So much hangs in the balance here in Canada and we have a whole weekend plus
most of Monday to get through. Hold your nerve, Canadians, and for those
who haven't voted yet, support whoever can beat the Cons in your
riding. Keep authoritarians out of power.
If you're not sure who stands the best chance to block the Conservative Party in your area, you can use votewell.ca.
At this point, Pierre Poilievre is well known for declaring a war on 'woke' and vowing to defund the CBC. The broadcaster has long been an integral component of our nation, reflecting Canada's evolving identity back to us. Thanks to Stephen Harper (who fundamentally changed the media landscape by allowing the foreign takeover of Postmedia) far too many of Canada's outlets are rightwing media hedge fund owned and that bias increasingly shows, making the CBC's survival, in both English and French, even more crucial.
During Poilievre's federal election campaign he's restricted media access, limiting access at campaign stops by only allowing handpicked reporters to pose questions. Unlike Canada's other political parties, the Conservative Party of Canada refused to allow journalists to travel with Poilievre on his campaign bus and plane, "ending a decades-old tradition of reporters embedding with a prospective candidate to lead the country." Poilievre's demonizing and disturbing restricting of reporter access is far from new. His ongoing war on journalism demonstrates a marked lack of respect for a cornerstone of democracy. This should concern all Canadians.
There's a reason why Poilievre's Elon Musk's choice for Prime Minister and that Canadians are being bombarded with rightwing disinformation on X as well as Meta. Given the chance, Poilievre intends to make Canada over in the U.S.'s image from the inside. A slew of regressive changes delivered with a sneer. He's continually courted the far right, playing fast and loose with the truth while fermenting rage that he's hoped to ride to power. His own record and recent campaign promises starkly demonstrate his malicious intentions. Tax cuts at the expense of keeping our healthcare system and social safety net strong, scapegoating rather than nation building.
Poilievre was a leading defender of the “Fair Elections Act,” a voter suppression Bill that "impaired voting rights, reduced political participation, injected partisan bias in election administration, increased the influence of money in elections, diminished transparency and accountability, and seriously undermined the integrity and fairness of the electoral process." Here are some other highlights of his voting record as an MP.
If you'd like to read more about why Poilievre is perceived as an authoritarian threat that would destroy Canada as we know it if given free reign, here's some further reading material for you.
* The Tyee: Six Policy Areas Where Poilievre Mirrors Trump
* Charlies Angus/The Resistance Substack: Take Nothing for Granted
We've seen where voting for Populist politicians who vociferously feign being a friend of the common man while actually representing a select few elite and disenfranchising and impoverishing everyone else gets you. That's not democracy. That's not the kind of Canada most of us want.
