Regular readers are by now familiar with the name Pierre Poilievre, who is leader of Canada's conservative opposition. He first caught my attention last year when I saw some smart people buzzing about his skills as a speaker and a political talent. I've also admired his ability to handle hostile media interviews, including one especially memorable exchange with a journalist. The Conservative Party took a national polling lead over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals in 2022, and the lead has opened up over the subsequent two years. At the moment, Poilievre's party enjoys a 20-point lead over the governing party, an enormous advantage that has roughly held for months on end. The clock is ticking on Trudeau's reign, as the Liberals even lost a 'safe' seat in Toronto in an "earthquake" of an off-year 'by-election' upset back in June. Barring some stunning and unforeseen reversal, Trudeau is going to lose and Poilievre will be the new Prime Minister -- a profound upgrade, in my view.
Left-wing, anti-West, anti-Semitic goons have been violently rioting in Montreal in recent days, coinciding with a NATO meeting. Naturally, the "pro-Palestinian" movement of terrorism supporters featured prominently in the chaos. It was so bad that Trudeau felt compelled to condemn them:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday condemned violence and antisemitism at anti-NATO and pro-Palestinian protests in downtown Montreal on Friday night, where NATO delegates have gathered for the alliance's annual assembly...Two separate protest groups merged into a march, and some protesters started throwing smoke bombs and metal objects at officers policing the demonstration, Montreal police said. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd and three people were arrested for assaulting officers and obstructing police work. Protesters set two cars on fire and smashed windows as the march was dispersed around 7 pm ET, police said...Videos and pictures posted to social media showed masked rioters burning flares and battering storefront windows. "What we saw on the streets of Montreal last night was appalling. Acts of antisemitism, intimidation, and violence must be condemned wherever we see them," Trudeau said in a post on social media website X. Pro-Palestinian protests have been taking place across Canada since the Israel-Gaza war started late last year.
Unfortunately, these scenes aren't exactly unfamiliar in Canada, as anti-Israel zelots have routinely attacked Jews and caused mayhem ever since Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 civilians in a massacre last fall. This is who they are:
🚨BREAKING: Absolute mayhem in Montreal, Canada, as pro-Hamas maniacs riot on the streets, attacking the police and terrorizing everyone.
— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) November 23, 2024
This will only get worse. Those are all terrorists.pic.twitter.com/5TyOjthSxu
Update: Montreal woman throwing up a Hitler salute and calling for the “final solution” has been identified as Mai Abdulhadi.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 24, 2024
She and relative Sabih Abdulhadi are franchisee owners of Second Cup Coffee in Montreal.
Second Cup Coffee has now cut her franchisee agreement 👏 https://t.co/Xmv74pdJyY pic.twitter.com/3A4mdU4n0s
These heinous, yet not atypical scenes played out while the current Prime Minister partied. His likely successor deservedly lit him up for it:
Justin Trudeau refuses to condemn the anti-semitic riots in Montreal.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) November 23, 2024
He has time to dance & do selfies.
But he’s too busy to condemn a violent Hamas takeover of our streets.
Not worth the chaos. pic.twitter.com/053h0NMqIW
Once Trudeau finally got around to criticizing the violent mob, Poilievre let him have it, again:
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You act surprised. We are reaping what you sowed. This is what happens when a Prime Minister spends 9 years pushing toxic woke identity politics, dividing and subdividing people by race, gender, vaccine status, religion, region, age, wealth, etc. On top of driving people apart, you systematically break what used to bring us together, saying Canada is a “post-national state” with “no core identity.”You erased our veterans and military, the Famous Five and even Terry Fox from our passport to replace them with meaningless squirrels, snowflakes and a drawing of yourself swimming as a boy. You opened the borders to terrorists and lawbreakers and called anyone who questioned it racist. You send out your MPs to say one thing in a mosque and the opposite in a synagogue, one thing in a mandir and the opposite in a gurdwara.
You have made Canada a playground for foreign interference. You allowed Iran’s IRGC terrorists to legally operate here for four years after they murdered 55 of our citizens in a major unprovoked attack. You passed laws that release rampant offenders from prison within hours of their 80th arrest. And what is the result? Assassinations on Canadian soil, firebombings of synagogues, extremist violence against mandirs and gurdwaras, over 100 churches burned or vandalized (with barely any condemnation from you), all for a total 251% more hate crime.And, while you were dancing, Montreal was burning. We won’t let you divide us anymore. Call an election now. We will fire you and reclaim our citizenship, our values, our lives, our freedom and, most of all, our country.
That most went viral in Canada, garnering millions of views. Trudeau likely wants no part of an election right now, given the polling picture we referenced above. But at some point, he will run out of time. A general election must be called by late October of next year under Canadian law. Trudeau and his party may be hoping that things will at least turn around a little bit by then, so they're probably not inclined to call an election any sooner than they must. But they may simply be delaying the inevitable. Canada wants and needs change. They are on track to get change. I'll leave you with this:
It feels like we are all a long way from home.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) September 29, 2024
But common sense will bring home the Canada we know and love. pic.twitter.com/KpzoDdZOmO