The word “woke” — originally used to describe awareness of discrimination — has been adopted by figures on the political right to discredit policies and politicians they consider too progressive, experts say.
The word was directed earlier this week at the Liberals and NDP by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. And some Liberals have been dancing around the term when asked about it by journalists.
“It’s a term that’s been evolving fast,” said Jennifer Saul, a professor who specializes in the philosophy of political language at the University of Waterloo.
“For a while, there were people happily identifying themselves as woke. It now has been adopted as a term of abuse.”
Some Liberals distance themselves
After Poilievre was elected to lead the Conservatives, a number of Liberal MPs told Radio-Canada that they want their party to shift to the centre to combat Poilievre’s populist brand of conservatism.
“We need a government that is down to earth and less woke,” one MP, speaking on the condition they not be identified, told Radio-Canada.
Poilievre would later call the Liberals and the NDP — who are supporting the government through a confidence-and supply-agreement — a “radical woke coalition” in his first address to caucus as Conservative leader.
Poilievre’s use of “woke” as a pejorative had a number of Liberal cabinet ministers circling the word cautiously during the party’s caucus retreat earlier this week.
“Frankly, I don’t even know what it means to be woke. I’m working to serve Canadians,” said Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
“I certainly don’t believe I’m woke, trust me, and no one in my family believes that either,” said Innovation and Science Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre greet each other as they gather in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)
Even NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh didn’t explicitly embrace the term when asked about it during an interview on CBC Radio’s The House — although he did say he doubts Poilievre understands what it means.
“I don’t think that Mr. Poilievre knows what he means when he says that. I don’t think he understands what he’s saying when he just throws the words around,” Singh told host Catherine Cullen in the interview airing Saturday.
“I think it’s a baseless kind of position. It doesn’t really add up to the reality,” he said, adding that his party’s focus is on getting help to Canadians.
Where does the word come from?
The use of the term “woke” in a political context originates with black activists in the United States in the early- to mid-20th century, according to McGill political science professor Terri Givens.
Givens said it was used as a term of vigilance, calling for greater public awareness of racial discrimination. As a black woman growing up in the United States, she said, she was very familiar with the term.
“I’ve heard this term throughout my life,” she said. “It’s a term that means, ‘We need to wake up to the fact that [discrimination is] happening to us.'”
Givens said that while the term has been used within black communities in North America for decades, it gained prominence in the wider public discourse during the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.
A new street sign for Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House in Washington. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Saul said that in the years following the rise of Black Lives Matter, people started applying the term more broadly to awareness of other social issues, such as sexism, poverty and the challenges facing LGBTQ people.
Both Saul and Givens said the term has since been seized by right-wing figures to castigate people or policies they see as too progressive.
“This has become a blunt instrument of the right,” Givens said.
Saul agrees but notes that “woke” has gained some negative meaning on the left as well. The term “woke-washing,” he said, is used to describe the actions of people or organizations that try to convince others they care about certain issues.
Woke in the current political climate
Both Saul and Givens said Poilievre’s use of the word to discredit the Liberals, and subsequent attempts by some Liberals to distance themselves from it, are not surprising. The same things are happening in the U.S. and Europe, they said.
“I think a defence of, ‘Yes I’m woke and proud of it’ is unlikely to succeed because the term ‘woke’ has become so thoroughly appropriated,” Saul said.
Givens said she doesn’t think the historical context of the term is understood by either the Liberals or the Conservatives.
“It really pains me to see politicians throwing these terms around … [as] a quick soundbite, instead of having a nuanced conversation,” she said.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
