Opinion | Pierre Poilievre’s conspiracy theorizing isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous

In an interview posted last week, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre proclaimed the only reason that his erstwhile political rival isn’t in a jail cell is due to a shadowy deep state protecting the Liberal party — stopping just short of chanting “lock him up!” 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Conservative leader said, “broke the criminal code” and that “many” of his government’s scandals “should have involved jail time.”

These remarks are anti-democratic. And, in the context of a rogue American administration actually prosecuting the president’s critics, it’s emblematic of a politician who has lost his mind.

Poilievre made these comments in an interview with Northern Perspective, a conservative YouTube channel run by Ryan and Tanya Davies — who set up the leader by insisting, wrongly, that Trudeau is responsible for “for over a third of all scandals in Canadian history since 1867.”

Poilievre was quick to take this ludicrous statement even further. On at least two occasions, Poilievre said, should have been hauled before a judge, Poilievre said. Trudeau was spared, he said, only because the “despicable” leadership refused to hold the Liberals accountable — “the RCMP covered it all up.”

This isn’t true.

Poilievre is taking aim at two different scandals from Trudeau’s first term: A gifted vacation on a private island, with a helicopter ride to boot, from the Aga Khan in 2016; and the SNC-Lavalin affair in 2019. In both cases, there were detailed investigations into the former prime minister’s conduct, with two reports detailing his ethical lapses and conflicts of interest. 

But the Ethics Commissioner did not find that a crime had been committed — in fact, if they had, the Commissioner would need to refer the file to the police.

Unsatisfied, the Conservative party asked the RCMP to investigate both scandals at the time, and they did. And they opted, both times, not to pursue charges — in the latter scandal, they didn’t even have enough evidence to obtain search warrants. The Conservatives, still unhappy, filed complaints, prompting a review that confirmed the RCMP’s initial decision.

Now Poilievre is saying this was all a rigged process. This is nothing but a conspiracy theory.

I appreciate that Poilievre, like many Canadians, is upset that the Liberals were thrice re-elected in spite of these scandals. But that isn’t the RCMP’s fault — it’s the Conservative party’s for failing to unseat them.

This system doesn’t work when politicians act like Scooby Doo and the gang. Indeed, Prime Minister Stephen Harper established an independent prosecution service to, as he put it in 2005, “ensure that decisions about criminal prosecution are independent of politicians and independent of politics.” 

There’s something profoundly pathetic about Poilievre whining about the referees long after the game he lost has ended.

Poilievre’s vigilante routine looks an awful lot like Donald Trump’s. The American president also alleged deep state collusion between law enforcement and his political opponents — that’s why he forced the Department of Justice to indict FBI Director James Comey and others.

It’s telling, too, that Poilievre reserves these kinds of comments for the safe spaces of mission-aligned podcasts. (Apparently criticism coming from the mainstream press is also part of the plot against him.)

Many Conservatives have rationalized Poilievre’s conspiratorial efforts as a necessary evil to win over disaffected and cynical Canadians. But it’s looking increasingly clear that Poilievre has radicalized himself. 

Some Conservatives are starting to call out this fact. Former Harper aide Dimitri Soudas, writing in this paper, calls it “grievance rather than governance.” Former Conservative MP Alain Rayes argued in La Presse: “Canadians didn’t reject conservatism, they rejected the tone and the approach of its leader.”

But with his party still firmly behind him, Poilievre will probably continue his big loser energy, blaming everyone else for his own failings. And there will be consequences for it: His supporters will believe him, and grow more cynical and distrustful of our non-partisan institutions. All the while, the Liberals will be allowed to govern without facing an opposition party that lives in the real world.

Canada is facing enough threats to our democracy. We don’t need the opposition leader to add to them.