The convoy has moved on. The challenge of extreme populism remains.
It’s a long-term challenge both for Canada’s democracy and its political leadership — one that was apparent long before the trucks laid siege to the streets of downtown Ottawa.
On February 17, 2017 — five years to the day before he stood in the House of Commons and opened debate on his government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the St. Matthew’s Day Banquet, an elegant, centuries-old event held annually in Hamburg, Germany.
A year earlier, Donald Trump had become president of the United States. Shortly thereafter,
