GOLDSTEIN: Spare us the hollow ‘patriotism’ of the federal Liberals

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For the Liberals to portray themselves as “Team Canada” in this federal election displays a level of shameless hypocrisy, given how they sneered at Canadians during  their decade in power.

Led by a self-righteous and hypocritical Justin Trudeau — who took every opportunity to bash Canada, Canadians, our institutions and history — they are in no position now to don the mantle of ginned up patriots because they have a new leader in Mark Carney and an election ad with Mike Myers touting their mutual love for Canada.

Where were the Liberals when Trudeau, shortly after winning the 2015 election that brought him to power, bizarrely boasted to the New York Times that, “there is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada” making us “the first post-national state?”

If Canada has “no core identity” and “no mainstream,” then what are they talking about preserving when they claim they are in the best position to fight a tariff war against U.S. President Donald Trump?

It’s certainly not based on their economic record.

As Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies for the Fraser Institute writing in The Hub last year noted, real GDP per capita in Canada during the Trudeau era  — a widely accepted measure of a nation’s prosperity — rose by a mere 1.9%,  compared to 14.7% in the U.S. during the same period.

The Liberals’ decade-long failure to increase productivity and business investment through their anti-business, anti-energy agenda has severely weakened Canada’s ability to take on Trump in a tariff war today.

Instead, they obsessed over identity politics.

When critics pointed out that the Liberals’ massive increases to Canada’s immigration levels would raise the cost of living, reduce housing affordability and put already beleaguered public services such as health care under additional stress — Trudeau and Co. accused them of racism.

This despite the fact the government had been warned by its own public servants this would happen, which it ignored.
Eventually even Trudeau had to admit it their policy was a disastrous mistake — after the economic damage it caused had already happened.

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Asked whether Canada should reassess its relationship with the monarchy in light of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle alleging racism in the Royal family in 2021, Trudeau turned his answer into an attack on Canadian institutions.

“There are many institutions that we have in this country, including that big building right across the street from us, Parliament, that has and is built around a system of colonialism, or discrimination or systemic racism.”

This coming from a prime minister who couldn’t remember how many times he wore racist blackface prior to entering politics (so committed to it that for Trudeau it was more like blackbody).

When Time magazine uncovered during the 2019 federal election that Trudeau had done so as a teacher at a private school in Vancouver, Trudeau responded that his white privilege prevented him from knowing blackface was racist.

Seriously? At the age of 29, in 2001 — when the incident occurred — Trudeau didn’t know blackface was racist? That beggars belief.

Accusing Canadians who disagree with them of racism and other evil intentions is ingrained in the Liberals’ DNA going back decades.

In 2001, Liberal MP Hedy Fry, then minister of state for multiculturalism, falsely accused people living in Prince George, B.C. of burning KKK crosses on their lawns.

In 1991, then Liberal MP Sheila Copps compared Preston Manning to former KKK leader David Duke.

Gift the Liberals another majority government in 2025, and it will happen all over again.