I see Justin Trudeau has taken part in the Calgary Stampede festivities, trying to make friends in a province where so many hate him, as he has every year since he became Liberal leader.
But this year one thing was different.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sounded the Liberal rallying cry Saturday as he split time between flipping pancakes and speaking at a private event where he said the rest of the country hears Alberta’s turmoils.
But notably, for the first time since he was elected prime minister, Trudeau didn’t venture down to the Stampede grounds, opting for smaller events in front of friendly crowds instead.
And who can blame him, or his bodyguards?
For with signs like that one all over Alberta.
And ugly right-wing extremists like these...
Yellow vest crew is outside, the PM is scheduled to make remarks here inside the building for a donor appreciation event soon #yyc pic.twitter.com/u3PPzYUcIW— Helen Pike (@helenipike) July 13, 2019
The redneck province just isn't safe for decent Prime Ministers.
And as I said on Twitter, Andrew Scheer needs to come clean about his support for those yellow vested crazies.
For the day we normalize that kind of murderous hatred is the day this country dies.
Especially since what's happening now is no accident...
And the good news?
Most of the country is not like Alberta. Canada's biggest city is still known as Fortress Toronto.
The Liberals have maintained a commanding lead in their “Fortress Toronto,” with almost half of decided and leaning voters in Canada’s largest city saying they intend to support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s party in the coming federal election, according to a new poll.
The survey of Torontonian voters by Forum Research found that 46 per cent of decided or leaning respondents intend to vote Liberal in the Oct. 21 federal election. Coming in second in the poll, way back at 26 per cent, are the Conservatives, followed by the New Democrats at 12 per cent.
Ten per cent of respondents said they intend to vote for the Greens, while 4 per cent said they would support the People’s Party of Canada.
It still celebrates a prime minister like this one...
And the best news?
It's the city where I now live, and a progressive bastion the Cons will never conquer.
You know, when I first arrived in Toronto from Montreal I thought it was ugly.
A city of workaholics and party poopers etc etc.
But I soon learned that wasn't true.
And now in an ugly world it has never looked more beautiful...
More encouraging trends. Still LOTS of work to do but campaigns matter.
ReplyDeletePoll: More voters say Ford's policies deter them from voting for Scheer
https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2019/07/14/more-voters-say-fords-policies-will-deter-them-for-voting-for-scheer.html
338 Canada projections, July 14, 2019 -- 3 months, 1 week until E-Day. "All bets are off." Tie ballgame. Right now looks like '72, in 3 months it could look more like '74 or '80. ('72 would be acceptable though.)
https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/this-weeks-338canada-projection-all-bets-are-off/
Thomas Walkom: Premiers flip over each other but Trudeau hasn't flopped yet
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2019/07/15/premiers-flip-over-each-other-but-trudeau-hasnt-flopped-yet.html
Warmonger Kinsellout shows up as the devil with goat horns in the new de Adder cartoon. Dizzy Lizzy's incoherent climate plan and other platforms are being grilled as a result of WK drawing attention to her compost fire of a party. So the negative PR didn't just blow over by the end of the weekend. She's facing the microscope and getting fried like a bug under a magnifying glass. Just not ready? Nice Faustian bargain, though.
Meanwhile, Jag Who? remains AWOL and is far behind on even nominating candidates. Even some NDP supporters are turned off by the negative personal attack ads focused on Trudeau. His big platform reveal thus far? Bike paths. Wooow. Real exciting stuff.
The Liberals just announced an increase to the Child Care Benefit to come in on Saturday, a plan to help first-time home buyers will drop on Labor Day, and are preparing their big pharmacare reveal. Among other goodies, I'm sure will follow. Nobody campaigns like a Trudeau. All weak Andy does is shitpost from Hamish's basement.
And it's only July.
