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Jared Wesley Profile picture
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Oct 12 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
I have sad news for a lot of you on #ableg:

If Justin Trudeau is your prime minister, Danielle Smith is your premier. And vice versa.

Failure to accept this basic fact is to deny a core tenet of our democracy: losers' consent. 🧵
Lack of losers' consent was at the heart of the convoy movement.
The left used to admonish the right for denigrating this basic rule: you lose, you accept the result.
Now, many on the left are committing the same democratic sin by refusing to accept Smith as their legitimate leader.
"But #NotMyPremier is just a hashtag. Get over it, professor." It's more than that.

By dismissing the legitimacy of your opponent, you are also giving into the dark forces of factionalism (or "tribalism").
You may not *like* that Smith is your premier, or that Trudeau is your prime minister. But that doesn't mean you should deny it.

You might not understand that first ministers in this country aren't directly elected. But that doesn't excuse your ignorance.
Hashtags are slacktivism. If you're upset about who's premier or prime minister, get off the keyboard and organize.

That's exactly what the people you hate so much did. And they'll keep winning on all counts if you lower yourself into the mud.

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More from @DrJaredWesley

Jared Wesley Profile picture
Oct 13
Populists like Danielle Smith succeed when they are able to do three things:
1) convince a dominant group they are being marginalized
2) convince that group they are in "the silent majority"
3) convince the public that the group is both a victim and too dominant to challenge.+
The 1st step involves persuading folks that they are being "left behind" by forces beyond their control. The populist conjures up a group of enemies that only they can defeat -- just menacing enough to be scary, just nebulous enough never to vanquish.+ calgaryherald.com/opinion/column…
The second step is a bit more challenging: convincing people that they are both marginalized and in society's mainstream. This means blaming "the system" that is being run by a "corrupt elite" against the interests of "the real people."+
Read 13 tweets
Jared Wesley Profile picture
Oct 8
The federal Public Emergency Order Commission has released my latest paper on the links between the separatist and Convoy movements in Alberta.

Here are the highlights. 🧵#ableg publicorderemergencycommission.ca/files/document…
Separatism spiked in the aftermath of the 2019 federal election, but has retreated somewhat since. Image
Compared to other Albertans, separatists are more likely to:

➡️have been born in Canada and lived in Alberta all their lives;
➡️live in rural areas;
➡️be white, male, married, over 55 years old, and own their homes; and
➡️work in the private, for-profit sector or to be retired. Image
Read 17 tweets
Jared Wesley Profile picture
Sep 29
Alright. Since Edmonton City Council is sticking its neck out for active transportation (including bike lanes) I'm making a commitment to commute responsibly this entire year. +
Some stats: I live approx. 6km from work. I have a home office and an employer who requires me to be "in the office" 2 days per week (to teach). If I go into the office more than that, it's by choice. I love my colleagues. I'm lucky. Very lucky.+
I live in the River Valley and my workplace is uphill in the mornings (approx 21 minutes on bike). My commute home is downhill (15 minutes). +
Read 7 tweets
Jared Wesley Profile picture
Sep 28
A fine piece from @ericadams99 ahead of our panel on the Sovereignty Act next week.

Building on his thoughts: setting the courts up to thwart Smith's designs is all part of the strategy: to delegitimize our democratic institutions.+

theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl…
The whole Free Alberta strategy is premised on this.
And, again, Jason Kenney laid the path for Smith. It's a small step from his denigration of the Supreme Court of Canada as a tool of the Laurentian elite, to Smith's plans to politicize the courts.
Read 4 tweets
Jared Wesley Profile picture
Apr 22
Our 7 year-old wanted to attend today's committee meeting on @DShepYEG's private member's bill, The Anti-Racism Act (Bill 204). So I took her. Here are her random reactions. 🧵#ableg
[Here's some background on the bill👇. Keep in mind: she's 7, and I had never once spoken to her about race-based data before the hearing.

I scribbled her whispered comments as the hearing went on, and a few as we drove to her Kid Ninja class. This is pretty close to verbatim.]
Why are most of the people of colour in the gallery and on the videoconferencing [instead of at the committee table]?

[Short pause]

How come they can eat and we can't?

[Long Pause]

I mean, there's plenty of room up there at the table. [Thank goodness my mask covered my 🤣.]
Read 16 tweets
Jared Wesley Profile picture
Feb 19
In many ways, the convoy & occupations are as much a rejection of Conservatism as they are of Liberalism. Let me explain.+
A lot of convoyeurs have given up on the Conservative Party of Canada (and populist provincial parties like the UCP) as a vehicle for their dissent. They'd rather take to the roads & streets than organize for those parties.+
Some have turned to insurrection because they've given up on the hope that the Conservative Party will form government in Canada. And, even if they do, they question whether the CPC will really represent their interests.+
Read 8 tweets

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