Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
"Freedom Convoy" shows the Americanisation of Canada's right
The phenomenon has been evolving for some time now, for a whole slew of reasons. Fox News and ultra-conservative podcasts cross the border; Canada’s ethnic composition has changed and that worries certain people; a new and far more right-wing Conservative Party replaced the more moderate Progressive Conservatives in 2003; and an increasingly active and organised number of people in western Canada – Alberta in particular – see Ottawa not as the seat of government but as a threat, even an enemy.
Now comes a convoy of lorries, self-styled “Truckers for Freedom” or the “Freedom Rally”, making its way from British Columbia on the west coast to Ottawa, a distance of about 2,800 miles. It’s ostensibly a group of truck drivers and their supporters who are opposed to Covid-19 vaccine mandates, but the truth is a little more complex and unsettling.
----
There are echoes of the Capitol Riots of 6 January in Washington DC in this apparent rejection and denial of the democratic process.
----
The fundamental issue here is that while Canadians often look and sound American, the essence of the country — its political, emotional and sociological identity — is actually far more north Europe than North Carolina. Just like the NHS, Canada’s socialised medical system has an iconic status, and welfare provisions, absence of military bombast and sheer self-perception have always distinguished Canada from the United States. Canadians may watch US television, benefit from the US economy and many spend winters in Florida, but for generations they’ve been governed by and from the centre.
It’s this reality that so riles the truckers and their base. The convoy is an outward manifestation of a deeper break in Canadian society, an attempt to smash the sacrament and reject the orthodoxy. There’s a whole smorgasbord of resentments and beliefs swirling around: opposition to gun control, dislike of official bilingualism, anger at entirely justified and long overdue Indigenous protests and demands, and the usual certainty that “real” Canadians aren’t being listened to.
This isn’t a nation divided, in that the new conservatism is a minority voice, but it is a country in process and progress, perhaps realising that easy governance may not be as straightforward as was once thought.
Now comes a convoy of lorries, self-styled “Truckers for Freedom” or the “Freedom Rally”, making its way from British Columbia on the west coast to Ottawa, a distance of about 2,800 miles. It’s ostensibly a group of truck drivers and their supporters who are opposed to Covid-19 vaccine mandates, but the truth is a little more complex and unsettling.
----
There are echoes of the Capitol Riots of 6 January in Washington DC in this apparent rejection and denial of the democratic process.
----
The fundamental issue here is that while Canadians often look and sound American, the essence of the country — its political, emotional and sociological identity — is actually far more north Europe than North Carolina. Just like the NHS, Canada’s socialised medical system has an iconic status, and welfare provisions, absence of military bombast and sheer self-perception have always distinguished Canada from the United States. Canadians may watch US television, benefit from the US economy and many spend winters in Florida, but for generations they’ve been governed by and from the centre.
It’s this reality that so riles the truckers and their base. The convoy is an outward manifestation of a deeper break in Canadian society, an attempt to smash the sacrament and reject the orthodoxy. There’s a whole smorgasbord of resentments and beliefs swirling around: opposition to gun control, dislike of official bilingualism, anger at entirely justified and long overdue Indigenous protests and demands, and the usual certainty that “real” Canadians aren’t being listened to.
This isn’t a nation divided, in that the new conservatism is a minority voice, but it is a country in process and progress, perhaps realising that easy governance may not be as straightforward as was once thought.
[link:https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/democracy-international-politics/2022/01/freedom-convoy-shows-the-americanisation-of-canadas-right|]
Emphasis mine
More at the link
When even the Canadians are finding themselves having to deal with the far right cray cray - cloaked in the anti-vax movement on this occasion we should all be clutching our pearls. They infect everything and in the 21st Century they get everywhere.
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
