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Politics

Turns Out Canada is Ripe for Populism, Too

A new poll suggests that the rise of a Canadian Trump could happen in the world's politest country. Sorry.

The time is right for a little populism in the Great White North.

At least that's what a recent EKOS/Canadian Press poll is telling us. The poll, released on June 24, surveyed around 5,500 Canadians and indicates that in regards to the question of populism in Canada the "answer appears to be – somewhat surprisingly – yes."

"The continued denial and dismissal of this new force among the more comfortable and educated portions of society is both empirically wrong and a force fuelling the very phenomenon they seem to despise," the poll reads.

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In a rather disheartening response, around 71% said they believe it is coming to Canada and only 33% of those surveyed say that a possible rise of Canadian populism is a bad thing. EKOS operationalized the term populism as "a rejection of elite authority and as a wariness of immigration, trade, and globalisation." If you're wondering about what this means in real world terms, well, you only have to look south to President Trump who clumsy surfed into the White House on a wave of the stuff or the Brexit vote in the UK.

"While the most common response was one of ambivalence, uncertainty, or conditional 'wait-and-see', it is striking that two-thirds of Canadians either think it's a good thing or aren't sure," reads the poll.

Unsurprisingly, the economic situation of the respondents plays strongly into the their opinion of populism—a common trope in history is a turning to populism by those who have been left behind by politicians or the changing world—in the survey only 29% of respondants thought their economic situation would be better in five years.

Populism can rise from either side of the political spectrum but, within Canada, it seems Conservative voters are also more likely to support populism. Again, this isn't the most surprising thing in the world as only two years ago a decade of Conservative rule was toppled by Justin Trudeau's Liberals. Other things you would expect is that the majority of those in favour are male and that populism is most popular in the conservative heartland of Alberta.

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All that said, there are some things out of the ordinary—the fact that it's not, to quote Stephen Harper, "old-stock Canadians" who are in favour of it being the most prominent.

"Quite strikingly, positive attitudes to populism are stronger among new Canadians and, by corollary, weaker among traditional, 'born in Canada' citizens," reads the poll. "If Trump populism is rooted in the white working class, that explicitly does not appear to be the case in Canada."

Furthermore, Canadian supporters of populists tend to support—most likely to the ire of some of the far-right in the country—globalization. Over 80% are in support of the North American Free Trade Agreement, however, they are more likely to support President Trump and small government. With the oddities in mind, those behind the poll conclude that all this points to a "new class conflict" being the well behind the spring of populist support in Canada.

"Overall, we see quite a different political landscape where continued economic stagnation and decline are fuelling a uniquely Canadian expression of populism that is less 'white' and less closed than the expressions in Europe and the United States," the study states.

"It is more rooted in a new class conflict across the diminished middle class and the burgeoning working class."

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