The truth, says the proverb, comes from the mouths of children. In politics, it comes mainly from the mouths of leaders who leave the scene. In what will be his last speech in the House of Commons, former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has just demonstrated this.
By being careful not to name anyone, he served his colleagues – and more directly his own party – a heartfelt warning about the way they do politics and how they help transform the House of Commons into a theater for social media.
“The politics of performance fuels polarization […] and too often we use this Chamber to generate clicks instead of national debates,” O’Toole argued.
Social media didn’t build this great country, but it’s starting to destroy its democracy. If we are not careful, there will be a generation of young voters who will never have heard a point of view different from their own.
Erin O’Toole, former Conservative leader
And, in a thinly veiled allusion to his successor Pierre Poilievre, he denounced those who use conspiracy theories against institutions like the UN or the World Economic Forum. The current Conservative leader campaigned for the leadership of the party against the forum which meets in Davos, Switzerland, saying he would never send one of his ministers there.
The speech came days after another high-profile speech by the former Conservative leader on the issue of Chinese interference in the 2021 federal election. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had informed Mr. O’Toole that he and his party had been targeted by China. A speech that demonstrated that we could talk about this subject seriously and without falling into partisanship.
Mr O’Toole’s dignity in his final days in the House of Commons is all the more remarkable as he was ousted as party leader in the toxic atmosphere of the truckers’ convoy that crippled the City of Ottawa in early 2022.
He was criticized for refocusing the Conservative platform during the election campaign and his caucus stripped him of his confidence by a vote of 73 to 42, leaving him little choice but to resign.
All this debate and the resignation of Mr. O’Toole already foreshadowed the election of Pierre Poilievre with nearly 70% of the vote, during the leadership race that was to follow.
And since becoming chief, Mr. Poilievre seems to have adopted all the practices that his ex-chief denounced in his speech on Monday and he gives no indication that he may adopt more moderate positions or attitudes. Clearly, Mr. Poilievre seems to think that the Trudeau government’s difficult economic situation and the wear and tear on power after three terms will be enough to carry him to victory.
But in politics, things are rarely that simple.
Quebec is a serious problem for Mr. Poilievre. The fact that he is more perfectly bilingual than any other Conservative leader since Jean Charest will not prove everything. Polls currently indicate popular support significantly lower than the 18.6% obtained by Mr. O’Toole and his fatalistic Quebec MPs, who say they are now used to winning their elections alone and in spite of their leader.
Similarly, the forest fires this spring in virtually all regions of Canada have reminded us of the reality of climate change, while we are still waiting for a real policy from the Conservative Party on the issue. Apart from repeating that he would abolish the carbon tax introduced by the Liberal government, Mr. Poilievre seems to carefully avoid the question.
It seems to him more important to be indignant at things that will only be successful among those who are already convinced. Like criticizing the images of the new Canadian passport, demanding that Paul Bernardo be returned to a maximum security prison. Or to announce with great fanfare that he was going to prevent the adoption of the budget. A filibuster who boiled down to a single speech lasting a few hours.
Meanwhile, on the all-important issue of foreign interference in Canada, Mr. Poilievre spent most of his time describing former Special Rapporteur David Johnston as “Justin Trudeau’s ski friend” whom to rule on the merits of the case.
Whether he likes it or not, Mr. Poilievre will have to take a stand on several very important issues in the coming months. Because while no one expects an election this fall, the government remains in a minority and – despite the deal between the Liberals and the NDP – it is not at all impossible that Canadians will be called to the polls sometime in 2024. .
And it may well be that at that time there will be conservatives to regret the wisdom of their former leader.