Trudeau or Poilievre - What kind of cursed choice is that?

Pierre Poilievre? Really Conservatives? I know his winning the leadership was expected, but really?  

I am ready for a change. I lost respect for Trudeau two elections ago when he broke his promise on first-past-the-post. And I think his government has grown more arrogant and tired since then. But Pierre Poilivere is a bridge too far. 

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I agree with political commentator David Frum when he says governments always eventually defeat themselves, and all the opposition has to do is position itself as ready, and then be patient enough to wait.  

I think for the Conservatives, that wait was about to end; that the negatives against Trudeau were adding up and so the sand in the Liberal government hourglass was about to run out.  

But now, Poilievre has been chosen leader and that’s unfortunate. I realize some Liberals think it’s great because they think he will be easier to defeat than other Conservative leaders would have been. And note I said “easier”, not “easy”. In fact they may not be able to beat him at all. A change to a Conservative rather than a Liberal government may be good for the country, but Pierre Poilievre won’t be.  

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I got hooked on American politics a few years back and watch closely the direction that country is going. I watch it the same way we watch a car accident or fire. It’s horrific but we can’t look away.  

I see their extreme polarization, the rise of the politics of anger and even hate, the “we” against “them” mentality, and the rhetoric that serves to demonize the institutions that serve as foundation to any democracy. 

Let me be clear, I am not for one minute comparing Poilievre to you know who. I don’t doubt the new Conservative leader is determined to do what he can to make Canada as prosperous as possible, and help improve Canadians’ lives.  

But I see in his words and actions those same destructive seeds that have sown such serious and apparently irreversible problems in the U.S.  

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When he says he will fire the Governor of the Bank of Canada because he didn’t do enough to control inflation, that’s reckless. The fact inflation is an issue all over the world appears to be beside the point. Maybe Poilievre blames the Governor of the Bank of Canada for the rest of the world’s inflation as well.  

He wants to defund the CBC, but he’s also critical of non-government funded media. When Global did a story he didn’t like, he accused the network of being a “Liberal mouthpiece”. Who does that remind you of?  How far a leap is it from that to “enemy of the people”.  

Whether it’s the Bank of Canada, the media, the Chief Electoral Officer, or whoever next find themselves in his crosshairs, eroding public confidence in these institutions is bad for democracy. We’re not talking healthy debate here, but rather cheap shots meant to resonate with the base, regardless of the greater damage done.

 Poilievre’s promise of less government could be problematic as well. The former American president ran on that same commitment, and less government there resulted in the removal of regulations protecting everything from product and worker safety to the environment. Less government means less regulation. That may sound good on the surface, and will certainly be welcomed by industry because it reduces costs, but there’s a downside that should also be considered.  What I’m saying is that there is a whole lot of buyers regret in the U.S. because they did there what Poilievre wants to do here.

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These reasons, among others, are why I have problems with Poilievre. I have an equally long list in regards to Trudeau. Again, I agree we could really use some change. But also again, why does the alternative have to be Poilievre? I long for the days of red Tories, now a forgotten, extinct breed, I guess.  

It’s going to be a battle, and that’s OK. I just hope it doesn’t digress to the sad state of affairs we see to our south, where polling shows that each side sees the other side as the biggest threat to the country, a condition mainly fuelled by fiery rhetoric. Poilievre is not evil and Trudeau is not evil. And neither hate our country. They simply have differing ideas on policy and priorities.  

We should watch to see which, if either side, ignores this fact and goes low, beyond policy differences to character assassination. Then we’ll know who cares more about winning than they do about Canada.

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Cover Photo Credit: Igor Kyryliuk via Unsplash