The Tomato

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All questions to Prime Minister now returned with generic answer

In a prime  example of finding a good sound bite and sticking with it, Justin Trudeau has begun answering every question asked of him with “because it’s 2015.” 

His response to a reporter’s question about why a gender equal Cabinet was so important became an oft-quoted signifier for the change in mentality coming with the new government. Voter’s are overwhelmed by this response with first-year drama student Laura Mockett saying, “the real reason that our Cabinet should be half women isn’t because women represent half the population and deserve  to have leadership roles but because it’s 2015.”

However, the answer “because its 2015” has been a stand by for many years, even before it was actually 2015.

An investigation by the Tomato has discovered that stating what year it is has been Trudeau’s stock answer to questions dating back to his beginnings as an MP in 2008. In a CBC interview after that election, he is asked why he decided to run for office and answers “because it’s 2015.”

The CBC hosts appear to not quite understand the answer and the conversation quickly shifts. Deemed a simple embarrassing slip-up from our new Prime Minister, in newer versions of the interview the comment has been edited out completely.

When the Tomato reached out to the Prime Minister’s office for a comment on the apparent obsession with the phrase the only response we could get was “because it’s 2015.” Whether that proves there is a connection or not, we’re not quite sure.

Since the original use of the phrase has proven so popular there is some debate about whether or not the answer will change in future years. Hopefully Trudeau will be able to tell that it’s no longer 2015, but no one is sure yet and we might be getting the same answer to any questions posed in 2017.

Other media outlets have also been getting the same answer to their questions about the new government’s objectives. When asked about any directions Trudeau has given her minister of environment and climate change, Catherine McKenna said, “He just told us ‘because it’s 2015’, over and over again.”

While the answer might not be helpful in answering many questions, it is a good sound bite and seems to be one that Canada should get used to hearing.