Kane tracked down some of the evacuees and created a series of portraits and photographs of small items that were significant to each person during the evacuation. He wrote a story about every person he photographed, published in The Walrus in August 2024. This approach allowed him to uncover two uncomfortable and connected storylines: how insufficient the emergency plans in place actually were, and that the evacuation was very much tailored to the privileged. “I think, among people who live here, it was shocking to see just how much was not planned for, how people fell through the cracks,” says Kane. For him, the experience also demonstrated the value that local journalists bring to climate change coverage.", }, ]; The post Weekly Quiz: The Problem with Presidential Powers, Covering Climate Change, and Justin Trudeau’s Second Act first appeared on The Walrus.