Liberal party of Canada

It is difficult to overstate how much Donald Trump has changed the dynamics of Canadian politics. When Justin Trudeau resigned on January 6, his Liberal party was on just 16 percent in the polls — 25 points behind Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives. Within six weeks, that had narrowed substantially, with Nanos suggesting there was just two points between the two parties. The top issue of national concern? Donald Trump and US relations. Visiting Ottawa in January, I was struck by the remark which one Member of Parliament made to me. “We don’t see America and tariffs as foreign affairs — we see them as actually an extension of our domestic economic policies.

Canada’s Liberal government is getting frustrated. They’ve tried everything and still the Freedom Convoy is camped out in front of the Canadian Parliament, honking horns, blasting music, dancing in the streets, playing hockey, handing out free food — and refusing to go home. Well, they’ve tried almost everything — except, you know, actually talking to the truckers. From the very beginning, Justin Trudeau made it clear that the government was not going to engage with the protesters. As thousands of trucks from all over Canada began converging on Ottawa last week, the thrice-vaccinated Trudeau announced that he had been exposed to Covid and had to isolate, even though he was testing negative.

Canadians pride themselves on their ultra-progressive reputation. In contrast to the gun-loving, war-mongering, big government-hating, get-off-my-lawn-you-commie reputation of Americans, Canadians see themselves as North America’s kinder, gentler half. But that smug politeness has seen us sleepwalk into an Orwellian nightmare. We have never felt much of an affinity to free speech in Canada — saying what you really think is mean and individual rights are for people who don’t have a feminist drama teacher as prime minister. So it’s perhaps unsurprising that a new bill proposing to regulate speech on the internet is being pushed by our politically center-left Liberal party.