I was on my way out of a Superstore parking lot when a white Honda sedan decorated with an array of colourful bumper stickers caught my eye. I did a double take, and motivated by curiosity, changed my route out of the lot in order to get a better look. As I passed the car, I recognized a handful of familiar icons – a Black Lives Matter fist, Andy Everson’s Every Child Matters emblem, and a rainbow flag adorned the space around the British Columbia licence plate. However, the stickers that really drew my attention were two identical blue rectangles that both read “Harris Walz 2024.”
While I turned onto the busy highway, it was as if those two stickers had transferred themselves off the trunk of the car and glued themselves to the front of my brain. I waited in front of a yield sign while memories from the last American election season began to bubble up in my head. Images of golf carts in my rural Albertan hometown decked out with “Trump 2020” flags that were nearly bigger than the carts themselves paraded through my mind. As recently as this summer, I can recall spotting people in the grocery store proudly sporting bright red “Make America Great Again” hats.
However, it is not only the random strangers I encounter in my day-to-day life who seem to take such an interest in American politics. In everyday conversation both on and off campus, I have noticed more excitement surrounding the goings-on in the US compared to practically anything that happens in Canada. For example, the outrage over Alberta premier Danielle Smith’s proposed legislation to severely restrict gender affirming care for people under 18 died out much quicker amongst Canadians I spoke to at the time than the ridicule of Donald Trump’s claims that Haitian immigrants were eating people’s pets in Ohio. Flags bearing the anti-Biden administration slogan, “Let’s Go Brandon,” were spotted in Ottawa at the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest. In the midst of a provincial election campaign, it seems hard to focus on updates regarding the upcoming BC candidates over the roar of American discourse.
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1 Sidhu, Ina. (2024, January 31). Danielle Smith unveils Alberta’s proposed guidelines on parental consent, gender affirming care rules. Global News. Link
Chances are, the people from my hometown and the owner of the car in the Superstore parking lot cannot vote in American elections. This thought came to me and my mind returned to a question that I have been pondering since the last United States presidential election: why are Canadians so enamoured with what happens in America? Are Canadian politics really that boring? Is it because the political puppet show of our southern neighbours simply makes good entertainment, or is our fascination rooted in something deeper?
We should start this investigation by looking within our own borders. Much to the dismay of concerned citizens and political scientists alike, voter turnout in Canadian elections and politics has been decreasing significantly since the beginning of the century. The average voter turnout in Canadian national elections in the 20th century was 72.8%, meaning that just slightly under three-quarters of the eligible voting population went out to the polls over the 30 elections held that century. Since 2000, the voter turnout has decreased nearly 10%, with an average turnout in the past eight elections sitting at 63%.3 The most common reason across all age groups for voter apathy? Not being interested in politics. This would suggest that Canadian politics really are “boring,” but is that actually the case?
Canadian politics are characterised by a severe lack of chaos that we can see in the States. It would be easy to call this quality of government “boring,” but I disagree. Plus, it really should go without saying that a “boring” or uneventful political scene is not a bad thing. This is easy for me to say as a political science student with an interest in Canadian government and society, but having a rather mellow political scene in comparison to the United States is something worth finding relief in.
Of course, this is not to say that Canada is free of political mishaps and shortcomings. A large issue with Canadian politics is that action takes a long time to happen, meaning bills take forever to pass and the style of our government only slows the process. The bureaucratic system for passing bills through parliament is long and rather uninteresting to the average citizen. Furthermore, Canada has a long history of neglecting Indigenous peoples from coast to coast and continues to place calls for clean drinking water and better funded education on the back burner in the House of Commons. This is all to say that the country we live, study, and play in should not get a get-out-of-jail-free card simply for not being as politically intense as the United States.
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2 Neustaeter, Brooklyn. (2022, February 5.) Trump calls Trudeau ‘far-left lunatic,’ expresses support for convoy. CTV News. Link
3 Elections Canada. (2024, September 10). Voter Turnout at Federal Elections and Referendums. Link
4 Statistics Canada. (2022, February 16). Reasons for not voting in the federal election, September 20, 2021. Link
As for why Canucks are so invested in the political dealings of America, there is one unavoidable and obvious truth — the aftershocks of huge political decisions, such as a federal election, will be felt by Canadians whether we like it or not. From trade policy or human rights, everything in American politics has a sneaky way of slinking into Canadian legislatures. Historically speaking, the Canadian obsession with American politics and policy is nothing new. In fact, a large basis for Canadian Confederation was centred around fear of invasion following the American Civil War. At a conference in Washington in 1969, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau described Canada’s proximity to the United States as “like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even tempered is the beast… one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”
Flash forward to today, and it is no secret that the United States and Canada share a unique political bond. Our nations collaborate on international security, are each other’s largest trading partners, and claim to work together to resist climate change, eliminate barriers for persons with disabilities, and end systemic discrimination, although this latter assertion is largely up for debate amongst citizens in both nations.
