Bruce Dowbiggin
Diversity Dies In Darkness: Is PJMT Now A Lame Duck?
Diversity is a goal without a system. That’s why it is stupid.– Scott Adams
Saskatchewan has announced a program to attract skilled workers to the province. The 542 lucky candidates will be chosen from applicants in Czechia, Germany, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Toronto Star has sniffed that the program is “raising eyebrows for deviating from Canada’s selection system”.
The Saskatchewan government is asking, why does no one in central Canada raise an eyebrow when the province of Quebec enacts restrictive laws to protect its long-establuished cultural imperatives? Indeed, while the prime minister makes a fetish of diversity and unlimited immigration, he’s been less than vocal about getting Quebec to comply with his diversity diktats.
Language strictures against English grow more harsh every day (not that Quebec Anglos will ever change their Liberal votes). Intolerance of cultural symbols has been enshrined in law. Quebec follows its own nose on Covid and the vaccines. Quebec does what Quebec wants, citing its constitutional prerogatives.
Provinces like Saskatchewan and Alberta, meanwhile, are chastised as wanting to promote a “right-wing culture” that reflects their history and people. The Media Party hints that modern Hungary is what’s behind provinces balking at Justin Trudeau’s postmodern Canada. (Hint-hint: who did Hungary support in WW II?)
Of course, this blowback from provinces against Ottawa is nothing new in Canadian history. Usually it goes nowhere (except in Quebec). But as the Saskatchewan immigration policy and Alberta’s impertinent claim to energy self-destiny show, those provinces and others are seeing an opening in Trudeau’s plummeting poll numbers. Self interest is all the rage against a tainted Liberal brand.
Like the U.S. politicians in Northern cities who ignored the immigrant crisis— until it washed up the streets of NYC, Chicago or Boston— the Liberals are now swimming in a boiling pot of diversity stew. Housing, education and healthcare are being oberwhelmed by a dubious importation recipe aimed at 40 million people in Canada this decade. The riot by hundreds of armed Eritreans in Calgary last weekend (below) reflects a government unable to marshal its new citizens. Nor enforce laws against them. Enforcing graphic sex education on Muslim children of immigrants has provoked further strong pushback.
Hence, the opening. As poll numbers published on the weekend revealed, after eight years of Trudeau’s smug chef dealing the meals, the Liberal diner is suddenly half empty. Ditto his sous Jagmeet Singh, whose NDP is also headed to the compost heap. Polling on the Labour Day weekend shows Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives could win over 200 seats if an election were held this week.
None of this turnaround in the polls is due to a surge in Poilievre Fever, a sudden rush of enthusiasm since he doffed his glasses for a new look. He’s as low voltage as ever.
This time seems different. Trudeau is like comedian Mike Myers, who, in just over a decade, went from being the world’s favourite funny man in Austin Powers (1997–2002), and Shrek (2001) to a lame self parody as The Love Guru (2008). For all his attempts to shut down his critics PMJT has become the political equivalent of The Love Guru. Played out. Lame.
Trudeau has tried to stifle criticism of this flagging agenda by buying up (or intimidating) media who practice WrongThink. After Bills 11 &18— forcing Meta and other tech giants to pony up for Canada’s cratering legacy media— rebounded on him, PMJT is now rolling out the Online Harms Act to punish those who cite contrary evidence and suggest that The Science is not inviolate.
Why not?, he seems to say. Other desperate Western governments being pounded by social media are doing the same. And Canadians have been big fans of Hate Laws (without ever precisely defining hate) since Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel was charged for his inflammatory Holocaust opinions. The church ladies of liberalism now positively revel in attaching hate labels to anything that gets under their skirt.
Liberal strategists content themselves with saying that an election is not mandated for another two years. These things can change. A gaffe from Poilievre blown up into a raging inferno can turn the numbers back their way. Or else wheeling out the usual repertoire of abortion, racism, guns and Trump can rescue the wine moms enough to bring back the good old days.
