A pox on all political houses

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/10/2024 (382 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Oh Thanksgiving. The opportunity to celebrate another successful harvest or at the very least, enjoy the hard work of others who ensured that this weekend, tables will be filled with turkey, gravy and all the fixings. Don’t forget the pumpkin pie and the pants with the elastic waistband.

In my household, Thanksgiving also means sitting down with family and arguing about politics. Just how divisive those arguments will get remains to be seen. If it’s anything like what we’re seeing in Ottawa, it might be a pretty grim gathering.

There has been considerable research pointing to a growing sense of polarization in this country. A recent Angus Reid poll found that 36 per cent of Canadians surveyed described “themselves as ‘political orphans’ who find that all the parties are ‘too extreme.’” The data show that for those polled, the CPC has moved more right, while the Liberals more left in recent years, leaving those voters in the middle without anyone to support.

As Globe and Mail journalist Paul Wells articulated in May of this year, Canadians increasingly are feeling “affective polarization” in that they see the party they voted against as beyond redemption. In other words, it’s not that we just disagree with the Liberals’ policies, we find the Liberals themselves to be repugnant.

Perhaps that explains the level of rhetoric that’s going on in the House of Commons these days. It’s not enough that the members of Parliament disagree with each other. Now, there are all manner of flotsam and jetsam that accompanies that critique.

Take, for example, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s attack on Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly earlier this week. It wasn’t enough to attack Joly and the Liberals for being soft on condemning a rise in antisemitism in Canada following the Oct. 7 attacks last year in Israel. Instead, Poilievre took it one step further: “She continues to pander to Hamas supporters and the Liberal party as part of her leadership campaign rather than doing her job,” he said.

Both Joly and House Speaker Greg Fergus demanded an apology. None was forthcoming, so Fergus ruled Tuesday that Poilievre wouldn’t be allowed to speak in the House of Commons for the rest of the day. Six months ago, Fergus also banned Liberal MP Yvan Baker for linking Poilievre’s Conservatives to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Fergus only lifted the ban on Wednesday.

Lest we think Joly was a shrinking violet in this go ’round, she too dialed up the personal rhetoric by calling the Conservative leader unfit to run the country. I expect all political parties to start singing refrains of “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me” very soon.

And oh, those names. Poilievre has taken a page from former U.S. president Donald Trump by coming up with nicknames for political opponents. “Sellout Singh” — the nickname for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh — which has been met with cries of racism. “Carbon tax Carney” used to take a hit on newly named Liberal economic growth task force chair Mark Carney. It ties in nicely with the “axe the tax” slogan, gaining momentum across the country, as Conservatives push for an end to the carbon tax.

Obviously, this name-calling hasn’t hurt the Conservatives. They remain high in the polling numbers as the Liberal minority government hangs on to power. But it certainly doesn’t pump the brakes on the feelings of affective polarization or the creation of more political orphans.

As well, some limited research suggests that affective polarization can have a positive impact on voter turnout.

In other words, the more you hate the other party, the more likely it is you’ll turn up to vote that party out. Perhaps that’s the only upside to the toxic sludge coming out of the nation’s capital.

One year, in the 1990s, my mother asked me to sign a contract before Thanksgiving, promising that I wouldn’t argue about politics with my dad. Of course, I tried to give her wish but by the time the stuffing had come out of the bird, my dad had already started to push my political buttons and the political jousting began.

On second thought, this year, I’m eating my turkey alone. Save myself the aggravation and the heartburn.

» Shannon Sampert is a political scientist and a lecturer at RRC Polytech. She was the politics and perspectives editor at the Winnipeg Free Press from 2014-17. This column previously appeared in the Free Press.