We have long-established and well-founded rules of conduct for those elected to public office, and, in the past, there has been a strict adherence to following them with severe consequences for those who break them.
That no longer applies today. Deals are cut for personal gain, blatant lies are told, and fake videos are presented as evidence. When reported, the news is greeted with a roll of the eyes or with a wink and nod of the head.
The MAGA doctrine is contemptuous of the law, written rules, and established past practice. It is attacking democratic institutions like an infestation of carpenter ants gnawing away at the framework of democratic governance. If left unattended, they will bring down the whole structure.
The spectacle in the United States should keep Canadians alert to the reality that this movement, their policies, and practices are spreading and alive within the Canadian political framework.
When Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister, he said with humility that he would make mistakes.
With respect, I suggest perhaps unwittingly, he has already made two: permitting an unelected person to occupy Stornoway and accepting the Conservative narrative that Poilievre should be gifted the riding of Battle River—Crowfoot at the earliest possible call of a byelection.
On the surface, both issues seem trivial. They are not.
Mark Carney, the businessman, is new to his role as Prime Minister and politician, and I doubt he gave much thought to the Conservatives' demand to house an unelected Poilievre at Stornoway, complete with a car, driver, cook, cleaning staff, and house manager. Perhaps he thought it was a small concession that, if denied, would make him appear petty or partisan.
The problem is that it is illegal.
While Stornoway, the building and grounds, falls under the National Capital Commission, who is permitted to live in it is governed by the Official Residences Act, R.S.C., 1985, and Section 3 specifically states that it is reserved for “the person holding the recognized position of Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons.”
Carney's challenges are monumental. From within a minority parliament, he must deal with an existential threat to this nation. His Team Canada approach to managing the external "Trump effect" is crucial, but he must not ignore the internal threats: that gnawing sound within the timbers of Canadian democracy. To do so may prove fatal.
Alberta separatists threaten Canada and must be taken seriously.
Donald Trump was not taken seriously when he first appeared on the political scene in the US, and most rational Americans didn’t believe that a convicted felon with such reprehensible moral conduct, complete contempt for the rules, and a thin grasp on reality would ever be elected President. But here we are.
Canadians made their choice in the last federal election and rejected the MAGA-type approach of Poilievre and his brand of conservatism. The fact that he refuses to go, and a core group of his supporters are going to great lengths and at taxpayer expense to make sure he stays, is concerning, especially as we see the head of the separatist serpent uncoiling in Alberta to activate plan B.
Well-known politicians spawned from the Western Canada Concept, Reform, Alliance, and United Conservative movements, such as Preston Manning, Stockwell Day, and Danielle Smith, have all taken the stage to resurrect discussion of the separatist agenda in Alberta.
Cunning, like the kid down the block who brings cartons of eggs to the gang’s clubhouse and incites the young members to throw them at the neighbourhood homes belonging to those they dislike, they are careful not to participate, and enhance their authority when they denounce the act and disavow the participants to the affected homeowners.
The Prime Minister should recognize this threat and use the byelection as an opportunity, a litmus test, where the views of Albertans, albeit in only one federal riding, can be aired on three critical issues: Alberta sovereignty, Indigenous treaty authority over resources, and Team Canada against Trump’s America.
According to the latest Angus Reid poll, 35% of Albertans and 65% of United Conservative Party voters support separation from Canada, and those constituents within Battle River—Crowfoot federally overwhelmingly support the UCP, provincially.
Prime Minister Carney’s obligations are to the Canadian people, not the Conservative Party or Mr. Poilievre. In the transactional world of business, getting to yes is all-important. In politics, especially given Poilievre’s well-documented track record, ensuring a no and trying at every opportunity to thwart and bring down the government is what Poilievre is all about.
Gifting an electoral riding in which the majority favour separatism to a man who is a pretender to the office of prime minister is seriously problematic.
Prime Minister Carney should take his time before setting the date for a byelection so that those who support separation from Canada can organize, perhaps by changing the Independence Party of Alberta from a provincial to a federal focus. They should run a candidate, much as the Bloc does in Quebec, and put their case before the electors of Battle River—Crowfoot and, by so doing, Canadians at large.
The constituents of The Battle River—Crowfoot have received appalling treatment that underscores what Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has recently said is fueling separatists, that “Albertans are tired of being told by the powers in Ottawa to sit down, be quiet, and take it.”
And Smith, in this instance, is correct. That is exactly what happened to voters in Battle River—Crowfoot.
Within days of electing long-time local community advocate Damien Kurek, he was removed, and the Ottawa-based conservatives told the voters of Battle River—Crowfoot they must elect a person who has, for the last twenty years, represented an Ontario riding. And those Ottawa-based conservatives’ contempt for the Alberta voters was in full display when their vote was taken for granted to the extent that Poilievre’s move out of Stornoway wasn’t considered necessary.
The priority given to accommodating Poilievre in Stornoway, which is illegal, and forcing a $1.95 million byelection to impose a career politician from Ontario on the constituents of Battle River—Crowfoot has nothing to do with good governance. It copies the Trump-formulated “personality leadership” style that commits to a silent agenda that is planned for Canadians and ensures Poilievre stays on the taxpayer-funded gravy train.
Canadians must stay alert to the actions of those who chew away at the framework of our democracy, force them into the light of day, and demand that they run a candidate in the by-election when it is called. They should be forced to argue their case in detail, not hide behind a meaningless yes or no referendum.
If Alberta separatists win a seat, it will be a clarion call to Canada, much as the election of the Bloc members from Quebec did in 1993.
Canada responded to that call, resulting in a stronger country. Alternatively, we may discover that when faced with the real consequences that will come with separation from Canada, complete with the legal complexities of Indigenous Treaty lands, Albertans will step forward and prove themselves to be who most Canadians believe they are: important and equal partners in the best country in the world.
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