Many a Canadian is casting an amused — maybe even fearful — eye south of the border at the shenanigans surrounding the U.S. presidential race.
Secure in the thought that they’re not as likely to be mowed down in a mass shooting, Canucks smugly think, “That could never happen here.”
But the ascent of a politician on the strength of baldfaced pandering — some might call it populism — to a disgruntled base is nothing new to Canada, though certainly to a lesser, and less racist, extreme.
The Stephen Harper government pandered to fear of terrorism in its court fight against allowing women who are Muslim to take the citizenship oath while wearing a niqab, if they so choose.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark has raised pandering to an art, always ready with a beaming smile and a photo opp.
And at the municipal level, drug-addicted former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford threw out meaningless numbers and promises like candy to kids lining a parade route and thousands of voters in his city responded.
So, yes, Canada, sadly, “that” could happen here.
