The Trudeau government has had some successes. The prime minister has a gender-balanced cabinet and trans rights have been recognized. There have been some excellent, non-partisan appointments to the Senate and elsewhere. The CPP has been bolstered and poor families with children are somewhat better off (although a tax credit is no substitute for subsidized child care). On other files—notably, the provinces and Donald Trump—Trudeau has done his best with a difficult hand. But there is a smell of retreat in the air.