Some amount of conflict is inherent to democracy — particularly so in a political system that prominently features His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. And hyperbole has probably existed for as long as humans have been able to communicate.

But has any Canadian politician in recent memory embraced rhetorical conflict as enthusiastically as Pierre Poilievre?

For the Conservative leader, there seems to be no such thing as overstatement. And he seems to feel it’s almost always worth going on the attack.

  • Sundial@lemm.ee
    21·
    6 days ago

    Instead of being chastened, Poilievre and his fellow Conservatives embraced the term to describe policies and ideas with which they disagree. (After not being used more than three times in the House in any given year between 1994 and 2023, the word “wacko” has so far been uttered 79 times in the House in 2024.)

    This right here is their goal. They copied the GOP handbook to cater to the outrage of people and normalize personal attacks without actually standing for anything yourself.