According to data collected by The Phoenix News, most participants (69%) said they were more up-to-date with American politics than Canadian politics (31%). When asked why, there were two standout responses that make up considerable aspects of our everyday life; media outlets cover America much more than Canada, and American politicians use internet trends and content as a method of campaigning.
The latter is a huge factor in the ways in which American politicians appeal to first-time voters at such an important hour in the nation’s history. Just one look at the Kamala HQ TikTok account and you will find endless content that combines typical political rhetoric with trending audios and videos that make the campaign more entertaining for young adults who will be marking a ballot for the first time this November. However, for people living outside of the States, this is just one more way in which local politics are drowned out. Curated algorithms combined with American hegemony make for a perfect storm when it comes to echo chambers of endless election content.
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5 Esquega, L. (2024, March 1). First Nations that have gone years without clean drinking water hope compensation signals a ‘new dawn.’ CBC News. Link
6 Waite, P.B. (2019, October 29). Confederation. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Link
7 CBC. (1969, March 25). Pierre Trudeau’s Washington Press Club speech in 1969. [Video]. CBC Archives. Link
8 Kamala HQ. [@kamalahq]. (n.d.). Providing context. [TikTok profile]. TikTok. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from Link
On a darker note, the United States is currently experiencing its highest rates of political violence since the 1970s. It is not difficult to conjure up real-life memories of this spike. Recently, the two attempts on former president and current Republican candidate Donald Trump’s life in the past six months have made international headlines. Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was attacked with a hammer by a Canadian conspiracy theorist in October 2022. Of course, no one can forget about the January 6th 2021 Capitol Insurrection that left nine people dead and injured about 150 officers.
This type of violence is rarely ever seen in Canada, but that does not mean it is not rising as well. Former Alberta environment minister and MLA, Shannon Phillips, a popular female politician that represented the district I attended high school in, recently stepped down from her position due to harassment from police officers in the city of Lethbridge, Alberta. Liberal MP, Pam Damoff, who represents the Ontario constituency of Oakville North-Burlington declared that she will not be running for reelection after experiencing misogyny, disrespect, and death threats. Elected officials across the nation are beginning to recognize the ever-growing threat of violence within our borders.
I would be lying if I said I did not seriously enjoy keeping up with American politics, in part because it is exciting, and partly because it feels as though there is an endless amount of content to read, statements to watch, and podcasts to listen to. A major part of my morning routine is listening to the newest episode of The Daily from the New York Times, and I enjoy watching debates and keeping up with polls. However, this also means that I extend an effort to find Canadian media and data that affects my life more closely, ensuring that I keep enough local influence to stop American authority infiltrating my own media consumption.
Coming from a political science student, Canadian politics really are not that boring. Rather, they are merely overpowered by the polarized cacophony of our neighbours. It is admittedly hard to drown out the noise of American politics, and finding information about recent policy decisions and everyday happenings on every level of government in Canada requires a lot more digging that frankly, the ordinary Canadian is not willing to do. This is honestly disheartening to someone such as myself. It is incredibly unfortunate that the decisions happening that affect Canadians and those living in Canada every single day are overshadowed by the sleeping elephant beside us.
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9 Parker, N. and Eisler, P. (2023, August 9). Political Violence in Polarized U.S. at its worst since 1970s. Reuters. Link
10 Debusmann, B. Jr. (2024, May 17). Paul Pelosi attacker sentenced to 30 years in prison. BBC News. Link
11 Cameron, C. (2022, January 5). These Are the People Who Died in Connection With The Capitol Riot. The New York Times. Link
12 Markusoff, J. (2024, June 10). Shannon Phillips targeted climate and parks action. Then she got targeted. The NDPer is now leaving office. CBC News. Link
13 CBC News. (2024, May 1). Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny. CBC News. Link
14 Paas-Lang, C. (2024, July 15). Canada reflects on its history of political violence in wake of attack on Trump. CBC News. Link
This makes it our responsibility as people living in Canada to go slightly out of our way to find news that may not be spoon-fed to us. Staying up-to-date with American media is not a bad thing, and by no means am I attempting to dissuade you from keeping informed on important issues. It is harder as a Canadian to seek out information and make informed decisions in an environment so heavily influenced by America. However, it is up to us to be able to stay informed on problems that we can play a part in changing within our own borders.
According to another set of data collected by The Phoenix, only 37% of participants claimed that they would know who to vote for if a federal election were to be held tomorrow. I know that some people who read this article may feel the same way. Changing this is up to you. As someone who intends to make this topic a focal point of my future, my wish for Canadians is as such: stay connected to your communities. Seek out both like-minded people and people who differ from you ideologically in order to challenge your perspective and learn new things. Avoid echo chambers. Become an informed citizen by making the effort to engage yourself in politics that you can directly make a difference in. A democracy is upheld through citizen participation — make an effort to be a part of it.
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