But Trudeau’s own father, Pierre, employed the same delusions when his fortunes turned in 1983-84. With Brian Mulroney succeeding hapless Joe Clark, Trudeau père thought he could use old standbys such as Québec separation, western rednecks and his status as globe-trotting honest broker to hold back the inevitable. As his five-year term expired, Trudeau reluctantly handed the steaming mess off to John Turner, the permanent PM in waiting. Turner was then thrashed by Mulroney, reduced to just 40 seats nationwide.
Is Trudeau headed to a similar fate? Or will he, like his Papa, take a walk in the snow and return as the former PM? Certainly there are a number of Liberal back benchers, passed over for Cabinet, watching this slow-motion implosion of the party. How long do they stick with Happy Ways if he causes them to become road kill in 2024-25?
Finally, how does Trudeau push back against regional interests such as Saskatchewan’s immigration plan or Alberta’s rejection of emission caps? Does Singh stand behind him as he tries to intimidate the rebels even as his own numbers head south? Do they make threats that provoke a reaction to the federal equalization scheme?
Sure, the bought media will try on his behalf. But the Skippy brand that worked on them as recently as the Covid Quickie 2021 election is now in the remainder bin. This is 1984 redux for a Trudeau who overstayed his welcome.
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Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada’s top television sports broadcaster, he’s a regular contributor to Sirius XM Canada Talks Ch. 167. Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years In NHL History, his new book with his son Evan, was voted the seventh-best professional hockey book of all time by bookauthority.org . His 2004 book Money Players was voted sixth best on the same list, and is available via http://brucedowbigginbooks.ca/book-personalaccount.aspx
With the Canada/ U.S. Tariff War going from talking conflict to hot trade war on Feb. 1 there are numerous predictions as to what might happen if the dispute drags on. As the sides in the Ukraine War will tell you very few of the outcomes so far were foreseen by the sides when the shooting started. That’s the nature of these conflicts.
One immediate byproduct seems to be the continued descent toward 60 cents by the Canadian dollar. If Trudeau and his anointed successor Mark Carney are true to character it will also involve billions in cheques going out the door— a la Covid— to those citizens “harmed” by the Liberals stumbling into a highly predictable and easily avoidable trade war. If past is prologue, vast amounts of that money will disappear as bad actors find a way to access the funds. While Canada’s GDP collapses some more.
For the moment, however, let us concentrate on what Justin Trudeau’s ineptitude might be costing Canadian professional sports teams in American-based leagues. On the purely trivial level it means that your beer at the park/ arena will be Canadian suds exclusively. Not cheaper or better. Just Canadian. Owners will stock luxury boxes with Canadian wine, etc. A road trip to see the Canucks in L.A. or the Canadiens in NYC will balloon, too.
But on a more serious level the showdown between Donald Trump and Trudeau could well return Canadian teams in the NHL to the bad-old days of the early 21st century. Despite efforts then to create a Canadian fund to save teams, two clubs— Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques— were forced to sell because of a dollar that bottomed out around 62 cents U.S. Winnipeg went to Phoenix/ Quebec City went to Colorado as a result
In Montreal the MLB Expos also moved— to Washington— after 37 years, because no one in Quebec would/ could pony up the money to make up for the declining dollar or repair the disastrous Olympic Stadium. Expos fans then had the cruel fate of watching Washington win the 2019 World Series after the Expos had never gotten that far. (Nordiques fans saw Colorado win two Stanley Cups after escaping Quebec.)
Why were these teams forced to move? Because while teams collect revenues locally in Canadian dollars almost all their payroll and other costs are paid in American dollars. So when you see the Toronto Blue Jays facing a possible US $500 million price tag to keep star Vladimir Guerrero you’re really talking about raising $750,000 million in CDN revenues to meet the demand. Multiply those jumps over a 25-man roster and you’re talking a huge jump in payroll— or being consigned to after-ran status.
While no one is about to hold a tag day for Toronto it will make the Jays’ job of competing in a division with the big-spending New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox that much harder. With a national market of almost 40 million now to exploit they still have resources. But will American players want to play in Canada during a hot trade war between the nations? Now that yahoos fed by a doltish CDN media have started booing the Star Spangled Banner in Ottawa and Vancouver before games do you think that will encourage American stars on teams there to stick around?
