Trudeau abandoning the Jewish state has nothing to do with principles
What happened to Canadian youth’s love-in with the Conservative Party? Last month, Gen Z couldn’t get enough of the Tories: an Abacus poll taken in late November found that 36 per cent of voters aged 18-29 would vote Conservative, compared to 24 per cent who would vote Liberal. This month, the bloom is off the rose: the latest Abacus poll shows Conservative voters bleeding to the Liberals in all age categories, but most noticeably among 18-29 year olds. Today, only 24 per cent of them would vote Conservative, compared to 32 per cent who would vote Liberal, a near total reversal.
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One poll an election does not make, but the numbers are still concerning for the Opposition. Overall, the Tories are now at 37 per cent of the popular vote, down five per cent, while the Liberals garner 27 per cent, up by four per cent. Momentum matters, and there is fear in Conservative circles that the party could peak too early. Thanks to the NDP propping up the minority Liberal government, the election could still be a year away — and in a year, anything can happen.
But why the sudden slide? Polls don’t happen in a vacuum, so what have our politicians done in the past few weeks to change the public mood? On the surface, it’s been much of the same. The Conservatives slammed the government about housing and inflation, the number one concern of voters, and in particular, young voters. They filibustered the government on the carbon tax, a levy that is highly unpopular. Meanwhile, the Liberals trotted out a grocery code of conduct that was rejected by the big players, while the NDP tried to remain relevant.
But there is also the Israel-Hamas War. On that front, the Prime Minister called for Israel to exercise “maximum restraint” and “stop killing … babies”, while the Conservatives defended Israel’s right to exist and decried the rise in antisemitism and hate crimes against Canadian Jews. “It was easy to be pro-Israel when this first happened and its much harder now, and now we see who (the Liberals) really are,” said deputy Conservative leader, Melissa Lantsman earlier this month.
The war is not confined to newsfeeds and political clips. It has bled onto university campuses, raged through our streets, and caused mayhem in shopping malls. Young people are hyper-aware of its existence: even my 14-year-old daughter complains that propaganda is leaking into her art-focused Instagram feed. And it is overwhelmingly anti-Israel.
A Muslim friend of mine, nameless at her request, has a theory about how this is impacting the Canadian youth vote. She believes that the Conservatives’ support for Israel has caused cognitive dissonance in young voters. Her children’s friends are angry about the party’s pro-Israel stance. “They were with (Conservative leader) Pierre (Poilievre) on inflation,” she says, “but they’re not with him on this. Young people are all about justice. They believe what is happening to the Palestinians is unjust, and so they are switching back to the Liberals.”
Polling bears this out. In September, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, (the same group, incidentally, whose leadership claimed that Israel, not Hamas, killed hundreds of young people at the Nova music festival), commissioned a study by EKOS research which found that one in two Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 perceive Israel as a state with segregation similar to apartheid. In contrast, only 39 per cent of voters aged 45 to 54 held this perspective, while a mere 29 per cent of those aged 55 to 64 shared this view. Another study by Angus Reid, done in November about the Israel-Hamas war, found that women aged 18- to 34-years-old are the most likely demographic to sympathize with the Palestinian side, while men older than 54 are the most likely to side with Israel.
When Poilievre says “Our approach won’t please everybody, but at least we’re honest with people about where we stand,” he is right. The challenge isn’t just about getting votes, however, but countering the anti-western propaganda that has turned young people’s heads. And that’s a project that will take much, much longer than one election.
Postmedia News
Tasha Kheiriddin is Postmedia’s national politics columnist.
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Tasha Kheiriddin: Anti-Israel propaganda is everywhere and the Liberals are benefitting
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19.12.2023
Trudeau abandoning the Jewish state has nothing to do with principles
What happened to Canadian youth’s love-in with the Conservative Party? Last month, Gen Z couldn’t get enough of the Tories: an Abacus poll taken in late November found that 36 per cent of voters aged 18-29 would vote Conservative, compared to 24 per cent who would vote Liberal. This month, the bloom is off the rose: the latest Abacus poll shows Conservative voters bleeding to the Liberals in all age categories, but most noticeably among 18-29 year olds. Today, only 24 per cent of them would vote Conservative, compared to 32 per cent who would vote Liberal, a near total reversal.
Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.
Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Don't have an account? Create Account
One poll an election does not make, but the numbers are still concerning for the Opposition. Overall, the Tories are now at 37 per cent of the popular vote, down five per cent, while the Liberals garner 27 per cent, up by four per cent. Momentum matters, and there is fear in Conservative circles that the party could peak too early. Thanks to the NDP propping up the minority Liberal government, the election could still be a year away — and in a year, anything can happen.
But........
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