Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Despite Justin Trudeau's Progressive Rhetoric, Canada Not Immune To Populism: Experts

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 18 Apr, 2018 12:17 PM
    OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau might see his country as a beacon of hope in a roiling sea of polarization and angry nationalist sentiment, but Canada is far from immune, experts warn.
     
     
    Just as he did Tuesday at the French National Assembly, Trudeau likes to portray Canada as a place where progressive values flourish — free trade, ethic diversity, immigration, environmental protection and gender equality.
     
     
    "At a time when the political movements exploit the real anxiety of their citizens, Canada has chosen to be against cynicism and embrace audacity and ambition," he said.  
     
     
    A sizable proportion of the Canadian public believes otherwise, research suggests.
     
     
    Ekos Research and The Canadian Press teamed up earlier this year to gauge populist sentiment in Canada. Fewer than half of respondents — 46 per cent — expressed views that reflected an open-minded perspective of the world and each other, while 30 per cent landed in the "ordered" category, which means  feeling economically and culturally insecure. 25 per cent expressed "mixed" views.
     
     
    The survey, an aggregation of polls conducted with more than 12,000 Canadians, carried a margin of error of plus or minus 0.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Its results suggested there is indeed fertile ground in Canada for a populist movement to take hold.
     
     
    Canada has largely staved off the negative politics of pessimism and xenophobia that are major areas of concern in the U.S. and parts of Europe, said Ekos president Frank Graves. But that doesn't mean populist sentiment isn't brewing north of the border.
     
     
     
     
    "Those forces are very much at work," Graves said, noting the icy reaction to Trudeau's remarks from right-wing National Front leader Marine Le Pen.
     
     
    "Those forces are by no means extinguished in France and we see them definitely evident in Canada as well."
     
     
    Graves cited Ontario Conservative Leader Doug Ford as an example of a political leader who speaks the language of the ordered, populist view, with campaign rhetoric that blames his Liberal rivals for the economic insecurity plaguing those who are struggling.
     
     
    Graves also mentioned recent electoral victories in Hungary and Italy by polarizing populist parties that show populism is on the march.
     
     
    "Canada did seem to be picking a different path on things like xenophobia and trade and immigration," he said of his findings.
     
     
    "However, there was still a very sizable, very engaged portion of the public that were not buying into this at all... this is by no means a settled issue yet."
     
     
    University of Amsterdam researcher Mike Medeiros, who specializes in ethnopolitics, political behaviour and political psychology, pointed to immigration as an issue that could become a flashpoint in Canada.
     
     
    Spurred in part by fear of a crackdown from U.S. President Donald Trump, illegal migrants have been streaming over the border into Ontario and Quebec in hopes of seeking asylum in Canada.
     
     
    All it would take is a charismatic leader to come along and exploit such issues to bring nativist sentiment in Canada to a boil, he said.
     
     
    "If (Trudeau) is expressing simply that Canada is different, fine, that's fair, because Canada is different — or at least it has been so far," Medeiros said.
     
     
    "But if he is expressing that, 'We do not have these concerns,' that is not accurate."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Chilliwack Pastor Facing Child Pornography Charges

    Chilliwack Pastor Facing Child Pornography Charges
    A British Columbia man who was formerly a pastor with a church in the Fraser Valley has been charged with four counts related to child pornography.

    Chilliwack Pastor Facing Child Pornography Charges

    Fire Engulfs Chicken Barn, Killing 14,000 Chicks In Metro Vancouver

    A commercial poultry barn in Metro Vancouver has been destroyed by a fire that has killed 14,000 chicks.

    Fire Engulfs Chicken Barn, Killing 14,000 Chicks In Metro Vancouver

    Immigrant Women Earn Less, Face Greater Employment Barriers: Internal Report

    Immigrant Women Earn Less, Face Greater Employment Barriers: Internal Report
    OTTAWA — Federal government data shows immigrant women in Canada are facing greater employment barriers and earning less money than both male immigrants and Canadian-born women.

    Immigrant Women Earn Less, Face Greater Employment Barriers: Internal Report

    Face Of A Killer? Police Release New Images In Cold-Case Murders Of B.C. Couple

    Face Of A Killer? Police Release New Images In Cold-Case Murders Of B.C. Couple
    EVERETT, Wash. — Police in Washington state have released images of a man created through groundbreaking DNA technology that they say could help solve the murders of a young British Columbia couple more than 30 years ago.

    Face Of A Killer? Police Release New Images In Cold-Case Murders Of B.C. Couple

    Rabbits Ordered Killed At Richmond Shelter After Deadly Virus Detected

    Rabbits Ordered Killed At Richmond Shelter After Deadly Virus Detected
    An animal shelter in Richmond, B.C., has been advised to euthanize all 66 rabbits in its care after confirmation that several animals have tested positive for rabbit hemorrhagic disease.

    Rabbits Ordered Killed At Richmond Shelter After Deadly Virus Detected

    Nicholas Butcher Said 'Sorry' After Alleged Killing, Deceased Officer Says On Video

    Nicholas Butcher Said 'Sorry' After Alleged Killing, Deceased Officer Says On Video
    HALIFAX — A blood-caked Nicholas Butcher told an officer he was "sorry," minutes after he informed a 911 dispatcher he had killed his girlfriend and tried to kill himself, the law school graduate's second-degree murder trial heard Thursday.

    Nicholas Butcher Said 'Sorry' After Alleged Killing, Deceased Officer Says On Video