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Canadian politics has a rage problem — and politicians have to be part of the solution – CBC News

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2 years ago

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On a June day nearly 40 years ago, Brian Mulroney happened upon a 63-year-old woman named Solange Denis. Mulroney’s government was proposing to make a change to Old Age Security. Denis was mad about that and — with reporters watching — she conveyed her displeasure directly to the prime minister.

Mulroney’s run-in with Denis became a national story. The government was compelled to back down and “Goodbye Charlie Brown” subsequently became shorthand for how a single interaction with a voter can waylay a politician and a government.

What happened to Chrystia Freeland in Grande Prairie, Alberta last week was something else entirely — and many political leaders, from across the partisan spectrum, seemed to recognize that immediately. Among those who condemned the incident were Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, two politicians who have had their differences with the federal Liberal government.

It’s important for political leaders to recognize when a line has been crossed. But such moments are starting to become regular occurrences. Two years ago, a man drove through the barricades at Rideau Hall. Last fall, someone threw gravel at the prime minister. In May, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was harassed while campaigning in Peterborough, Ontario. In July, a restaurant in Prince Edward Island was targeted for online harassment after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped to have lunch there.

So in addition to condemning harassment and renewing the conversation about the personal security of politicians, voters and politicians also need to ask themselves whether that video of the deputy prime minister being profanely accosted points to a larger anger problem in Canadian politics.

The upside and downside of anger

Anger in politics isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Anger directed at real injustice is understandable and anger can be productive if it leads to real solutions. But there’s a difference between constructive anger and the corrosive kind — the kind of rage that is irrational or unjustifiable, that unfairly demonizes opponents or fellow citizens and isn’t aimed at finding real answers to real problems.

In 1985, Denis was worried about a real thing. Whether the change in OAS policy was wise or not, her protest was at least based in reality. But the man who approached Freeland last week reportedly “ranted about the Trudeau government being part of a conspiracy involving the World Economic Forum” in a subsequent interview with the Tyee. He also “claimed the government was trying to starve the public by forcing fertilizer limitations on farmers and was killing thousands of people, including children, with vaccinations.”

Beyond the misogyny and profanity of his comments, he also called Freeland a “traitor.”

WATCH: Alberta man hurls profanity at Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland

Alberta man hurls profanity at Chrystia Freeland, sparking social media outrage

24 hours ago

Duration 2:32

In a video circulating widely on social media, several people are seen approaching Freeland as she walks through Grande Prairie’s city hall toward an elevator.

Jared Wesley, a professor of political science at the University of Alberta, said those who consider such extreme behaviour acceptable are still in the “very, very small minority.” In that respect, he said, Canada’s political culture is strong. 

“What we need are more politicians from across the spectrum to stand up and reinforce it,” he added.

Wesley points to Alberta UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith and federal Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre. Neither proactively issued a statement about the Freeland video — Poilievre did eventually comment when asked about it during an interview — and both have taken aim at the World Economic Forum and a federal policy proposal on fertilizer that is the subject of rampant misinformation.

United Conservative Party of Alberta leadership candidate Danielle Smith has been scoring political points off the World Economic Forum and a federal policy on fertilizers that has been the subject of widespread misinformation. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

It shouldn’t be too much to ask of politicians that they not only refrain from encouraging conspiracy theories but also call out irrational fears — particularly when those theories are being espoused by their own supporters. In an interview with CBC Radio’s The House earlier this year, Erin O’Toole recalled trying to correct constituents who came to him with “things they’re reading on social media, conspiracies and ideas and frustration.”

Wesley, who recently co-authored an analysis of Alberta separatists, points to the example set by Republican presidential candidate John McCain in 2008, when he publicly challenged a woman who asserted that Barack Obama was “an Arab” and she couldn’t trust him.

If political leaders are willing to condemn the verbal assault on Freeland, shouldn’t they also be willing to say that the World Economic Forum is not part of a sinister conspiracy and vaccines are safe?

Is the public following the lead of politicians?

In a newly published collection of academic analyses of the 2021 federal election, Christopher Dornan, a journalism professor at Carleton University, notes the public hostility that was on display during last year’s campaign. But he argues that “it was rich, perhaps, to hear politicians express shock and dismay at the animosity of the public, given the example they set by making Parliament into a public theatre of perpetual anger, no matter how much of this is playacting.”

It can be difficult to draw a causal link between any particular incident and a politician’s words — and the mobs of people yelling at Justin Trudeau last year were no doubt inspired by far more than the tenor of question period. But it’s fair to ask whether Canadian politics is unnecessarily fostering an atmosphere of anger and whether Canadian politicians are promoting a corrosive kind of animus.

A man, top right, throws gravel at Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, left, as the RCMP security detail provide protection while protesters shout at a local microbrewery during the federal election campaign in London Ont., on Monday, September 6, 2021. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

Anger can lead to progress. But perpetual anger erodes the foundation of democracy — it undermines trust and tolerance and raises the stakes of political conflict to unsustainable extremes. Wesley recalls Michael Ignatieff’s observation that democracy can’t work if politicians (and voters) view their rivals not as adversaries, but as enemies. And when harassment and threats are commonplace, it will be that much harder to convince people to serve in public office — particularly women and racialized Canadians. 

While some politicians seem to be stoking anger, we should ask whether others are doing enough to minimize division.

As Wesley notes, politicians are ultimately rational actors. As long as anger serves as a tool to secure a comfortable victory (and in the current situation, that might require as little as 35 per cent of the vote), leaders might be tempted to chase it.

Ideally, politicians would take responsibility for the health of democracy. But for anger and extremism to fail, voters have to turn away from it.

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‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

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5 days ago

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November 8, 2024

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

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5 days ago

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November 8, 2024

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REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

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6 days ago

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November 7, 2024

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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