WHISSELL: When it comes to dealing with Woke, Premier Smith has a lesson or two for Doug Ford

Mavros Whissell is a Sudbury-based geologist and land technicianThe culture war that has so ensnared Canada for the last ten years has borne the deleterious effects of an ideology rightly called “woke.” Visit your nearest tent-city for proof.The goal of woke ideology is ostensibly to achieve equality of outcome in literally everything. The hidden implication is that this will end society as we know it.Woke policies push for DEI in private and public sectors, gender ideology in schools, and the abolishment of police, prisons and other institutions perceived as hierarchal. These woke policies purport to foster equity by eliminating the perceived oppression of minorities, in categories including class, race, and gender.The lexicon of the Trudeau Liberals suggests that Canada is being ideologically manipulated in a top-down, egalitarian manner. The Grits claim woke policies are supported by public opinion, but concomitantly dismiss popular suggestions they don’t like as overly “simple” or “populist”. The PM himself has made statements that could be interpreted as subverting Canadian institutions, such as when he made the grandiose assertion that, "systemic racism is an issue right across the country, in all our institutions, including in all our police forces, including in the RCMP."Trudeau also conceded that he saw the burning of more than 100 Christian churches across Canada as “understandable.” He took a knee in support of the extremist group Black Lives Matter, who were in part responsible for the violence, looting, and arson throughout the US during the George Floyd riots in 2020. He also stated unequivocally that “Transgender women are women,” while implying any dissenting opinions were “anti-transgender hate.”What is needed to answer Trudeau, and more importantly to address the woke ideology that will doubtless outlast him, are elected representatives that aren’t afraid to stand up to threats and cancel culture. In addition to that baseline requirement of courage, we also need politicians with a strong capacity for discernment.I’m thinking of Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith. She has as much intestinal fortitude as any Canadian can hope for, and that’s hard to find in today’s wildly varying brands of conservatism. Her value to everyday Albertans was originally realized in her leadership of the Wildrose Alliance. That upstart party was an answer to what former MLA Rob Anderson blasted as the “undemocratic” conduct of the Stelmach Tories. Alberta’s PCs abandoned their constituents in an increasingly depoliticized regime, not unlike the frustrating changes to the federal Conservatives under former leader Erin O’Toole, who brazenly claimed “this isn’t your father’s Conservative Party.” Premier Smith’s approach, restoring longstanding values using both brains and brawn, is essential for any politician hoping to combat woke ideology. It’s a balancing act that requires nuance.Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford, on the other hand, is another example of what can happen when someone claiming to espouse conservative values gets choked by the weeds of wokeness.When Ford ran for his Premiership in 2018, he promised Ontarians he was going to remove gender ideology from schools. This was part of the reason he defeated the woke Ontario Liberals — responsible for that gender ideology — under Kathleenn Wynne. Despite his good fortune, Ford then followed up his election promise by effectively doing nothing about it.The rhetoric has since returned. In 2023, Ford claimed that he was in favour of parents’ rights over children’s pronouns. “It’s not up to the teachers,” he bellowed at Scarborough’s FordFest. “It’s not up to the school boards who indoctrinate our kids.” Promising words, but they fell flat. Ford’s bravado was immediately curtailed with a retraction that his government “was not exploring any legislative changes to obligate schools to inform parents of how a student identifies.”Danielle Smith’s ascension to premier was perhaps even more dramatic than Ford’s, considering she nearly disappeared into obscurity in 2014. Now, Smith has made a name for herself across Canada through initiatives such as incisively addressing gender ideology, implementing policy for the care of children while also limiting ideological influence pushing for irreversible decisions (like double mastectomies). Her approach is gutsy and substantive. Nothing like the hot air in Ontario these days. Smith hasn’t always gotten it right, but her efficacy, fueled by a courageous and clever approach, is a winning counter to the woke ideology.Mavros Whissell is a Sudbury-based geologist and land technician.

WHISSELL: When it comes to dealing with Woke, Premier Smith has a lesson or two for Doug Ford

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