“Did you catch the debate last night?”
My ears perk up as I overhear the students sitting at the table next to me discuss the pros and cons of various candidates, comparing economic policies and ideas on healthcare.
In passing, one might confuse this group for a collective of civicly engaged young Canadians, but that would be a mistake. While a few of these students are from North America, the majority are from abroad and the politics under discussion are not the fast-approaching Canadian federal election, but instead the U.S. 2020 presidential primaries.
While The Chief has previously delved into the lackluster enthusiasm for local politics, I would tentatively suggest that this absence of overt and expressive civic engagement is not entirely contrary to the democratic project.
Having spent the last five years bouncing back and forth between the Sea to Sky and the U.S., it would seem to me that B.C., and Canada in general, has escaped the worst of the politicization that has so thoroughly saturated the fabric of everyday life over the border.
There are numerous actors on which to lay blame for the transformation of U.S. politics into pseudo-entertainment-political theatre in every sense of the phrase.
One could point fingers at the various media apparatuses that create partisan echo chambers, the structure of the click economy and targeted advertising campaigns, or to the privilege of party affiliation as a central marker of identity.
There are now separate dating sites for single conservatives (Donald Daters and Trumpsingles.com) in response to the loud and clear “no Trump voters” stance that has proliferated mainstream apps like Tinder and Bumble.
On the one hand, I can understand and empathize with concerns over the apparent lack of civic engagement here in Squamish: I am reminded of the Abbie Hoffman quote, “democracy stops working when you stop participating.” But on the other hand, it is reassuring to know that at least for now, this country’s various political and electoral processes have escaped the worst effects of the 24-hour news cycle and rampant polarization.
My phone buzzes with a news alert, another photo of Trudeau in brownface has been released to the public.
Well now, maybe I am mistaken about the civility of Canadian politics.
Editor’s note: Eli Emerson James Cornell is a Quest University student.
