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Justin Trudeau apologizes for comparing politicians to used car salesmen

Andy Radia
·Politics Reporter

Last year, Gallup asked Americans to rate the "honesty and ethical" standards of people in different fields of employment.

Politicians — specifically Members of Congress — finished with the lowest score just below used car salesmen.

Wouldn't such a survey would yield similar results in Canada? (Especially, if one of the survey options was 'Canada's senators)

[ Related: Survey says only one per cent of Canadians have a ‘very favourable’ view of politicians ]

Earlier this week, Justin Trudeau was making the case for more political transparency when he said just that; he told reporters that politicians "now ranked below used car salesmen and journalists on the list of trust of professions."

Proving that maybe we're all a little too sensitive these days, Warren N. Barnard, of the Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario, took umbrage to Trudeau's comments and penned this open letter to him.

Dear Mr. Trudeau,

I watched your press scrum on the CTV National News on September 17 and wanted to thank you for pointing out that used car salespeople indeed rank ahead of politicians for honesty and trustworthiness in the eyes of Canadians.

To use your words, “I think we are now ranked below used car salesmen.”

Mr. Trudeau, you are right.

I don’t doubt your intent in making this comparison was to deride the tens of thousands of hard working men and women … yes Mr. Trudeau, thousands of women are involved in the sale of used vehicles …. in the retail automotive industry in Canada. There are almost 25,000 registered salespeople in Ontario alone.

These are the women and men represented, through their employers, by the Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario. Over 4,700 registered Ontario motor vehicle dealers are part of our organization.

I’m sharing this letter with each of them.

You may not be aware of our organization and the role it plays in promoting ethics and professionalism in our industry. Feel free to visit www.ucda.ca to learn more.

You likely are also not aware that Ontario implemented sweeping changes to modernize regulation of the automotive sales industry in 2010. Our members supported this initiative and I’m proud to say that Ontario ranks among the strongest jurisdictions in North America when it comes to ethics, professionalism and protection for consumers buying or leasing new and used vehicles.

Next time you choose to compare politicians with “used car salesmen”, you now have some background with which to do so.

I might also suggest using the far more appropriate term “salespeople” in the future, so as to be inclusive of everyone in our business.

Yes, Mr. Trudeau, politicians do rank behind used car salespeople. Our members and their employees have known that for a long time. Yours truly,

Warren N. Barnard
Executive Director

On Thursday evening, at the urging of Carpages.ca and Sun News' Ezra Levant, Trudeau took to Twitter to apologize.

Interestingly, no politicians have publicly asked for an apology.

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

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