Considering the pit the Tru Grits were in a few months ago, this is good momentum and a really sharp turnaround. Not the time to get complacent, but definitely something to hold onto as we get in full swing. Hope and hard work. :)
Hi Jackie....You last paragraph sums up our challenge perfectly. The trend is encouraging but there is a lot of work to do before we can send Scheer back to the bigot boonies where he belongs. Thanks to the hapless Con media nobody has yet put a frame on Scheer so even the dumbest Canadians can recognize how depraved and dangerous he really is. As I mentioned before I'm on holiday, which makes me really lazy, but does give me the time to think. Hopefully by the time my holiday is over, I'll have some ideas to share with you and the others...
DeleteSo what's it like being one of the few remaining white people in Toronto? In that sea of brown folk you must really stick out carrot top.
ReplyDeletePrejudice much?
Deletehttps://twitter.com/PnPCBC/status/1150800058725601281
A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. That is not how we do things in Canada. Canadians and indeed people around the world know exactly what I think about those particular comments.
Canadians know exactly what Scheermonger and his deplo-Rebel base think about those particular comments too.
Toronto if you have not noticed is one of if not the top cities in the world, you should be thanking all those brown people for putting Canada on the map.
DeleteHi anon @12:57 PM...so now you're biased against brown people AND redheads? How pathetic can you get?. Firstly, Toronto has lots of white people. And secondly brown is beautiful and so is red. Scottish red heads are descended from the Vikings so you better hope that if I ever bump into you I'm not carrying my axe 😉 Now please run along and try to be a better person...
DeleteHi Steve...Right on. Toronto is I believe the most diverse city in the world. It's a model of how people of different backgrounds can live peacefully together. And it has made the city far more interesting than it once was...
DeleteHi Jackie...thanks for sticking up for me, and reminding our bigoted friend that he is on the losing side of history. I once wrote a post about the abuse red headed children sometimes have to endure, so the bigot thinks he can still hurt me by calling me carrot top. When in fact I'm proud to be a red head, it goes very well with dark blue clothes. And the bigots can see me coming a mile away, and start running for cover...😉
DeleteAnon 12:57. Knucklehead.
DeleteIt's COOL.
Cosmopolitan is quite alright. No problem, if you really wanna know.
Try coming out of your crawlspace. (headspace, as well as bunker)
And consider, the day could come when a brown person may even save your life.
What a difference a few months makes. In April it looked like the Cons were heading for a majority, but now the news just keeps getting better and better. Scheer and his criminals must be getting more and more desperate. It's too bad we have backward places like Alberta, but a few years of Jason Kenney should teach them some manners.
ReplyDeleteDopey sad lying loser clown Weak Andy hasn't even bothered to condemn Trump's deplorable comments about the congresswomen. Trudeau did, and so did Singh to his credit although it probably didn't get noticed much. Says a lot about his character. I hope the Ford-Trump-Kenney albatross (Albertross?) around his neck sinks his numbers into the swamp. Make Canada Decent Again.
DeleteHi anon@6:58 PM...Yes, it's quite a change from the days of the fake scandal when the media spent all their time bashing Trudeau ,and doing their best to elect Scheer and his hideous Cons. I am struck by how quickly Trudeau rebounded when that biased coverage ended., and if I was Scheer I'd be very very worried...l
DeleteThose yellow vest rednecks need to be treated like the terrorists they are, and so should Scheer and his Cons. I can't believe that they are allowed to put up a sign calling Justin Trudeau a traitor, and the police just stand there doing nothing. It's not the Canada I grew up in, and you're right Simon if we don't do something to put those terrorists behind bars we will be sorry..
