![]() ![]() However, it’s unclear whether enough Canadians support this vision to make it appealing beyond the party’s base.” “If he becomes Conservative leader, the party might effectively shift towards Trump-style populism. “Poilievre is clearly playing by the populist playbook right now,” said Béland. But it remains unclear whether that will get him to the top of the party, or whether it would help or hurt him if there is a showdown between him and Trudeau or the next Liberal party leader. Pierre Poilievre, who is running to become the next leader of the Conservative party, has cheered on the protesters, gambling that voters will back him. Only recently have some Conservative leaders fully embraced the pushback against vaccine mandates and coronavirus restrictions.Įven so, the protests may open the door to the sort of populism that former President Donald Trump used to vault himself into the White House. But while the restrictions clearly benefited the far-right People’s Party of Canada, things are more complicated in the Conservative Party. Fencing and police checkpoints remained.Īs it did in the United States, COVID-19 quickly became a political issue in Canada.Ĭoronavirus health restrictions became a political cudgel for Canada’s far right, which accused Trudeau of authoritarianism. The Ottawa protests - the movement’s last major stronghold - appeared to be largely over by Sunday morning. Many protesters retreated as the pressure increased. Eventually, police arrested at least 191 people and towed away 57 vehicles. ![]() On Friday, authorities launched the largest police operation in Canadian history, arresting a string of Ottawa protesters and increasing that pressure on Saturday until the streets in front of Parliament were clear. ![]() “It’s high time that these illegal and dangerous activities stop,” Trudeau declared in Parliament a few days ago, speaking just a few hundred meters from the protests. The truckers, parked on the streets in and around Parliament, blared their horns in defiance of a court injunction against honking, issued after residents said the constant noise was making the neighborhood unlivable. Truckers ignored warnings that they were risking arrest and could have their rigs seized and bank accounts frozen under the new emergency powers invoked by Trudeau. The East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group estimated the blockade resulted in a $300 million loss to Detroit's automakers, including lost wages of $145 million, mostly in Michigan and Ontario.īut police in Ottawa did little but issue warnings until the past couple days, even as hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters clogged the streets of the city and besieged Parliament Hill. 11, Windsor law enforcement eventually cleared the streets of protesters and helped reopen the Ambassador Bridge late on Feb. After an Ontario judge issued an injunction on Feb. MORE: How long Ambassador Bridge blockade will be felt after reopeningĪuthorities moved quickly to reopen the border posts. Hundreds of trucks eventually occupied the streets around Parliament, a display that was part protest and part carnival. The self-styled Freedom Convoy shook Canada’s reputation for civility, inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands and interrupted trade, causing economic damage on both sides of the border. The conservatives “have to be careful not to alienate more moderate voters, who are generally not sympathetic to the protesters or right-wing populism more generally,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. ![]() Trudeau’s Liberals look bad for allowing protesters to foments weeks of chaos in the capital city, he said, while the Conservatives look bad for championing protesters, many of them from the farthest fringes of the right. “The protest has given both the Liberals and the Conservatives a black eye,” said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. While most analysts doubt the protests will mark a historic watershed in Canadian politics, it has shaken both of Canada’s two major parties. MORE: Ambassador Bridge officially reopens after 7 days of protest “This is going to be a very big division in our country,” he said. Suitor believes the protests will divide the country, something he welcomes. Protesters had essentially occupied those streets for more than three weeks, embarrassing Trudeau and energizing Canada’s far right. “I think we’ve started something here,” said Mark Suitor, a 33-year-old protester from Hamilton, Ontario, speaking as police retook control of the streets around Parliament. The protest, which was first aimed at a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers but also encompassed fury over the range of COVID-19 restrictions and hatred of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, reflected the spread of disinformation in Canada and simmering populist and right-wing anger. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |