Stephen Harper brazenly declared during his annual Calgary stampede BBQ that the Liberal era of political dominance is finally over.
Sound familiar?
Of course it does, as Harper and other conservatives throughout Canada have been incessantly gloating, since the May 2 federal election, over the fact that the Liberals have been demoted to third party status by Canadians. A sure sign of an irreversible decline for the formerly known, “Canada’s natural governing party”, according to them.
I wonder how Mr. Harper, with his first ever majority, knows this. Just two months in and he’s already arrogantly and surreptitiously claiming that he single handedly killed the Liberal Party.
Is that not what he’s claiming? If not, then what is he saying.
I think it is just within conservative nature to talk big, to kick a defeated opponent when he’s on the ground and to flaunt their election victory in the face of those who did not vote for them.
However, no amount of cocky “Oh we destroyed the red machine” talk will ever mask the ideological baggage Conservatives brought with them to power. The baggage I’m talking about is of course the new spirit of nationalism that Harper is appealing to in Canadians, the blunt force tactics of militarism under the guise of “protecting our borders” initiative and the historically failed “tough on crime” agenda.
First, what do I mean by a new spirit of nationalism? And how is Harper appealing to that?
Well, all of us Canadians know that our country has struggled through an identity crisis since its inception in 1867. This was and still is due to the fact that Canada has an extremely diverse population. A population hailing from all four corners of the world.
The former Liberal governments had the difficult task of keeping Canada united amidst this cultural confusion. They succeeded where others could not by acknowledging equal status for both our French and English languages and with eased immigration policies.
Despite these achievements, Canadians have always had a yearning for acknowledgement, a wish not to be confused with their south of the border neighbors and the desire to have international influence both through the U.N. and the E.U.
The above is precisely what Conservatives imply they represent, this burning desire, this new nationalism. A perfect illustration of what I’m talking about is their “Our Country” election ad. An ad that one would think is a trailer for an American war movie, without the gunfire and the American Flag.
So what has changed then from the Liberal era? What is the difference between Liberal governance and Conservative governance when it comes to Canada’s borders?
I think the Conservatives and us liberals have a very different approach on the way we decide to protect our borders. We liberals put more emphasis on diplomatic relationships rather than military deterrence.
I personally believe that our borders can be much better protected by maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship with our immediate neighbors. Of course I am no pacifist and thus understand that there may come a time during which Canada may need to use force to protect it’s borders. But such a doomsday scenario is far away and poses no immediate threat to Canada, unlike what the Conservatives would have us to believe.
Also, do the PCs not realize that toughening crime legislation, delivering it through one huge omnibus bill (a bill that packages together several pieces of legislation), is an already tried and failed tactic. One but need look at the United States, a country that still has the barbaric death sentence and other severe punishments, and see what a difference “tough on crime” legislation makes.
It is the same story, over and over again, the conservatives doing the same things that they’ve always done. They just merely re-branded themselves to avoid suspicion.
Canadians will eventually grow weary of their posturing, as they do with any party that has been in power for too long.
So barring a liberal extinction, the Liberal Party of Canada will rise again, and it will not, unlike the Conservatives, gloat over its impending victory.
