The "expansive social contract" that was mentioned began to be weakened following the 2008 financial crisis. Many Canadian provincial governments began implementing austerity measures in the 1990s despite recommendations not to do so by the central government. The austerity measures then expanded federally when Harper became prime minister; upon the election of Justin Trudeau, the austerity measures that were introduced under Harper continued. This has resulted in an increase in poverty in the country which caused neofascist politicians to be elected as premiers in provinces like Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec between 2017 and 2020. Europe is suffering from a similar story because the actions that the EU took to resolve the European sovereign debt crisis also weakened that continent's social contract. Austerity measures in countries like Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain caused increases in poverty (though not as much as the United Kingdom), which expanded neofascism into many European countries around the same time as Trump's election. The increasing of poverty in countries in the western half of Western Asia that was caused by economic problems that led to conflict have also resulted in neofascist figures getting elected into power in Europe. More public services are set to be weakened over the next few years in an attempt to reduce the sovereign debts of both regions.