A Change in the Wind

 

I don’t necessarily have a great sense of the mood of the nation. But I think I detect a change in tone in the legacy media coverage of the protests around Canada this weekend. City News and Global do not seem to be so openly editorializing against the protests. 

I suspect someone in the newsroom has woken up and realized they were sacrificing their credibility. It reminds me of when Jean-Marie Le Pen made it into the French presidential runoffs, and The Economist suddenly shifted from referring to him as “that thug” to “that wily old paratrooper.”

Like the Vicar of Bray, those in power stay in power by figuring out where the parade is heading, then cutting through side streets to the front.

The protests have only grown and spread since last weekend. The atmosphere is party-like. They have music, they’re giving out free food, they even have saunas. The protests sound like the cool place to be. Those complaining about them sound increasingly like cranks and killjoys. It’s brilliant, and reinforces their basic message of ending the interminable lockdowns.

Assuming the truckers win, Global News and City TV may be able to pivot in time. But it seems to me that it is too late for the Liberal government and Trudeau. He went all in. He wanted to make the unvaxxed scapegoats. By making it confrontational, he has painted the target, deservedly, on his own back. For the sake of social harmony, it is now evidently he who has to go. Nor can Chrystia Freedland take over. She is too much his creature, and too identified with his anti-trucker stance, to be able to replace him under these circumstances.

Others who bet heavily against the protests and stand to lose badly: the Ottawa police chief; the CBC; GoFundMe; Doug Ford. The Ottawa mayor would be on this list, but he is not running again.