CBC: ‘Dark Forces’ of Harper/Conservatives Defeated by Trudeau/Liberals

Celebrating the defeat of Stephen Harper and the Conservatives, a commentator at the CBC is framing Canada’s election as a battle of good versus evil, with the heroic Justin Trudeau and his Liberals overcoming the “dark forces” of the Canadian right.

Heralding “sighs of relief released from coast to coast” resulting from the ousting of Harper, a piece by Michelle Gagnon hypes a supposed reunification of Canada via “diversity.” Canada is said to be “once again made strong by (its) differences.” Trudeau is said to champion the return of Canadians as “a compassionate, peacekeeping, and peacefully multicultural people.” Harper is shown as the Darth Vader in this drama, pushing cruelty, war-mongering, and culturally homogeneous disharmony.

Describing the campaign of Harper and the Conservatives as “divisive” and “fear-mongering”, the CBC article neglects to mention that Trudeau repeatedly exploited the politics of division via regional, ethnic, and class agitation. 

The article frames opposition to the wearing of niqabs at citizenship ceremonies as “anti-Muslim.” The Holocaust is then not-so-subtly invoked by casting Muslims as the “scapegoats” of political messaging from Harper and the Conservatives. Apparently there are parallels between the Muslim experience in today’s Canada and that of Jews in 1930s Germany.

The article warns readers, however, that all is not yet well in Canada, as the “dark side” of its body politic – Canadian conservatism, of course – still exists. How else to explain Conservative seat gains in Quebec at the expense of the socialist NDP? While the “worst angels” were defeated, the message is clear – Canadians have a long way to go. After all, the Conservatives still drew 32 percent of the popular vote compared to the Liberals’ 39 percent.

Trudeau promised to increase CBC funding by $345 million if elected Prime Minister.

The CBC, Canada’s state broadcaster, has been receiving some $1 billion per year directly from the federal government for years. Trudeau essentially promised an approximately 30 percent bump to the organization once becoming PM.  

For Americans to get a sense of the size and weight of the CBC’s presence in the Canadian media landscape, first consider that Canada is about one-tenth the size of America in terms of its population and GDP.  Now consider that it is the equivalent of what NPR would be if the latter received over $10 billion a year from America’s federal government.