Pierre Poilievre has to be given credit for mastering the art of shock.
He plays with controversy like a pyromaniac with matches.
His latest stunt involves committing an act of lèse-majesté by attacking the CBC. To make things worse, he enlisted chief troublemaker Elon Musk to boost his crusade.
The maneuver is purely partisan. Conservatives have always accused CBC of having a Liberal ideological bias. The extreme prudence and kid gloves with which the public broadcaster has covered the issue of Chinese interference have only added fuel to the fire.
But in this latest stunt, there is more than just an easy tactic to mobilize his most enraged followers.
There is a carefully orchestrated revolt against the elites and their moralizing dogmas.
- Listen to the Latraverse-Dumont meeting broadcast live every day at 5 p.m. via QUB radio:
A forbidden debate
Every region of the country has its sacred cow.
In English Canada, it’s multiculturalism, while in Quebec, it seems to be Radio-Canada.
It must be noted that the epidermal reaction to Pierre Poilièvre’s anti-CBC crusade is much more pronounced on this side of the Ottawa River.
It’s not for nothing that he abstains from targeting Radio-Canada and threatening to defund it. Even English-speaking commentators have noticed this.
Yes, a public broadcaster, two solitudes. In this regard, CBC/Radio-Canada can proudly claim to be a reflection of Canadian reality.
We can argue about whether the label “government-funded” is appropriate, but the message that Pierre Poilièvre wanted to send was that the broadcaster subscribes to the dominant ideology of the Canadian elites who control the country.
I have no intention of settling the matter here. Others will take care of it.
But why is this debate unworthy of an aspiring prime minister?
Does CBC really believe that it is above any scrutiny of its biases, conscious or unconscious?
The rest of society is subjected to such an exercise, and many media outlets openly acknowledge their biases.
But no, Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh are outraged. The enlightened leaders have spoken.
Values
Where Justin Trudeau is right is when he says that this attack by the Conservative leader on the “foundational Canadian institution” that CBC is reflects his core values.
He’s right.
Pierre Poilievre doesn’t intend to get elected by navigating the nuances of Canadian dogma. He intends to topple them.
CBC, the Bank of Canada, the World Economic Forum, the carbon tax are all symbols to fuel his crusade against the elites and their truth.
In English-speaking Canada, it’s called the Laurentian elite, in Quebec it has several names, including the Plateau clique, the Montreal left…
It doesn’t matter…
By cultivating these dogmas and being outraged at their questioning, this elite loses sight of the fact that it positions itself as a giver of lessons and contributes to radicalizing the discourse of its opponents.
As proof, Pierre Poilievre is no longer afraid of the indignation he arouses. On the contrary, he feeds on it.