But the NHL is where the biggest losses will be seen. Already there have been concerns about the Jets.2 surviving in Winnipeg. Last week it was revealed that after years spent coming back from Covid revenue shortages, the NHL is going to raise its salary cap from today’s US $88 million to as much as an estimated US $115 million in three or four years. The news that players will no longer have escrow payments held back to compensate owners for revenue shortages was greeted with cheers by players and their agent.
The boost in the cap will likely mean that today’s US$14 million peak (Leon Draisaitl) will also advance to somewhere just beneath US$20 million a season. And while that figure is a few years off, teams will have to start negotiating today with their stars with that figure in mind if they wish to retain them.
The test case will be superstar Connor McDavid who is due for a new contract after 2025-26. For the small-market Edmonton Oilers that will mean creating a template that buys him out of estimated salary later by boosting his salary before the cap arrives at its peak. With Draisaitl already pulling down top dollar the Oilers’ resources will be stretched thin to accommodate McDavid— while still paying the rest of the roster.
Could the drop in the dollar produce another Gretzky-like trade for Edmonton when the Oilers were forced to dump the greatest scorer in NHL history to L.A. because his worth exceeded the Oilers’ ability to pay? We chronicle the trade in depth in our new book Deal With It: The Trades That Stunned The NHL & Changed Hockey.
The fate of hockey stars will be only a small piece of any future U.S. trade deals. But they will be highly visible to Canada’s hockey fans. Not being able to satisfy them is a political price no pelican wants to face. But given the current intransigence by Justin Trudeau scrambling to stay in office it is far from improbable.
Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada’s top television sports broadcaster. His new book Deal With It: The Trades That Stunned The NHL And Changed Hockey is now available on Amazon. Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years In NHL History, his previous book with his son Evan, was voted the seventh-best professional hockey book of all time by bookauthority.org. You can see all his books at brucedowbigginbooks.ca.
In case you missed it, the Hubris party has halted the business of Canada for three months in the heart of the biggest existential crisis since NAFTA. The reason? Justin Trudeau called timeout to allow banker/ green advocate Mark Carney to slide into his chair before the next election becomes Bull Run.
Who is Carney? In September Justin Trudeau appointed him a “special advisor” to the Liberals. He then asked for— and received— $10 B for Brookfield, the private hedge fund of which he was chairman, so that he might sprinkle it on the Green Agenda. There’s more, but this tells you why Libs think he’s ideal.
In his introduction to a nation that didn’t know Mark Carney was a solution to anything, Carney insisted that Canadians want new ideas, new energy, new purpose. (In his defence his opponent Chrystia Freeland is mumbling the same contrition.) And who were the architects of the malaise requiring such an overhaul?
The Liberals themselves. Okay, the NDP rates blame for polishing the Liberal apple in a minority government. But Canadians have long ago consigned Jagmeet Singh to a deserved obscurity. Yes, the denials choir at the Toronto Star and CBC are trying to harpoon Pierre Polievre for ruining the Parliament that Liberals prorogued. While the Flora MacDonald Marching Society cites Donald Trump’s tariffs for the crisis. Deny, deny, deny.
It’s not working. Consult the polls. Even the staunchest supporters of Canada’s self-appointed national party are fed up with PMJT and his legacy. In fact it is stunning to see how wobbly the Liberal platform is under Carney. All the massaged polls and handshakes with Olympic heroes on the Rideau Canal cannot disguise that their legacy issues are now DOA. As we wrote last week the challenges come on a many fronts.
Trump’s tariff challenge/ 51st state tease is the most public challenge— and the one the Liberals believe they can whipsaw to their favour. #OrangeManBad simply tore away the PMO’s artifice of postmodern Canada. By threatening tariffs and gleefully laughing about Canada joining America he exposed an entitled political elite unwilling to admit that the world has changed.
