I'm seeing some more references about "sore loser-ism" and how Conservatives are now convincing themselves that their large rallies in Pentiction (3,000) and Edmonton (15,000) must mean Poilievre actually has the election in the bag.
They think the polls showing Carney and the Liberals ahead by double digits must be rigged, but they think the massive Conservative voter turnout they are anticipating will make the election "too big to rig".
And when Poilieve loses the election, they will think the Liberals cheated.
(Even though Poilievre himself is the only party leader in this election who had to sign an Elections Canada compliance agreement in 2017 because he had broken election rules as a cabinet minister when he got cutesy at a government funding announcement.)
So I thought it might be useful to bring a little more attention to this issue.
Last night, I posted Dan Gardner's ominous note:
Here are some remarks about the "too big to rig" delusion:
(Even though Poilievre himself is the only party leader in this election who had to sign an Elections Canada compliance agreement in 2017 because he had broken election rules as a cabinet minister when he got cutesy at a government funding announcement.)
So I thought it might be useful to bring a little more attention to this issue.
Last night, I posted Dan Gardner's ominous note:
When does “Too Big To Rig” change to “Stop The Steal!”?
— Sneaky Jiggly 🇨🇦 (@JigglyPants44) April 8, 2025
I've been saying since day one this will happen. “Too big to Rig” is just the beginning. Pierre’s ego wont let him concede and it'll spin out of control, clownvoy 2.0. Love to see a reporter ask him if he'll concede if he loses. He’ll be doing rallies still and selling merch.
— Chief Cheemu (@ChiefCheemu) April 9, 2025
Some interesting commentary:Pierre Poilievre new slogan is - His Rallies are "Too Big To Rig"
— theREALGTLem 林 家 聰 🇨🇦 (@gtlem) April 8, 2025
Which leads me to believe that the Conservative will claim election interference & fraud was the reason they lost c @Red_Toryism
Susan Delacourt / Toronto Star
Western secessionists play into Donald Trump’s hands when they embrace his sore loser approach to electionsJared Wesley / Decoding Politics
...There is a real danger that Manning is whipping up some Albertans to believe that the election will not be legitimate unless it produces a result they want. You know who else has toyed with illegitimacy allegations in a free and fair democracy? Yes, as with so many things in this election, it leads back to Donald Trump.
If Trump wasn’t floating his annexation fantasies, the threat of Western secession could be filed away as an unwelcome warning how a Liberal victory will be received — sore-loser discontent, you might call it.
But Trump has his eyes on Canada for a reason — resources and energy to fuel his promised “golden age,” and Alberta has a lot of those things. Trump may even be happier to only get the parts of Canada that are useful to him, and not have to bother with large swaths of the country opposed to his politics and policies.
That may sound, to borrow Carney’s phrase, “dramatic.” It remains true, however, that this brand of secession talk runs the danger of playing right into Trump’s hands and there seems to be general agreement in this election that what’s good for this U.S. president is bad news for this country.
Western DefeatismLisa Young / What now?!? An Alberta Politics newsletter
A Real Threat to Conservative Fortunes and National Unity
...Some Conservative leaders in the West are refusing to do the hard work of building bridges across provinces. Instead, they are undermining national institutions, elevating regional grievances, and offering what we might call performative disengagement. The tactic may win headlines and satisfy the base, but it weakens the broader Conservative project at a critical moment in our country’s history.
This is especially striking when contrasted with their approach to the United States. While Western Conservatives like Smith advocate for quiet diplomacy and pragmatic cooperation with Washington—even with Donald Trump—they reserve only bombast and brinkmanship for Ottawa and the rest of Canada. Their failure to apply the same diplomatic principles domestically reveals a selective and self-defeating approach to intergovernmental relations. It also endangers the Conservative party nationally.
Rather than unifying Conservatives across Canada, Western premiers are proposing policies that isolate their provinces and undermine national cohesion...
The politics of threat may serve short-term strategic goals like feeding the base, but they do long-term damage to the federation and to the Conservative Party. They replace trust with suspicion and democratic cooperation with zero-sum posturing. None of those are helpful for nation- or party-building.
If Canada’s Conservative leaders are serious about winning (and governing), they must do more than win the West. They must stay engaged in the federation, even when it’s frustrating.
Especially when it’s frustrating.
Loser's Consent
A refresher for those who need it
...A peculiar manifestation of loser’s consent is the reaction of some Alberta conservatives to the election of successive federal Liberal governments. They are not the losers, formally, but they feel that the election of the Liberals is a defeat for their province...
There is a great deal of pent-up frustration in Alberta, and Smith and Manning are actively trying to channel it into action that would distract the federal government from focusing on the profound economic and political threats the United States now poses.
And, unlike in 2019, Alberta separatists can expect to find support (moral, financial, and otherwise) from the White House. The prospect of leaving tariff-stricken Canada and joining the glorious Americans would hold appeal for some Albertans. We are, I fear, the weakest link in Confederation.
Assuming that Smith does not imagine herself as Governor of the 51st state, her demands and threats may be a negotiating stance. A credible threat of secession, in this view, strengthens Alberta’s hand to demand pipelines in all directions and an end to the scourge of un-Albertan paper straws.
Ironically, Trump’s actions have made the rest of Canada much more open to Smith’s policy agenda. They have opened what the public policy folks call “a policy window” - a set of events that create the possibility to gain acceptance for a policy. Instead of walking up to the window, Smith has decided to light the house on fire.
And that brings us back to loser’s consent. One of the great challenges of living in a democracy is accepting a loss. Threatening to leave because your favoured party did not win is anti-democratic, whether it’s done in advance of the election or in its aftermath. Albertans need to insist that their elected officials strengthen democracy by accepting the outcome of the election, whatever it is.
The second component of loser’s consent is being willing to play again next time. This underlines for us the beauty of Canada’s functioning democracy. There will be a next time. As the Americans are showing us, this is not something we should take for granted or abandon in a fit of pique.
A Letter For American FriendsIt's not you. It's Trump. And if we're being honest, it's not an entirely bad thing.Want to know how Canada is feeling?
For years, the mood of rural, mostly conservative Canadians was easily read on the flags and signs they displayed alongside the highways that wind through the endless forests of central Ontario. “Fuck Trudeau,” they read. But former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is gone now, and so are the old messages. In their place is a new sentiment: “Fuck Trump,” one sign reads. “Fuck the USA. Elbows up!”
I know what you’re thinking, my American friends. Such language! Aren’t Canadians supposed to be nice and polite? Six months ago, perhaps....
You can thank Donald Trump for this violation of national stereotype.
We Canadians should probably thank him, too. I’m old enough to remember Gordie Howe’s elbows and what I am seeing among my fellow Canadians is a mood unlike any in my lifetime. We are furious. We are determined. And thanks to the man in the Oval Office, we may be more united than at any time since the Royal Canadian Air Force dropped bombs on Hitler. It is gobsmacking, wonderful.
And no one saw it coming....
Read the whole thing - its really good!
2 comments:
There are way too many Cons in Alberta and Saskatchewan. First Past the Post will deliver a Liberal Majority. Last election the Cons received more votes and less seats. Winning seats in the Prairies by thousands of votes has a bit of disadvantage.
Yes the term I've seen is "vote inefficiency" - the CPC gets unneeded votes in Alberta but not enough elsewhere . Then again they benefit when the progressive parties "split" the vote in other ridings and allow the conservative to win.
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