ReplyDeleteHi anon....I completely agree with you. Those yellow vested would be terrorists are out of control, and the police need to do more to ensure our safety, and the safety of our leaders. I can't remember a time when terrorists were allowed to run around and threaten the prime minister in such a grotesque manner, and it's got to end before our country and its values are trashed beyond recognition. As soon as Trudeau is re-elected he should bring down a hammer on all right-wingers, or we'll have to take care of the problem ourselves....☠☠☠☠☠
ReplyDeleteHello Simon. I only found your blog two weeks ago, and have read it daily. I just wanted to comment that we are facing, without a doubt, the most important election in history. I do not want a sexist, Homophobic, bible-thumper like Randy-Andy Scheer as my Prime Minister. However, this creates a dilemma for me, and for people in my riding. We have an excellent federal representative, but, he's with the NDP. I feel voting for him is splitting the vote, which will get Randy-Andy and his party of bigots into power.
ReplyDeleteScheer must be stopped. There are to many extremist Christian groups, like that Charles McVety and David Cooke and his band of bigots from CitizenGo, who are backing Scheer. Count on me to do the right thing and vote Liberal.
Also, I've talked to people who are saying that, after the last election in Ontario, they have become disenfranchised with the whole political system. That is not the attitude. By not voting, you will be supporting Scheer. People have to know that, and I'm trying my best to get that through to them.
Hi Cynical Guy...Sorry for taking so long to answer your question, but I'm on holiday so procrastination levels are even higher than usual. Your question is a difficult one, especially for someone who has always voted NDP. I guess the main thing you need to find out if you can is which party is most likely to win. If the NDP has a clear lead, then vote for them, but if the Liberals are competitive vote for them. Hopefully there will be some local polls before Election Day to guide us, but the main thing is to block the Cons everywhere we can...
DeleteHey Simon, some new polls out today are looking good, but like Cynical Guy said, the only poll that matters is turnout on E-Day. Cons make religious pilgrimages to the ballot box. Most important thing is to counter their motivation with ours.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of polls, though: I've come to the conclusion that Angus Reid Institute is the "Rasmussen Reports" of Canada. Someone on Twitter casually commented that they'd be out soon with a CPC-friendly narrative to counter the other surveys that showed the Liberals ahead or tied. Within within 10 minutes Reid snapped back at the person "How dare you accuse our firm of bias!!!" Doesn't exactly bolster his claims when he feels the need to react so quickly and sharply against a random person on the Internet. Then lo and behold, a Reid poll that had the Cons up by 8, an outlier to pretty much everything else.
I've been paying more attention to 338. I no longer trust the CBC's Poll Tracker after Grenier's comments about Nanos having less weight due to a paywall, and his continued doubling down on the narrative (from the latest newsletter) that he gives more weight to polls that are "less bullish on the Liberals." Nanos is one of the most consistently accurate firms. How were they bullish when the Liberals were down by 8? This kind of editorializing is itself evidence of bias. We in the states feel it with PBS and NPR, which have been gutted by subsequent Republican administrations and now infiltrated by the Kochs and the disease of both-sides-ism. Sad to see it happen in Canada too. The national broadcaster is hopelessly corrupt.
Hi Jackie...I feel like you about the polling situation. I see another Global Ipsos poll has the Cons in the lead again and I can't help feeling that the long arm of Big Oil is influencing results, and trying to demoralize progressives and suppress their vote. It's also the worst time of the year to do polls, but I am encouraged by the fact that all polls report that the millennials are supporting the Liberals, and they are now the largest voting bloc...
DeleteHi Simon, how about this take on the topic?
ReplyDeleteI think of it, too, as an astute, smooth Trudeau move:
"So why come to Alberta at all?
Because it makes a great stage setting from which to send messages to the rest of Canada, especially Ontario and Quebec where all the votes are.
And Trudeau can thank none other than Alberta Premier Jason Kenney for providing such a splendid platform."
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/07/15/jason-kenney-makes-justin-trudeau-look-good-outside-alberta.html
Meanwhile, a certain MacLean's blogger who puts the "Paul" in appalling, has a puff-piece interview with St. Elizabeth of Mayhem where all she does is bash the Liberals for having no climate plan. Canadian "populist" politics is Freudian madness: here we have another two-bit loonie obsessed with Justin's pipeline as much as the Canada Proud Boys are obsessed with his banana. But gee, who was it who got the "exclusive" interview with Brutus and Cassius, the Spite & Malice twins? DicklessPW, another hack on Wornout's speed dial just like Fife.
