Former U.S. president Donald Trump speaks at a rally on March 12.Meg Kinnard/The Associated Press
Donald Trump has been generating headlines over his views on the war in Ukraine.
Early on, the former U.S. president had characterized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tactical decisions as “genius,” and ones he greatly admired. More recently, he told Fox host and Trump admiratrice, Jeanine Pirro, that there was a “lot of love,” behind Mr. Putin’s decision to make “his country larger.”
This, despite the fact Mr. Putin has overseen the indiscriminate slaughter of hundreds, if not thousands of innocent Ukrainians, including children – certain war crimes for which Russia must be held to account.
That a loathsome heel like Mr. Trump would hold such contemptible views should not surprise us. That there is steadfast support for the man among those who identify as supporters of Canada’s main Opposition party should concern us all.
A poll by Leger taken between March 4 and 6 asked the hypothetical question: If you could vote in the next U.S. presidential election, would you vote for President Joe Biden or Mr. Trump? Among people who identified as supporters of the federal Conservative Party of Canada, 56 per cent said Mr. Biden, but an astounding 44 per cent said Mr. Trump.
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This, despite Mr. Trump’s admiration for dictators, his penchant for lying, his applause for Mr. Putin’s foray into Ukraine and his complicity in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, among other things.
Which brings us to the Conservative party’s current leadership race.
It is pretty clear that the party is as divided as ever. It’s equally evident where the main combatants intend to fish for votes: Pierre Poilievre is casting his line in waters occupied by the more right-wing elements of the party, in many respects the CPC’s base, while former federal Progressive Conservative Party leader Jean Charest and Brampton, Ont., Mayor Patrick Brown intend to look for votes among moderates. (Yes, there are others in the race but unless another big name enters the fray, these are the three we will most likely be talking about until the vote on Sept. 10.)
Already, Mr. Poilievre and his campaign team have signalled they have come to play, with hard-hitting ads that attempt to define both Mr. Charest and Mr. Brown as policy flip-floppers who will betray the party grassroots. It’s a charge that detractors of Erin O’Toole used effectively to undermine and ultimately end his leadership. It may be a deadly weapon for Mr. Poilievre as well.
Ultimately, it will come down to what type of person party supporters want as their flag-bearer: a centrist conservative such as Mr. Charest or Mr. Brown? Or a slick, take-no-prisoners, loose-with-the-facts populist like Mr. Poilievre, who will move the party to the ideological right?
Make no mistake: Mr. Poilievre is going after those CPC supporters who would pick a Trump ticket over a Biden one. If you’re looking for them, many can be found at any of these pop-up “freedom” rallies you see across the country. They were the ones flying Trump flags at the trucker convoy that squatted in the city of Ottawa for three weeks before being forced out. It’s why Mr. Poilievre reached out to them to offer his encouragement and support at the time, despite the havoc and hardship they were causing to residents of the capital.
A large percentage of these folks can be found in Alberta and Saskatchewan, two provinces Mr. Poilievre hopes to own come the convention. He likely will. His angry, divisive style of politics sells well on the Prairies, where hatred for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau runs high. Mr. Poilievre is happy to stoke and foment that dissent even if it entails propagating ridiculous conspiracy theories – another page he’s ripped out of the Trump playbook.
Mr. Poilievre’s latest is spreading spurious claims about the World Economic Forum (which Mr. Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland have attended), characterizing it as a cabal of elites conjuring a world in which the little people own nothing and learn to be happy with it.
“Maybe that’s why the [federal] government is inflating home prices,” Mr. Poilievre suggests in a campaign video.
This is not only dishonest, it’s also dangerous – these tactics are precisely why we see the rage that we do in many parts of the country.
Given the starkly different views that the two main camps in this race represent (Mr. Brown and/or Mr. Charest vs. Mr. Poilievre), it’s difficult to say what the CPC will look like once the dust settles. Are the more mainstream, temperate party members going to be okay with someone like Mr. Poilievre, who seems increasingly comfortable resorting to the type of dishonest, coercive methods for which Republicans south of the border have become known?
The choice in this leadership contest is so stark it’s reasonable to ask: can the CPC survive once it’s all over?
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Gary Mason