By stirring Canada to some united economic response against his audacious measures Trump has shown Canadians how little they have in common. Ontario and Quebec want Alberta to put on the hair shirt. Alberta wants Quebec to pay its fair share. etc. Trump’s new Commerce secretary says it would be an easy ask to avoid tariffs. But Trudeau/ Doug Ford would rather posture and preen. Canadians, after years of sitting in first-class but paying for economy, now find themselves exposed to the world. As we said in 2018, Canada is an ingrate nation living off Trump’s America.
The destruction of Liberal DEI legacy doesn’t stop with tariffs. The PMO pretends that they can still use the Climate inquisition to hammer Canadians. But Trump has moved the West away from the Al Gore/ King Charles doomsday consensus. By taking America out of the UN Net Zero scheme he’s produced a landslide of financial institutions and governments escaping the draconian conditions imposed by this once-mighty body. Trudeau’s precious climate supports are toppling almost as fast as Sir John A. statues.
Trump has forced the high and mighty in banking, investment and government— who’ve been wedded to these principals— to escape his climate wrath. Trump used the election to remind voters of deadlines for catastrophic weather that come and go with only elites getting rich. During the 2024 vote he heard from average people who no longer believe the Greta Thunberg countdown clock to ruination. And he said, Drill, Baby, Drill.
CO2-obsessed Canada, meanwhile, is still dithering on its commitment to what CBC and everyone in Parliament stubbornly call the “climate crisis”. Carney talks about moving away from the sacred tablets of climate change, but only to find a new green euphemism for draining the public purse.
Another sacred cow of Trudeau’s Disaster Run has been his stewardship of Covid 19— a talking point he brags about openly but whose Emergency Measures Act are condemned by the courts and public opinion. Again, Trudeau’s flank has been protected by purchased media and a smothering censorship program.
But now Alberta’s Covid Task Force has ripped the province’s actions in the two-plus years of virus, vaccine and vexation. The Davidson Report demonstrates how The Science was used to defend government overreach while health officials used faulty data to deceive the public about the reality of Covid. (The criticisms apply to the federal response just as easily.)
One example cited in the Task Force report was one we wrote about continuously from 2020-2023. Namely the media’s daily positive CPR tests that purported to show massive numbers of infected Canadians. The truth was 80 to 90 percent of the “results” were false positives or samples too small to be transmitted or make the carrier ill. Even when they knew in 2020 no one bothered to let citizens in on the scam.
Want more? Another sink hole beneath the Libs is the Rez Schools “murdered babies” libel they used to cast Canadians as genocidal. Trudeau sought to criminalize any doubt on their veracity. Turns out that the money allocated for exhumation of alleged graves of victims has turned up nothing. Instead the “$12M spent to find purported 215 children’s graves at an Indian Residential School was instead spent on publicists & consultants with no graves found to date. “
There’s more. Environment minister Stephen Gilbeault was found guilty of violating federal rules in siphoning $254 M to a company he owns. While Conservative MPs continue to call for the release of “green slush fund” documents, Trudeau continues to defend his minister by burying the records. Then there is the $187 B in infrastructure grants supervised by former Lib cabinet minister Catherine McKenna that is unaccounted for.
Wait, there’s more. On the celebrated immigration front nearly 50,000 international students failed to show up at their designated colleges and universities in Canada during March and April 2024, according to government data.; No one can trace them. And let’s not forget the government’s seeming impassivity to the crowds of pro-Hamas fanatics crowding Canadian streets each week calling fore the death of Canadian Jews and anyone else trying to stop the intifada.
We could go on, but this seems like weak sauce on which to launch a new leader of the Liberals. But they’re going to try. And with Singh’s flip-flop, now refusing to bring down the government, it will have a puncher’s chance in the Liberal heartland. Expect them to try stretching the mandate till the fall and later while spitting out more federal aid money, a la Covid, to compensate Canadians for this stupidity.
The only question then, who volunteers to bell the cat? Can you say Convoy.2?
Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada’s top television sports broadcaster. His new book Deal With It: The Trades That Stunned The NHL And Changed Hockey is now available on Amazon. Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years In NHL History, his previous book with his son Evan, was voted the seventh-best professional hockey book of all time by bookauthority.org. You can see all his books at brucedowbigginbooks.ca.
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