Deletehttps://twitter.com/andrew_leach/status/1151223218818015233
It's blatantly obvious their strategy is to divide and conquer and split the vote. They want the eco-extremists to flock to the queen bee, while the Kenney paranoiacs will remain in the hard Con base. Things fall apart and the center cannot hold. In the above Twitter thread, Andrew Leach brings the facts about the necessity of a balance between economy and ecology, but facts are hard and don't make for a good "narrative." It's all about making this Con artist look like the savior of the earth and Trudeau a hypocrite when she's nothing but a deluded, self-interested political stooge. Then when shit hits the fan and Russia takes over the oil fields they'll all point fingers at "traitor Trudeau." Since when did compromise become a dirty word? So much for "Common Ground"? I'm telling ya, Brawnfire, my inner Arya Stark is getting amped up again...
Hi brawnfire....yes, I saw that story and found it inspiring. The ugly rednecks may spew hatred and threaten to separate, but Trudeau isn't intimidated, acts like a real prime minister, and let's them know that whether they like it or not they are still Cabadians...
DeleteHi Jackie....I read Wells' softball interview, and enjoyed Andrew Leach's devastating critique. You'd think that the leader of the Green Party would know what she was talking about, but I guess not. No wonder she feels she needs help from Warren Kinsella...
ReplyDeleteWhy the west is upset, Destruction of the industry that has contributed to Quebec over 220 Billion in Equalization , but hey screw your pipelines and ambitions to make Canada energy independent and one of the most prosperous countries in the world.This has been going on for 115 years. Does it matter to you that suicide has increased to 20% since Trudeau? Families being destroyed for what? Climate Change, Really Climate change, does know one research that this global warming, climate change or cooling( which I believe to be happening) can not be stopped by any government. Do you see that the UN and NGOS have been getting tons from Canada since USA shut off the taps? Do you know Foreign Aid and Foundation payments dont get audited? Why is that? Just speculating but is it actually just going to a few instead of millions. Think about it, billions upon billions given to countries and still poverty and still war, we are funding this crap and much more nefarious shit. I could go on and on but you elected for this to be increased, people of the west are tired of this waste and believe the funds should be kept here, focus on our little home of Canada, than once we are good we can spread out the wealth, we just want to get our country whole and prosperous, if Quebec and the French colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia want to go they can. Just want the feud to end, shake hands, leave as friends, stay as allies. This to me is the best bet cause Quebec can be its own nation, no more anglo english bs, the west gets 13 billion a year back to it ( which is huge), healthcare and education would be better served in rest of Canada. So as a westerner, please see our side, we are on the side of the people just not the side of the people of neo liberal governments or beurocracies such as the UN and EU ( who's foundation was created by a Nazi, look it up). We see this as a totalitarian state and dont trust it. As written above for reasons. I have always said Canada should be rich like Saudi culture like Switzerland but due to identity politics which brings needless squabbles but great pain to a population we can not have this. So if what you want is to continue keeping people down just keep doing it and see what happens, the west will unite, Western Canada is easily possible( and would become a powerhouse). Or you can see our side, be a little more logical, get away from groupthink and be the individual you are and see what is really going on. I know this was an all over the place expression but tell me is this fair, Toronto 3 million, 52 MPs , Alberta 4.3 million, 34 MPs? Any misrepresentation there or to much in one place( Toronto should have 28, no more). This is just another reason for the anger. So please just take the time to listen to us and see and maybe just maybe we can come together. PS. Will never happen until Anglo and French are given chunks and go they're separate ways, though which is sad. Peace to you all.
ReplyDelete