EDITORIAL: Divided in some ways, but not others
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There has been a lot of chatter this past week about how Canada is now a divided nation. Let’s take a look at the troubling ways in which this is true. But then let’s pause to recount the ways in which, thankfully, it is not.
Last Monday, Canadians re-elected Justin Trudeau as prime minister. But really only by a hair.
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He was downgraded to a minority government situation, albeit a comfortable minority. The Liberals are still 36 seats ahead of the Conservatives.
However, this is largely based on their strong showing in urban ridings. The Liberals swept places, such as the Greater Toronto Area. They did not though do well in rural areas. In fact, in seats they’d lost in the past, they lost by even more this time around.
The urban vs. rural divide is growing in terms of how people vote.
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Plus, the Liberals were completely shut out of Alberta and Saskatchewan. It’s hard to be a prime minister for all the people when an entire region of the country didn’t elect a single MP from your party.
Then there is the most difficult part of it all: Trudeau lost the popular vote. There were more people who voted for the Conservatives than there were those who voted Liberal. It just happened that the seat breakdown came out in Trudeau’s favour.
These are all recipes for a divided Canada, right? Sure, in some sense. And we don’t doubt the politicians — despite saying otherwise — are going to do things that ramp up these divisions.
But here’s the thing: Canadians in their day-to-day lives aren’t radicals or partisans. They’ve got more in common than all of the above suggests.
Canadians are good-natured and moderate people who are able to find common cause with their neighbours and even complete strangers. When we talk about Canadian politeness, or hanging out at the Tim Hortons, or enjoying a good hockey game, everyone knows what we’re saying.
There are traits that ring true for all of us, regardless of whether we’re in the city or the country, east or west and regardless of who won our vote.
Our public policy divisions are real. Then again, so is what unites us!
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