Politics, and rolling in the gutter

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/06/2023 (1157 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If there is any place on this Earth where rumours and conspiracy theories should be banned, it is the House of Commons. The federal legislature should ideally be a place where elected officials come armed with facts, and debate the meaning of those facts in a sober and respectful manner.

It’s a nice dream, isn’t it?

The reality is that the unfounded conspiracies and false narratives that have invaded our lives have also invaded debate in the House of Commons. A recent exchange between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre is an excellent case in point.

Last week, as Trudeau and Poilievre were locked in debate — on inflation of all things — the prime minister took a shot at the leader of the official opposition. Noting that he himself worked as a high school teacher before entering politics, Trudeau asked what Poilievre had been doing in his life before being an elected official.

Liberals are quick to point out that between university and 2004, when he was first elected as an MP, Poilievre didn’t have much of a career. He worked as a volunteer on election campaigns and an “adviser” to politicians including former Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day. He also briefly hung up his own shingle as a political consultant.

Was Trudeau’s comment fair? No, it was an unnecessary low blow that was greeted by his political adversary as an invitation to take the debate to even lower levels.

“Yes, and he left (his teaching position) right in the middle of the semester and I’m having trouble remembering why.”

Poilievre was referencing a lingering rumour about Trudeau and the circumstances around his 2001 departure from the teaching staff of the exclusive West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver. Far-right conspiracy theorists have for years alleged that Trudeau left to escape allegations of sexual impropriety. Despite vigorous efforts by news organizations and opposition muckrakers, the rumours have never been substantiated.

It should be noted that the use of innuendo to promote a vile rumour is not a new strategy for politicians. It is, however, somewhat disheartening that Poilievre decided to bypass a huge inventory of other issues to raise as a counterpoint. Instead, he went straight for the gutter.

Perhaps Poilievre could have noted that Trudeau himself did not have much of a career before politics. He did teach, but as the scion of a wealthy and influential political family, the prime minister could hardly be accused of being a “self-made man.” He lived a life of privilege that did not require him to leave much of a mark on any particular profession before entering politics.

In summoning the West Point Grey Academy rumours, Poilievre has only cemented his reputation as a politician willing to go to any length, or sink to any depth, to defeat his Liberal opponents. This has included his worrisome affinity for some very tenuous conspiracy theories, including a preposterous claim that the World Economic Forum is trying to take over democracies all over the globe. But with this latest attack, Poilievre has driven outside the realm of defensible into the indefensible.

The far right may celebrate Poilievre’s shot across Trudeau’s bow, but the Conservative leader isn’t doing himself any favours.

Trudeau has offered Canadians many valid reasons to vote his government from office. Unfortunately, Poilievre and his down-and-dirty politics seem to be turning off as many voters as he is attracting.

And that may just help Trudeau avoid the electoral reckoning he probably deserves.