The Trumpization Of Canada

By Baxter

We cats have watched with alarm as Trumpy behavior has infiltrated Canada. You know from our coverage of the so-called "Freedom Convoy" in Ottawa this past February that disruptive, antidemocratic right-wing behavior hasn't been confined to the US.

Now, they're threatening to re-invade Ottawa for Canada Day weekend (three days before the July 4 holiday in the United States). Why, or what their cause is, appears unknown. Is it still COVID-19 restrictions? Or something else? P.S.: It was never clear in the first place.

Thanks to their earlier antics, Canada has lost its top-10 spot on the 2022 Global Peace Index's list of the world's most peaceful countries. "Canada’s 4.8 percent deterioration was attributed to significant increases in 'political terror' and 'violent demonstrations' indicators, with the former doubling in a year," the Index reported.

This makes us sick. Not just because Canada has weathered COVID pretty well, but because we're seeing a lot of Trumpy rumblings elsewhere in the country. Right wingers in Alberta, for example, want to pass legislation that would allow the province to ignore federal law. Talk about a dagger to the heart of e pluribus unum, Canada-style.

Liberal democracies are only as strong as the unity of their people. Very scary that two major democracies in the North American continent are seeing big cracks in that unity. It's alarming, because it's Vladimir Putin's fondest wish. We cats HISS.