In the reddest of red ridings, Liberals and Conservatives are trying to make this election about another country — but not the one you think.
The TV was the first thing I noticed when I walked into a restaurant in Montreal’s West End.
“CANADIAN BUSINESSES PULL U.S.-MADE PRODUCTS IN RESPONSE TO TARIFFS,” the screen read, under another all-caps caption, “TRADE WHIPLASH.”
On that day in early March, the person defending the Canadian government’s position on CNN was my member of parliament, Anthony Housefather.
I said hello to the woman behind the cash. She was lamenting Housefather, saying she no longer believed in him.
It was March 6 and Mark Carney was days away from his coronation as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister. The tide was turning in the country, and her response surprised me. The Liberals, she said, had let her down on Israel. They criticized Israel and hadn’t been the trusted ally and supporter that Israel had expected.
Taken aback, I told her that I strongly believed that the Liberals had not been tough enough, and had on the whole looked the other way at much of the horror that I was seeing every day on social media or non-North American international news. I ordered my food and took it to go.
Welcome to Mount Royal, a riding where Oct. 7 continues to loom large. (more...)
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