If Danielle Smith didn’t exist, we’d have to invent her. This seems to be the new leitmotif of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. Judging by the reactions to the Alberta premier in Ottawa, it looks like Ms.me Smith serves as a bogeyman for the federal Liberals where Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre does not fulfill this role adequately.
It must be recognized that she plays wonderfully well the character of the leader of the “Wild West” who defies all the norms that liberals favor. Her crusades against the environmental policies of Mr. Trudeau’s government make her the perfect embodiment of ostrich syndrome when it comes to climate change. His Act on the sovereignty of Alberta within a united Canada constitutes a snub to federal authority. For the champions of a strong federal government, capable of imposing its policies to husband usque ad mare in the interest of all Canadians, the Alberta premier represents a threat to the national order.
No fewer than four federal ministers took to the microphone last week to denounce Ms.me Smith to participate in a one-on-one with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in front of 4,000 people gathered in Calgary. This darling of the American far right is well known for his diatribes against Justin Trudeau and the “dictatorship” he exercises over Canada, or more broadly against the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Mme Smith knew exactly what she was doing by asking Mr. Carlson to place federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault “in her crosshairs.” The reactions were quick.
“It wasn’t just anyone who invited him. It was Danielle Smith who invited him, who said to him: “Can you put a target on Steven Guilbeault’s back?” said the latter, indignant. This is excessively irresponsible and dangerous for the entire Canadian political class. » Her colleagues Pascale St-Onge, Randy Boissonnault and Pablo Rodriguez also took the floor to condemn the comments of the Alberta Prime Minister and her “guest”. In the words of Mr. Rodriguez: “We no longer wonder whether American far-right politics will come to us. She is with us. »
The scenario repeated itself this week, in the wake of the announcement by Mme Smith of his intention to soon introduce a bill to strengthen parental rights and ban hormone treatments and surgeries for trans teenagers. Federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality Marci Ien got straight to the point. “First, it’s the queer community. Who will it be next? »
His colleague Boissonnault, who represents an Edmonton riding, suggested that the federal government could reduce health money transfers if it judges that the legislative text proposed by the Alberta Prime Minister contravenes the Canada Health Act. “An attack on one of our communities is an attack on all of us,” he said. Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani accused Mme Smith to “demonize” trans adolescents, while his colleague at Health, Mark Holland, described his approach as “a threat to the health of young girls and young men in Alberta”.
On Friday, it was Mr. Trudeau himself’s turn to offer his opinion, during a press briefing held in Waterloo, Ontario. Questioned about M’s intentionsme Smith, the federal Prime Minister, let out a long sigh before declaring: “It is very telling that after welcoming the American far-right conservative Tucker Carlson on stage, Danielle Smith is now moving forward with the most anti-LGBTQ policies in Canada. »
Behind the measures proposed by Mme Smith — limiting the use of medical treatment among trans adolescents and requiring parental consent in cases where a young person under 16 wishes to change their first or last name at school — hides a broad underlying message according to in which public schools have become places where “woke indoctrination” means that parents’ rights are systematically violated.
The culture war that began in the United States has now begun in Canada. The governments of New Brunswick and Saskatchewan were the first to wade into the fight, requiring that parents be informed before their child changes their first or last name at school. Saskatchewan even invoked the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Constitution to protect its Parental Rights Act from legal challenge. The bill that the Alberta Premier intends to table would go much further.
The Liberals are trying to associate Pierre Poilievre with this political movement and hope that their attacks against Mr.me Smith will put him on the defensive. At the Conservative Party of Canada convention in Quebec last fall, activists adopted a resolution in favor of parental rights. But this week, the Conservative leader’s office instructed party members not to comment on Alberta’s approach. However, the noose risks tightening around Mr. Poilievre. Mme Smith certainly hasn’t said his last word, much to the joy of liberals.