Class Solidarity Now!
The last few weeks of political chaos has left many people feeling overwhelmed, disparaged, and hopeless about many aspects of our future. Trudeau’s stepping down and proroguing parliament, Poilievre’s interview with Canada’s most notorious transphobe, and the inauguration of Donald Trump after he threatened Canada with exorbitant tariffs is playing out like political theatre, leaving the audience with information overload. Now, in the midst of the brokenness created by culture wars, the fear and outrage generated through the pandemic, and the scourges of misinformation and rising fascism, our increasingly tyrannical neighbour is working to strike a tariff wedge into our economy (among other vague threats).
In response, politicians have an opportunity to encourage a sense of much needed solidarity among the working class. With the exception of Danielle Smith, all premiers appear to agree that Trump’s tariff threats need to be met with a strong united front. While leftists and centrists are predictably against Trump’s threats, even Conservatives like Doug Ford have loudly responded with the simple message that “Canada is not for sale”, and this is exactly what politicians should be doing right now; resisting the hyper-capitalism and imperialism that Trump represents.
Well, almost all politicians. Instead of using this as a chance to bridge our social gaps, far-right politician and BC Conservative John Rustad is critiquing Eby and generating even more contempt toward the “radical left” (it would seem a double nazi-salute is just a “hand gesture”). Under the growing narrative of fascism, now is the time for BC’s good-faith Conservatives to divorce themselves from Trump’s hateful rhetorical strategies that helped birth their provincial success. Rustad needs to take a stand for Canada’s working class through strengthening Canadian politicians’ united front against Trump and fascism, disengaging from distracting culture war tactics and misinformation, and denouncing the broligarchy that is clearly putting Western democracy at risk.
We don’t want politicians who throw half the province under a nazi double-salute just to maintain a following. We don’t want our leaders to profit from a rising American fascist who sees our economy and our potential for working class solidarity as something to be manipulated for his oligarchy.
A politician with integrity sees this moment as one to generate non-partisan solidarity across the working class without worry of losing a few die-hard votes. BC Conservative politicians need to make the connections between the hate rhetoric they have sold to their voter base and the fact that nobody is benefiting from that rhetoric, that in fact we are all suffering under it.
