The mood out there

Two national columnists have returned to the news pages after extended travels within Canada this summer --  the Star's own Chantal Hebert and the National Post's Don Martin. 

Both, interestingly enough, have columns today signalling a general sense of unease with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government. Is this what happens when you get out of Ottawa? And by the way, if you want some statistical backup to their columns (though I know stats are so out this summer), take a look at this Canadian Press story on what people are telling focus groups about the Harper message-control machine. 

I've done a bit of roaming outside the Ottawa bubble this summer, but it's mainly been with the Liberal Express, Michael Ignatieff's summer-long tour of the country. Granted, this is a bit of a bubble itself -- mainly the crowds consist of committed Liberals. But what I've heard generally backs up the observations of Hebert and Martin. 

Several Liberal riding presidents, for instance, have told me that if Ignatieff had attempted this tour a few months ago, they wouldn't have been able to muster up enough people to justify a stop on the journey. They say that the G8 may have been the tipping point, but this whole year of damn-the-critics, on abortion, census, gun control, etc., are waking up complacent voters. 

  I've spoken to more than a few Liberals who have a vague sense that enough's enough -- it's time to stop bitching and whining about internal party pettiness and start thinking about the bigger picture. (You'd be surprised to hear how much pettiness is out there -- I'm pretty sure that it's a legacy of Liberals' never-ending obsession with leadership battles, dating back to the 1980s. But that's another story.) 

In his off-the-cuff speeches to the crowds, Ignatieff is getting the biggest applause when he talks about democracy and Harper's limits on it. One woman in the St. Catharines area told me that when she's been trying to round up people to come and hear Ignatieff,  people's ears prick up when she invites them to compare Ignatieff's come-one-come-all approach to Harper's highly controlled public settings. "Would you ever see Stephen Harper allowing people to ask any question they wanted to ask?" she says, and this seems to elicit nods of agreement. The image (and the cost) of the $1-billion security lockdown in Toronto during the G8 is also proving to be a vivid visual aid to the point Ignatieff is making on the road. 

Like Chantal, I am only reporting impressions here. For the most part, I think that people are disengaged from politics, and those that I've met wouldn't be disposed to saying anything good about Harper anyway. But it is my impression that a cumulative narrative is building up out there about a government that doesn't seem to like the citizens it's supposed to represent. Four and a half years of sneering and anger at any hint of criticism and  the strict controls on free speech are taking their toll. 

Comments

[DavisKag]

Could you be any more biased? Is not journalism supposed to look at both sides of every equation and present an OBJECTIVE view?

[Bob Larocque]

I think the anti Harper feeling has been around since the first prorogration but the people in the Ottawa bubble are just starting to notice it. Finally the media is starting to challenge the crap and arrogance that ministers like Stockwell Day and Tony Clement have been dishing out for years. Now go after Baird and Van Loonie.

[anonlinereader]

Mood out there ? The Canadian Press -" Tory messaging frustrates public, leaving them in dark ...... " NOT TRUE ! No census needed as we live here not in a bubble .

Economic miracle ? Part time workers in the dark ? No we fully realize every Canadian can't work full time at exporting Alberta oil or B.C. bud . We also realize these exports keep our dollar strong .

Who needs reform alliance messaging ? I just wish political parties would pay for their own M.P.s .

( " An investigation by The Canadian Press revealed in June that MEPs are being used across the federal government to literally script words uttered by cabinet ministers and lowly backbenchers as well as screen media requests for interviews with public servants who have expert knowledge of government policy." )

[john g]

So your sense of unease about Harper is coming mainly from other journalists, the Canadian Press, and lots of Liberals as you ride the Liberal express. Oh, and you work at the Toronto Star

I'm shocked. Shocked I tell you.

[Harper fan (really)]

Susan Delacourt, why don't you love the troops?

[BC Voice of Reason]

How large of crowds Has Mr. Ignatieff been drawing that there has been an increase in anti-Harper support " to muster up enough people to justify a stop on the journey"??

I have hear the big crowds have been 100-150. An unbiased media would report crowd counts for each stop.

