Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the Liberal MP who made a name for himself as a backbencher with his own voice, posted a nine-minute video to YouTube this week about the federal government’s carbon pricing policy.
It would be an exaggeration to say the video is setting the internet on fire. As of Friday afternoon, it had a grand total of 329 views. But it’s enough to say that Erskine-Smith has contributed to the hottest new trend in Canadian politics: talking at length, and in some detail, online.
Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith jumped on the ‘explainer’ video trend with his piece on carbon pricing. (Lorenda Reddekopp/CBC)
Videos like Erskine-Smith’s weren’t completely unheard of before now — the Liberals, for instance, released a seven-and-a-half minute video about their economic vision in 2014. And long-windedness in politics is hardly a new phenomenon. But Erskine-Smith’s video follows the 15-minute video on housing that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre posted in December — a video that seemed like a novelty at the time.
The Liberals responded to Poilievre’s video with a three-minute video of their own. Poilievre’s Conservatives have since posted an eight-minute video about plastics and a 13-minute video about corporate concentration, and Poilievre has narrated two videos about public debt that each run more than 15 minutes.
Poilievre’s fondness for data and number-heavy videos filled with charts and graphs and references to news reports seems to follow from a central theory of political communication he articulated several years ago. He’s a politician who loves a snappy slogan (especially if it rhymes) but he also loves facts.
“All of us in politics these days make the mistake of focusing too much on getting the right lines. We say, well, we’ve got to have the right message,” he told me in an interview in 2014. “Actually, what people want are the right facts.”
The sheer volume of numbers in Poilievre’s presentations also seems to be part of his appeal.
When the Toronto Star’s Stephanie Levitz attended a Conservative rally near Ottawa in March, she reported back that several in attendance said they “love how he peppers speeches with specific facts — not just political platitudes.” These voters trusted him because, as one told Levitz, “he does his homework.”
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a rally in Ottawa on Sunday, March 24, 2024. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)
Poilievre’s fondness for numbers also creates an added burden for whoever he is debating — and it distinguishes him from a Liberal government that does not excel at specifics.
Trudeau’s Liberals may be adept at summarizing the values they uphold and the ideas they’re trying to realize, but explaining what they’ve done or why they did it has never been their strong suit (with some notable exceptions, such as Trudeau’s appearance before the Emergencies Act commission in 2022).
The complicated math behind one fact
No matter how many facts a politician seems to have at hand, it’s still necessary to ask whether those facts are being described fairly and whether they add up to the story the politician is trying to tell. Whether Canada is faced with a looming debt crisis is, for instance, at least debatable.
In his latest video on public debt, Poilievre looks at the large deficits run by the federal government during the pandemic, but then says that “even during the Covid crisis, much of the Trudeau government’s spending had nothing to do with the crisis and therefore cannot be blamed on Covid alone.” (That comment plays over a clip of what appears to be someone using the ArriveCan app.)
He then points viewers to a report released by the parliamentary budget officer in 2022 — specifically the PBO’s conclusion that 35.5 per cent of new spending added to the fiscal framework since the start of the pandemic was not related to Covid. Poilievre then points to the size of the deficit in 2020-2021.
But the PBO’s analysis covers a time period that runs beyond the pandemic — it starts with fiscal year 2019-2020 and ends with 2026-2027. And a chart at page 10 of the report shows that the vast majority of the “non-Covid” spending was expected to occur from 2022-2023 to 2026-2027.
During the fiscal years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, when the pandemic was at its peak and the government’s deficits were highest, Covid-related spending accounted for 85 per cent of all new spending. In 2020-2021, when the federal deficit hit $328 billion, Covid-related spending was $261.8 billion.
Poilievre might still disagree with the federal government’s spending decisions, but it’s fair to ask whether the PBO’s numbers back up the claim that “much” of the spending “during” the pandemic was not related to the pandemic. (Poilievre’s office did not respond to an email asking about his claim and the PBO’s numbers.)
Still, given how much these videos focus on complaints about government spending, they might be viewed as candid statements on Poilievre’s political worldview.
Does the public want more than 10-word answers?
A cynic might view explainer videos as just another way for politicians to promote their visions and set the agenda, without having to deal with the input of journalists. In a splintered media environment, there might be even more room to do so.
But these videos might be addressing a real public appetite for depth, explanation and understanding — the same sort of desire that has, in part, driven the rise of podcasts. When Pew surveyed Americans about their podcast habits in 2022, 55 per cent of respondents said a “major reason” for listening was “to learn” — the second most-cited reason.
So it’s worth noting that while the Conservatives are rolling out video explainers, the prime minister is on a podcast tour. In the past week, Trudeau has appeared on Today, Explained by Vox, the Freakonomics podcast and The Big Story. (He appeared on CBC’s Frontburner last fall.) Each of the resulting interviews has run about a half hour in length.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in an interview at the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council in Ottawa on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
At the end of Trudeau’s appearance on The Big Story, host Jordan Heath-Rawlings had the bright idea to simply ask the prime minister why he was doing these interviews. Trudeau replied that his favourite kind of interview involves sitting down with a radio host for 15 or 20 minutes and having a “real conversation.”
Podcasts, Trudeau said, represent the kind of “thoughtful conversation that most Canadians end up having in their daily lives with their friends, their co-workers, their family about big issues.”
Trudeau said he wanted to get past the soundbites that tend to drive the political discussion. He invoked both former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi and his desire for “politics in full sentences” and fictional president Jed Bartlet’s quip about ten-word answers.
Of course, all the podcast interviews he can do between now and October 2025 might not be enough to change the polls. And even long answers can be lacking.
But if Canada’s political leaders want to explain themselves at greater length and in greater detail, it would seem churlish to complain. Even if it’s still important to check their math.
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.
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.
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.
