The decision to put out an election pamphlet with anti-Israel rhetoric and a Palestinian flag was a political blunder of epic proportions.
Yesterday, it was LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, a diverse riding that the Liberals had won in a romp in 2021. In a tight three-way race, the Bloc Québécois won by a nose.
The sovereigntist vote came out more than in the recent past. In 2021, Liberal David Lametti received twice as many votes as the Bloc. The scope of the reversal of fortunes for the Liberals can be measured by that yardstick.
But it’s not only Trudeau who was sent a message by voters. Jagmeet Singh’s crew managed to squander the New Democratic Party’s chances in Montreal by again playing the anti-Israel card.
The NDP had a very good candidate in Craig Sauvé, a hard-working and well-liked Montreal city councillor. His campaign had been going extremely well and he had every chance of winning the byelection.
This was a political blunder of epic proportions — scuppering a winning campaign because someone, somewhere in the NDP world decided to push anti-Israel positions that, unfortunately, are becoming commonplace in the party.
Neither Jack Layton nor I would have ever tolerated it, much less promoted it. We both worked tirelessly to put forward and defend a balanced approach to, and understanding of, the complex issues involving the Middle East.
The change in approach began a few years ago when some NDP MPs started tossing out references to “Israeli apartheid” with apparent party impunity. Singh has not let up and in the past year he and his spokesperson on these issues have been ratcheting up the rhetoric.
Sauvé’s pamphlet may or may not have been of his own design. Unfortunately for him, as the candidate, he bears responsibility for it. That he wound up in third place after its publication is an object lesson that some progressive voters are turned off by divisive language and judge it accordingly.
Monday was also the day Parliament resumed. It likely provided a glimpse of what the final months of Trudeau’s reign will look like: nervous Liberal MPs watching as Trudeau sputtered prepared responses to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s sophomoric, but effective, verbal assaults.
In my line of work, you make it your business to stay in touch with people on all sides of the political spectrum. Those that I speak with who are helping Poilievre know that I got to see him up close and personal for over 10 years. Based on that first-hand experience with Poilievre, I’ve always had the impression that behind the self-assured snarkiness, there was a terrible void.
His handlers go out of their way to try to convince me that he’s changed. After what he said to his caucus the day before Parliament resumed, I’m not sure anything has changed at all. Poilievre used the term “nuclear winter” to describe what he says would be the results of the carbon tax on the vulnerable and on our economy. At a time when Russia is openly threatening to use nuclear weapons, you don’t get to use an expression like that and hope to be chosen to run a G7 country that is also a founding member of NATO.
These are jobs for adults. Poilievre isn’t there yet and I’m not sure he ever will be.