[Matt]

It's an amazing juxtaposition to see Harper holed up at his cottage, never taking any unscripted questions from media or regular Canadians while Ignatieff is out there taking questions from anyone on any subject. Aside from whether you agree with the substance of what each is saying (or not saying), it's a drastic difference in style and it says a lot about each leader.

[hollinm]

Of course Susan would agree with anything negative said about Harper and the government. The fact remains is there is no election and it is summer time but if the media elites and the rest of the anti Harper crowd think that Canadians are going to throw out a government because they made a form voluntary versus mandatory upsetting a pile of academics or prorogued parliament for an extra 25 days then they did not get far enough out of the Ottawa bubble.
I hope Susan is enjoying her bus ride with the Liberal leader. At least she doesn't pretend to be balanced and unbiased.
There are only two choices in the next election for PM; the incumbent and the carpetbagger who came back to become PM after living outside the country for 34 years. The leadership polls show what Canadians think of Ignatieff and that will be what determines who wins the next election.
Happy busing Susan.

[Ontario Voter]

I was really amazed at how the MSM allowed Harper to get away with, first, proroguing to escape an inevitable no confidence vote, and then having the gall to mislead voters by pronouncing the coalition illegitimate and undemocratic. It was almost as if the MSM had been asleep at the switch or it was too intimidated to stand up to Harper. Had there been an outburst at that time, the unease with Harper could have come sooner. No matter. The MSM is finally awake and playing its role in waking up a complacent electorate.

[JamesHalifax]

Susan noted:
"and those that I've met wouldn't be disposed to saying anything good about Harper anyway."

To which I reply:
Susan, should it be any wonder you can't find anyone who is willing to say anything good about Harper? If one chooses to hang around Union Labour, socialists, Liberals, and other assorted wingnuts......how could you possibly find someone willing to say anything good about him.

Try this susan. Talk to REAL Canadians who pay their own way, work hard, obey the law, and don't spend inordinate amounts of time protesting or complaining about something. Try asking someone in the military, the police force, or owners of small businesses. I'm sure you'll be surprised.

[anonlinereader]

I am an ordinary Canadian that obeys Canadian law.

When I talk to my ordinary friends they marvel at how Harper spent $ 1 billion on G8 / 20 as reported by biased MSN . (really $ 1.8 billion)

When I read the biased Toronto Star I find the Harper PMO budget increased by $ 1 million for 2010 . ( actual $ 1.74 million increase )

When I read my Government PMO info alert I find Canada is buying new first attack fighters for $ 65 million each in 2014 . When I read the New York Times the same day I find the Pentagon 2010 price is $ 150 million for each first attack fighter .

Are you noticing a pattern here ?

[DJ]

I miss Chretien. He answered questions from the media regularly in unscripted, impromptu situations. I guess Harper can't handle the heat.

[Observant]

You forgot to mention this bombshell in the Ottawa SUN:

Quebec feasts on equalization payments

By L. IAN MACDONALD, QMI Agency - August 6, 2010

http://www.ottawasun.com/comment/columnists/l_ian_macdonald/2010/08/05/14936591.html
......................................................................

Since Quebec consistently elects ~50 BQ separatist MPs to the HoCs, it only represents about 25 federalist riding ... making it a small federalist province.

Only a Conservative majority gov't elected in 155+ ridings in the RoC (ex-Quebec) can neuter the disproportionate power and advantage of Quebec on the RoC. Perhaps this will be the last time Quebec get's it's $8.5 Billion gift from the RoC(mostly Alberta) .. ya think???

[Rod Croskery]

The funny thing about riding on that bus is that Michael Ignatieff comes across as an open, inviting person, the kind to allow a lot of bright lights to shine in a government under his leadership. To understand the Ignatieff phenomenon, look at the young politicians around him, at MPs like Kirsty Duncan and Mark Holland, for example. They will do an excellent job for Canadians for a very long time before they run out of ideas and energy.

[Rod Croskery]

Good to see you again, Susan. We've missed you.