Macleans: "Who are the Trump-loving Canadians?"

[quadrapiper]

Our city declared a climate emergency.  Not even sure what that means or how they address that.  Also we have debates on bike lanes a lot, generally from the left wing councillors.  While we have a no party system you can see what side of the spectrum some of the members of council are on.

Are you from Victoria?

Having 13 municipalities in an area that should really be something between one and 5-ish doesn't help, but the Vic city council seems oddly blind to all but two groups: those entirely without any of the traditional supports, and those who are sufficiently well-supported and local that biking to work is a real and worthwhile option. The lack of support for e.g. commuter rail or enough buses to make a real dent in the Colwood Crawl is notable for a theoretically green group.

 

[a_majoor]

Given the article's title and poll give us a false binary (Trudeau or Trump), I'll suggest it actually tells us something different.

The people who indicate they support Trump are neither Liberal or Conservative, but Populist, and believe that the current structures and institutions do not reflect or support their aspirations or goals. They are the same people who voted for the United Conservative party in Alberta, the Doug Ford PCPO in Ontario and the CAQ in Quebec. They are the people who worked to ensure the PPC had a candidate nominated in every single one of Canada's 338 ridings for the 2019 election by September 2019 (remember, the established parties still needed to parachute candidates into ridings where there were no nominations). They are motivated by a multitude of different specific concerns (try finding commonality in the various platforms of the UCP, PCPO CAQ or PPC), but that is more of a reflection of the political tools available. The underlying issue isn't the specific policy plank, the the more general feeling that the system is failing them.

Internationally, this same though process has led to Brexit, the election of Nationalist governments in Poland, Hungary, Austria, Italy and Brazil, and the growth of political parties like Partij voor de Vrijheid in the Netherlands or AfD in Germany, or the Mouvement des gilets jaunes in France. Even in the United States, I'll argue that not only is Donald Trump the manifestation of the Populist movement, but so is Bernie Sanders - the message of the failure of the current system is the same, the difference is the proposed solution.

So if we understand "Trudeau or Trump" as actually being stand ins for "retain the Establishment" or "replace the Establishment", then the answer makes far more sense.

 

[mariomike]

Update. ( Before the "debate". )

October 1, 2021

How much do Canadians dislike Donald Trump? A lot.
https://www.macleans.ca/politics/how-much-do-canadians-dislike-donald-trump-a-lot/

Among decided voters, Biden receives the support of 84 per cent of Canadian voters.

 

[Donald H]

Update. ( Before the "debate". )

The poll on preference for either Trump or Biden is noteworthy in Alberta. The Trump support there is obviously Conservatives and conservatives.

:cheers:

 

[Donald H]

I think of "the centre" as the most fiscally responsible party, and that's where I tend to put my vote.  The discussions over how to divide the pie are less important than ensuring there will always be an ample pie to divide.

That tells us that it's going to be very hard to define the center. I consider myself 'center' but my opinion is:

I think of "the centre" as the most socially responsible, and that's where I tend to put my vote.  The discussions over how to divide the pie are much more important than pretending there isn't an ample pie to divide. America for instance has the most ample pie in the entire world but it also is 15th. in the world for 'quality of life'.

Canada can learn by example and has. Perhaps a good place to mark as our starting point was Tommy Douglas's health care reform?

I would call that centrist!