Pierre Trudeau was once considered the most divisive prime minister in Canada’s history. His National Energy Policy, Charter of Rights and centralization of power remain controversial to this day. But, underneath his contrived swashbuckling image was a man of substance. He fought tooth and nail against Quebec separatism, succeeding in keeping the country together when it could have been swept away, landing in the arms of the US. He passionately believed in one Canada.His prodigal son however, is much more divisive and a greater danger to the country’s unity as he practices the politics of divide and conquer. Trudeau Jr. and his closest advisors are experts in Machiavellian politics. Machiavelli believed that in politics there are no morals and that a leader must do whatever it takes to win. He believed in the art of manipulation to gain friends and allies. “One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived,” he stated.Trudeau swept into office with great fanfare, featured in Vogue magazine posing with his wife, promising a new era of collaborative federal leadership. His handsome face seduced the nation and Canadians believed they would have their very own Camelot. After eight tumultuous years in power, the country’s Camelot has become a fool’s paradise riddled with scandal and incompetence and saddled with huge debts, increasing crime, a cost of living crisis and greater division.Trudeau’s divide-and-conquer tactics are best illustrated in how he handled two significant protests during COVID-19. Against the advice of public health professionals, he went out to meet and greet BLM protesters and was the first Western leader to "take a knee." He said at the time: “The reality is that many people in this country do not feel protected by the police. In fact, they’re afraid of them.”But, when 5,000 blue collar truckers rolled into Ottawa, some carrying copies of the Charter of Rights, the prime minister refused to meet the protesters. Instead, he lashed out at them as "racists, white supremacists, misogynists, haters.” Then he and his family were whisked away to a secret location to make it appear that their lives were in danger. Matters were made worse when he invoked The Emergencies [War Measures] Act, suspending people's civil liberties, freezing bank accounts and destroying livelihoods.He then leveraged the manufactured crisis, by making it a wedge issue, calling an unnecessary election in the middle of a pandemic, costing taxpayers $600 million and in which having lost the trust of Canadians, Trudeau's Liberals won a minority government.But, creating a common enemy is the most effective way to keep people divided and Trudeau uses western energy to do it. His government has axed pipeline expansion and implemented more onerous environmental regulations. Now they are battling Alberta again insisting that the province must implement a carbon-neutral power grid by 2035. Premier Danielle Smith has rejected the federal government’s heavy-handed approach and asked for a more realistic 2050 timetable. Smith has stated that "Ottawa’s dangerous and unconstitutional electricity regulations" are exposing "Albertans to high costs, blackouts, and brownouts, but we are not and will continue to ensure Albertans are protected from these destructive and unconstitutional federal policies.” Saskatchewan’s Premier Scott Moe has said his province will stop collecting the carbon tax unless Ottawa offers his province the same carbon price exemption the Liberals have offered the Atlantic provinces where the Liberals hold a majority of seats. According to polls, a majority of Canadians don't support a carbon tax, especially at a time of high inflation and increasing unemployment.The Trudeau Liberals favour East versus West, us-versus-them politics to keep their power base in Quebec and Ontario and climate activists in the cities on their side. They want to demonstrate they are prepared to end fossil fuel reliance and replace them with a Green paradise that the liberal elites dream of.The Liberals will continue to play wedge politics and attempt to trap the Conservatives into making mistakes on highly sensitive issues such as gender, race, indigenous rights and the war in Ukraine. They define, then take what they think is the high moral ground and are intolerant of any debate.The recent kerfuffle with the Conservatives for opposing a free trade agreement with Ukraine is a case in point. The Conservatives opposed the agreement on principle, as they could not agree to a carbon tax for Ukraine when they staunchly opposed it in Canada. Trudeau decided to play the environmental card to booby-trap the Conservatives and it worked. After weeks of negative Liberal media coverage, legacy media put Pierre Poilievre in the spotlight and Trudeau pounced: "The rise of right wing MAGA influence has made the Conservative party turn their back during Ukraine’s hour of need. That is the danger of right wing influence that is feeling its impact in Canada, " Trudeau said.The media establishment went on the attack, led by the CBC and Toronto Star; Poilievre was crucified on the Ukraine carbon tax and no one bothered to explain that as billions are sent to the Ukraine, Canada's military budget is being cut. With its increasing government subsidies, the media industry has become the Ministry of Truth for the Liberal government.A recent poll conducted by Ipsos Research indicates that three out of four Canadians want Trudeau to step down. A Nanos poll shows Pierre Poilievre has extended his lead over Trudeau to 19 points and is in majority territory. The numbers are so bad that it could produce a liberal crack-up during the next election decimating the party for years to come.That potential crack-up has Liberal party insiders formulating dangerous strategies such as taking highly-toxic US politics and applying them to Canada by painting the Conservative party as MAGA supporters which will likely become their strategy during the next election.Vancouver-based Liberal MP Ken Hardie tweeted about a shooting that left four people dead in Winnipeg and said it was “beyond troubling” and asked if it was connected to a “burn everything down attitude creeping in from the United States. He mentioned Pierre Poilievre's name and linked him as a reason for the killings. He was forced to apologize but still stated, “his post was meant to plant a seed with a series of questions to confront the attitude of the Conservative party, which he believes is creating an environment where people feel hopeless.”In sum, Trudeau will never stop dividing Canadians as it keeps everyone distracted from his government’s record of failure. His politics of divide and conquer risks permanently damaging the country’s unity and prosperity. The vitriol between the Federal government and provinces has never been more pronounced and the country’s GDP continues to shrink while deficits rise."There, where I have passed, the grass will never grow again,” said the conqueror Attila the Hun. The Trudeau liberals have burned the grass so badly that it will take years of competent political nourishment to get the country back on the right track. It will have to start by kicking to the curb Trudeau and his band of liberal misfits.
