ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Canadian finance ministers have a unique tradition of wearing new shoes on budget day, but in Newfoundland and Labrador this year that tradition was not well-received.platform X, formerly Twitter, Finance Minister Siobhan Coady wrote, “Many thanks to Soul Studio for today's Budget 2024 shoes, and Sooley Designs for my beautiful new dress.”The accompanying photo showed a pair of Spanish-made Hispanitas brand sling-back pumps atop a copy of her budget speech.
“Must be nice! I’m not able to buy my new clothes as I, like thousands of others, too busy trying to afford groceries, gas, and household expenses," one person wrote. “Posting this privilege with the events of the last few months, and days, you should be ashamed of not understanding the people who depend on your leadership. Shows us how out of touch GOV is!” said another.A small number of people came to the finance minister’s defence.
SaltWire contacted Coady’s communications officials for comment on the intention of the post, but did not receive a response by press deadline.Political scientist Alex Marland told SaltWire on Friday the budget shoes tradition dates back to at least the 1950s, and it is a practice that’s uniquely Canadian.“But it can go off the rails if you don't look at it through the lens of all the different variables that exist,” he said.
“As soon as all these protests are going on, it might make sense to kind of rethink your communication strategy about this,” he said.