In a new attack tactic borrowed from the US Democratic Party in an attempt to introduce so-called American-style politics, the Liberal Party has called federal Conservative leader Pierre Poirierbre a “crazy man.”
The dismissive tone, which Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats have used effectively in recent days against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, has generated myriad reactions and commentary south of the border.
Its impact in Canadian politics is unclear, but it has at least provoked a reaction from the Conservative Party that, in a word, is: “You think our guy’s weird? Nah, your guy’s weirder.”
The bizarre Canadian furore began last weekend when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on the X platform that “Mr Poirievre needs to ‘touch grass’ – get back to reality” after the Conservative leader accused Mr Poirievre of praising a communist dictatorship.
Poirievre’s criticism was a reference to comments made by Trudeau in 2013, before he became prime minister, in which he praised China’s “fundamental authoritarian system” for enabling the country to “turn around its economy in an instant.”
Several Liberal MPs, including one cabinet minister, quickly took things a step further. Responding to Poirievre’s social media attacks, Housing Minister Sean Fraser on Thursday accused him of “using incel hashtags to find friends online, attracting the attention of the far-right, and posting weird timber videos” on X.
In 2022, Global News reported that Poirievre’s YouTube videos were promoted using hidden hashtags linked to the “incel” movement, a movement made up of people who claim to be “involuntary singles” and often hold misogynistic views. Poirievre’s office said he was unaware of the tag’s existence. The “timber video” quip was a reference to an advertisement from the same year in which the Conservative leader used reclaimed wood beams as an analogy for reclaiming Canadian values.
“To be honest, this guy is just weird,” Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen posted on X on Friday, along with a screenshot of Wood’s video. Fellow Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull widened the attack, calling Conservative MP Arnold Feersen “really weird” for his opposition to abortion rights.
Geoff Ballingall, president of Mobilize Media Group and founder of the centre-right political advocacy group Ontario Proud, said the move speaks to “desperation” by the Liberals at a time when polls show them trailing far behind the Conservatives.
“Nothing they’re doing is working,” he said. “They’re just attacking and trying anything that will work. They’re throwing mud at the wall to see what sticks.”
The tactic was apparently inspired by a recent trend in the US that began when Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, whom Harris picked as her running mate on Tuesday, said on television in July that Republicans were “just weird.” Since then, Democrats have used the “weird” allegation to attack Trump and Vance, sparking lively debate to assess how much damage the brand could do.
One Washington Post column called the term a powerful attack on the Republican Party’s self-proclaimed bastion of normalcy, while another warned that it underestimated the threat to Trump’s reelection.
Either way, the insult appeared to infuriate Trump, who insisted in an interview on Thursday that he and Vance “are not weird people.”
The Conservatives similarly chose not to simply turn the other cheek. In a statement, Poiriévr accused Trudeau of “trying to distract from the fact that he is a real crank whose strange policies have bankrupted Canada and Canadians.” Poiriévr was expelled from the House of Commons last April for calling Trudeau a “kook prime minister.”
Venn diagram. Sassy Summer. “Weird.”
Perhaps the NDP-Liberals should stop looking to American politics for social media content and start focusing on repairing what they’ve broken in this country.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner posted a series of photos on social media, including one of Trudeau wearing blackface at a party in 2001, and called the prime minister a “total weirdo.”
Mr Ballingall disputed the idea that the Conservatives were upset by the insults, saying: “If they want to say something ridiculous they’re welcome to do so. We have plenty of things to say back.”
Conservative strategist Jamie Ellerton said Canadian parties “constantly import tactics from south of the border, with varying degrees of success or embarrassment.” But the Liberals are “hypocritical” in frequently accusing the Conservatives of bringing “American-style politics” to Canada while blatantly borrowing from the Democrats, he said.
Andrew Perez, president of Perez Strategies and a Liberal strategist, thinks it will be hard for the Liberals to replicate the success the Democrats had with their “weird” strategy. “I know where they’re going because I don’t think Pierre Poirierbre is a traditional leader,” he said. But Perez added that nothing the Liberals have tried recently has been effective enough to move the polls significantly.
“I don’t think it will do any harm,” he said. “I don’t know if it will be helpful.”
