Podcast: How the Pandemic Is Changing Politics

Canadians take to the polls today in an election that very much remains up in the air. Predictions range from a Liberal majority to a Conservative minority, with the likeliest outcome being a Liberal minority. But given the closeness of the polls (the Liberals and Conservatives are essentially in dead heat) along with the large number of smaller parties that are robustly contesting elections, it’s impossible to predict the outcome with any certainty.

But even if, as some analysts insist, the new Parliament will have a similar composition to the 2019 election, the current election is show Canada to be polarizing in new ways.

It’s an election held during a pandemic when the country is experiencing a fourth wave. This has created an opening for the hard right People’s Party of Canada (PPC) to make major inroads. According to polls, they stand at anywhere from 5 per cent to 10 per cent, with an unusually dedicated following. This stands in contrast to 2019 when the PPC only got 1.6 per cent of the vote.

The surge in support is almost entirely due to the pandemic and the fact that the PPC has positioned itself as the anti-vaxxer party. So the election raises larger questions about how the pandemic is changing politics. This is a story that with implications far beyond Canada.

I sat down to chat with frequent guest Doug Bell about the election and the rise of the PPC. We range widely, as always, into a broader discussion about challenges that a new form of authoritarian anti-systems politics poses not just for Canada but many other democracies. It’s a lively talk which I think followers of this podcast will both enjoy and learn from.

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