Alberta politics now infected by Trump-style vitriol and malice

As recently as a decade ago, such behaviour would have been simply unacceptable, writes Jim Storrie.

I work in politics, so I’ve received my share of threats. But I never thought I’d get one from my own MP.

On Monday night, Kerry Diotte, the member of Parliament for Edmonton-Griesbach, got on Twitter to tell Progress Alberta, the place where I work, that we should “be afraid — very afraid.” What exactly should I be afraid of, Mr. Diotte?

Should I be afraid that your friends at The Rebel, an organization you are disturbingly cosy with, will turn their online trolls on me?

Should I be worried that conservative staffers will dig up and publish my personal information, like they did last week to Tim Huyer, a lawyer who works for the federal government?

Should I be concerned that my representative in Parliament, who has easy access to my address and personal information, could make my life difficult in any number of ways?

I don’t know how much I should be scared of my MP. But one thing I do know is that we should all be disturbed by the direction in which political discourse in this province is moving.

Alberta has become extremely polarized and divided between a progressive centre-left and an opportunistic extreme right. And when I use that word — opportunistic — I’m not just throwing it around.

From “lock-her-up” rallies to the crypto-Islamophobic campaigns against M-103 and the Omar Khadr settlement, we’re seeing the Albertan far-right adopt more and more of the belligerent, deceptive, toxic tactics of Trump’s America.

A decade ago this sort of campaigning would have been unacceptable. But as politicians normalize the rhetoric of outrage and hate, the boundaries of politics are expanding into dangerous territory.

Hence the anti-LGBTQ posters spotted last week on Alberta Avenue, and the white supremacist flyers on Whyte Avenue; hence the torrent of abuse directed at Sandra Jansen for daring to speak up for the “progressive” in Progressive Conservative; hence the antiimmigrant rallies in Calgary and outside my old high school in Red Deer; hence the spiteful defacement of Pride crosswalks in Lethbridge; hence Alberta and Edmonton seeing the highest rise per capita in hate crimes in Canada. The list of consequences is long. What these conservative politicians say matters.

And these conservative politicians — Mr. Diotte included — have been perfectly content to embrace extremely dubious allies like Ezra Levant’s alt-right outfit The Rebel, climate denialists like the Friends of Science, and anti-LGBTQ activists like Parents for Choice in Education. Even Brian Jean’s new campaign manager, Hamish Marshall, is a co-founder of The Rebel.

They know it’s wrong. But they think it’ll make them win. And for too many of our representatives now, all that matters is winning — at any cost.

Is this the sort of politics we want in this province? A cacophony of hate groups and online trolls harassing and threatening anyone who will speak up, while they shout down every appeal to truth as “fake news?” An atmosphere where it becomes normal even for elected representatives to threaten and intimidate their own constituents?

Mr. Diotte thinks quietly deleting his post, making no apology, and pretending it never happened wipes it all off his hands. But I don’t think we should let him get away with that. Not if we don’t want Alberta to become a seething, angry Trumpian mess.

Maybe that is what Mr. Diotte wants.

But an elected Member of Parliament ought to have some dignity.

They know it’s wrong. But they think it’ll make them win ... all that matters is winning — at any cost.