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Recently, the Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, shared a glorious post about two Stampede breakfasts in which new Conservative MPs Amanpreet Gill and Dalwinder Gill had participated. The photo from the post is of the trio sitting in amongst some guests and showcasing what Poilievre called great support from applicants and tireless volunteers that ended up ensuring the strength and success of the events. While a typical political celebration kind of post, the dawn of a few comments beneath led to heated, sometimes inflammatory debates.
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One user-cum-sarcasm-demanded ‘a parasite spray for Poilievre’ across Canada; another put forth the opinion that Poilievre was a ‘fake Conservative,’ whose ideology is somewhat liberalistic. Brewed with venom after venom are these responses, illustrating Canada’s draconian political storm so volatile that even the most innocent post sets off a bitter backlash.
The exchange dragged into a very muddy road of ethnic and cultural reverberations when one of the commentators wrote, “Indians and their low trust culture ruined India.” Yet, the other argued that India is a very big country with many different cultures, and therefore, those generalizations would not hold much water. These conversations indicate the continual discord on multiculturalism in Canadian politics-a subject that has had to be finely navigated by Poilievre in his time as the Leader of the Conservative Party.
Then there were some that crossed the line with one user mocking Poilievre’s turban, suggesting that he should be wearing a cowboy hat instead; others denounced his political status and electoral defeats while accusing him of doing nothing but riding the coattails of others.
Amidst all these, some voices have come in support of Poilievre, thanking him for working with the MPs and encouraging him to take up some issues in the House of Commons. However, these voices were quickly drowned out by more aggressive and racially charged comments.
Thus, this post and the replies are a microcosm of Canadian politics, where issues of immigration, cultural identity, and party loyalties dominate the landscape. What was supposed to be the triumph for cooperation and community engagement, as portrayed by Poilievre, was met, in turn, by applause and opprobrium alike and thus clearly exhibiting the uphill task that he has in trying to get on with an electorate that is polarized right down the middle.
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With Poilievre left to lead the Conservatives in their march toward the next federal election, the fuss around the post would probably indicate that his messaging and its reception from the public will assure to continue to be an area of contesting. It will be interesting to see if Poilievre manages to come up with some articulation that could bring his adherents and detractors together, but what is certainly clear right now is that his road ahead shall be anything but smooth.