The trucker protests in Canada earlier in the year have prompted a closer look at the desires and motivations of this key voting demographic. Though their grievances vary, these truckers are united in their demand for change. As the trucking industry plays a vital role in Canada’s economy, their voices cannot be ignored. The question now is what effect these protests will have on Canadian politics.
The trucker protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates that gridlocked Ottawa and closed key Canada-U.S. border crossings is a sign of the complete breakdown of our political conversation, said former Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff.
Jason Kenney’s leadership could be a canary in the coalmine for Canada’s next populist wave. It will be a test of whether political organizers can harness the anger over COVID-19 restrictions and turn it into results at the ballot box.
For all the consternation and drama, the trucker protests in Ottawa were temporary and largely peaceful. This is in no part thanks to the total failure of our government leadership.
The Great Canadian Trucker Protest was just the latest in a series of intense yet amorphous global populist uprisings of the 21st century.
Author and journalist David Frum weighs in on the trucker protests and the Canadian government’s response with the invocation of The Emergencies Act in this episode of Frum Dialogues.
It’s possible that reaching for the Emergencies Act is not only legally questionable, but also tactically mistaken, because the internal limits and Charter implications of the law will make it an easier target for lawyers.
Canada’s public health measures have indeed lasted too long, and Canadians have a right to be upset.
The spirited and enduring nature of the trucker protests shows how far our policy efforts have splintered society and backfired.
Fifteen percent of Canadians strongly agree and 33 percent somewhat agree that they don’t like the protesters’ behaviour but understand their grievances.
Categorizing our fellow citizens as either “friend” or “enemy” is an easy mode of thinking to fall into, but it is not the most helpful in these turbulent times.
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