The Conservative "Multiverse" Attack on Canada
At a time when global instability is rising, you would think that it would be patently obvious that Canada’s longstanding tradition of international engagement matters more than ever.
We are a mid-sized power with a relatively small population spread over a massive territory. And yet, for eighty-plus years, Canada has punched well above its weight on the international stage through a combination of peacekeeping, diplomacy, and participation in global institutions.
It stands to reason that as our sovereignty comes under direct threat, we would lean into these alliances.
Right?
Not according to Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party. They have denounced Canada’s longstanding policy of multilateralism as a form of Liberal “racism.” The attack on Canada’s foreign policy seems to be a new front in the Conservatives’ scorched-earth culture war.
The objectives of this war were outlined at a recent Conservative forum hosted by Conservative Members of Parliament. MP Shuv Majundar described Liberal racism as coming in the form of the multiverse:
“Multiculturalism, multi-genderism and multilateralism.”
Just a few years ago, a Conservative attack on Canada’s 50-plus years of multiculturalism would have been shocking. Now it is part of the Conservative talking points. Same for their attempt to create a culture war over trans rights.
But multilateralism is a new bugbear.
Majundar criticized Canadian multilateralism as an ideology of “narcissists and nihilists.” Let’s stop and think about this.
Does he include:
The work of Canadian diplomats in the Suez that won Lester B. Pearson the Nobel Peace Prize?
The work of respected jurist Louise Arbour on the International Criminal Court?
The Montreal Protocol of 1988, which saved the world from extinction by enacting a ban on chemicals destroying the wafer-thin ozone layer?
The work of Prime Minister Mulroney on dealing with the Apartheid regime?
The sacrifice of Canadian soldiers who held the line at Medak Pocket and across Yugoslavia, trying to protect innocent civilians from the murder gangs?
The leadership of Romeo Dallaire in Rwanda or General de Chastelain key role in the Irish peace process?
The efforts Canadian soldiers are making in Latvia?
Do the Conservatives really believe that all these extraordinary milestones in our nation’s history were a scheme of narcissists and nihilists?
I would normally brush off such comments as typical of the rage howlers on the Conservative back bench. But one thing that we have seen from the far right playbook is how crackpot trial balloons are raised to embed them in the public conversation. And then they become planks of the ideology.
It helps explain the concerning shift in the Conservatives’ approach to Canadian international relations. During the last Parliament, Poilievre’s Conservatives voted multiple times against support for Ukraine.
Poilievre’s front bench members have pushed initiatives to withdraw from international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization. And Poilievre himself relentlessly sneered at Prime Minister Carney’s efforts to build global alliances in response to the clear threat posed by Donald Trump.
To Poilievre, this is all about wasting taxpayers’ money. To his MPs, Carney’s effort to lean into multilateralism is a sign of “liberal racism.”
Some could say that the Conservatives are simply pandering to the online conspiracy ragers. But the international pattern of far-right disinformation in targeting international institutions reveals a disturbing pattern.
Putin has been focused on weakening the Western alliance for years. The tactics include disinformation spread by offshore bots and rage farming. In some cases, much more direct interference has been used.
Consider Brexit.
Nathan Gill, who was a driving force in the British Brexit campaign, has been jailed for 10 years for taking bribes from Russian agents to undermine the British efforts to help Ukraine.
Another Brexit politician, Nathan David Coburn, has also been accused of taking Russian bribes. In France, far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who vowed to pull France out of the EU, was the recipient of a 9.4 million-pound loan from a Russian bank.
Trump’s connections to Russian money and his efforts to break apart NATO and undermine international law are obvious.
Does this mean the Poilievre Conservatives are taking money?
No.
But they are certainly using a well-worn script focused on undermining multilateral efforts. And they are ramping up at a very dangerous time.
What would it mean for Canada to walk away from 80 years of multilateral engagement? Clearly, we would be weaker. Isolated. Left on our own in an age of kleptocrats and gangsters.
Easy pickings.
That’s what Trump wants. That’s what Putin wants. The question Canadians need to ask is: Is this what the Conservative Party of Canada wants?
The Canadians I speak with are not willing to walk away from a proud tradition of international engagement. We need our allies more than ever. But we must keep our eyes focused on the manipulations and political games that would undermine us on the home front.
How do we know PP is not receiving help or $$ from foreign actors? He will not submit to top security clearance so what is it he is hiding?
Perhaps this is why PP doesn't want security clearance, the vetting would reveal his links to anti-Canadian movements. After all, his mentor, Steven Harper is the chairman of the IDU, an association of anti-democracy autocrats.