Canadian politics doesn’t need Trump-like Twitter fights

Despite what the mainstream media spews, US President Donald Trump’s twitter antics have worked in his favour.

The American President is notorious for saturating his social media account with seemingly pointless rants and jargon. Not to mention, he is the manifestation of a hybrid pseudo-comedian politician. Ergo, his dichotomy of “jokes” and policies, have propelled him to the apex of political power.

Many of Trump’s tweets don’t fit the mould of what I would consider presidential. His attitude and composure are also reasons for concern. However, he is America’s Commander in Chief: meaning he did a number of things right along with the campaign. In my opinion, his explosive Twitter activity is included in that list.

Canadian political maverick Maxime Bernier seems to have indulged in politically-motivated Twitter politics too. His newest target, a former colleague and Conservative shadow minister of immigration, Michelle Rempel. This caused a three-way dogfight dragging in Lisa Raitt, who defended her fellow party member against Bernier.

While it was very entertaining to watch it unfold, I will acknowledge that this cannot become a newly accepted norm.

Canada’s outspoken right-winger

Maxime Bernier left the Conservative Party because he believed they abandoned certain “conservative” principles. He has since started the People’s Party of Canada, which promises the defence of free-market zeal while staying true to what Bernier believes to be key principles; fairness, responsibility, freedom, and respect.

The fact is, Bernier lost to Andrew Scheer in the Conservative Party leadership race by a razor-thin margin. As the National Observer writes, Scheer won with 51% of the vote. The fact of the matter is Bernier had lots of support, and to simply ignore this would be indiscreet.

Ultimately though, establishing a new party is no easy task. According to 338 Canada, the People’s Party of Canada (PPC), is not performing well; polling at just 2%. Does this mean Bernier is a failed politician? Absolutely not. Finishing second in the Conservative leadership is an indication that his beliefs and policies clearly resonated with many conservatives throughout Canada.

But let’s not be blown aback. 2% is still a very low number, and would not cause much disruption in the political sphere. It should also be noted that many are wary of supporting his juvenile party because they fear of vote splitting, a rational and understandable concern.

Strategy; sit back and watch

Justin Trudeau’s term in office has been utterly disastrous for Canada. He has failed in foreign relations and border security. Trudeau has completely ignored Alberta, with 17,000 jobs being lost in December 2018 alone. He now faces a standoff against Premier Jason Kenney.

Finally, the worst of all occurred with the SNC-Lavalin scandal, which saw incredible amounts of friction in the Liberal Party, uncertainty in the government, and a call for the PM’s resignation by CPC leader Andrew Scheer.

With Gerald Butts, Jody-Wilson Raybould, Jane Philpott, and Andrew Leslie (who won’t be seeking re-election) out of the picture, Trudeau’s leadership is under serious scrutiny.

Andrew Leslie, who the CBC notes as “high level” served as chief government whip and later as parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs. He also served in the military for 35 years, which is deserving of the utmost respect. His decision to not seek re-election is damaging and another indication that Trudeau’s government is imploding.

Most recently, our Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau was being questioned by Pierre Poilievre and stated that those who disagree with his policies are simply uneducated.  This is a terribly rude comment and reminds me of Clinton’s gross characterization of Trump supporters as “deplorables”.

So, what each party ought to be doing is simply sit back and take notes on all the failures. It’s easy, and very effective ammunition. When election season dawns upon Canada, Scheer, Singh, Bernier, and May can all rally support by pointing out the seemingly infinite list of our current government’s flaws.

How not to win an election

As I’ve previously mentioned, Trump’s Twitter use undoubtedly helped his presidential campaign in 2016. Yet, it would be ill-advised for any Canadian politician to do the same. There is still an ounce of civility in our political sphere, and for the country’s benefit, it should remain intact.

Many people might enjoy the occasional Twitter showdown between celebrities or commentators, but elected leaders should refrain from entering the arena of online disputes. Not only is it a waste of time, it lacks professionalism.

We must not be sucked into the vortex of hostile “comment section-like” debate among politicians like our neighbours to the south. Instead, we can create a precedent for other countries to follow. Healthy and civil exchange of ideas is good and needs to be encouraged.

A recent Twitter flair up between Maxime Bernier, and CPC’s Michelle Rempel and Lisa Raitt leaves little room for optimism though.

It all began when the PPC leader went on the offensive against Rempel, claiming she panders to far-left transgender activism. It also indirectly alludes to Bernier’s accusation that the Conservative Party has lost its way and is now following the Liberals.

Lisa Raitt was quick to defend Rempel and called for Bernier to delete his account. When the MP from Beauce took the bait, Raitt stated that he was making a personal attack against Rempel rather than voicing his disagreement with policy. Rempel had the last word when she suggested Bernier’s Twitter account is run by a “ghost-writer”.

Here is an image of the exchange.

Politicians have the right to Tweet whatever they wish, and each party must support freedom of speech. However, we should not condone a reduction of professionalism from our country’s elected officials. They are our leaders and have the responsibility to act as such.