State of the Nations: Is there room for political compromise in Canada? Even on this, Canadians are evenly split

A federal court ruling on Canada’s first-ever use of the Emergencies Act calling it “not justified” has revived debate over the controversial use of the extraordinary measure to shut down the convoy protest in 2022. Meanwhile, the issues of disenchantment with the federal government and political division which perhaps fueled the protest continue to linger.

New data from the non-profit Angus

Reid Institute finds three-in-five (58%) feel their federal government does not care about the issues that are important to them. This widespread disenchantment comes as the Liberal party wallows in a recent nadir of political support.

Meanwhile, in this report which is the third in a multi-part series assessing democracy and politics in Canada and the U.S., Canadians offer a bleak assessment of whether or not political division can be bridged. Two-in-five (42%) believe political compromise is possible in today’s environment, but as many (39%) disagree.

These dim views of the political system in the country come in the wake of a fractious period for Canada. The Freedom Convoy protests in 2022 exposed fault lines that had further deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent federal court ruling called the federal government’s 2022 use of the Emergencies Act “not justified”. And while the Trudeau government may not have the court’s legal opinion on its side, it holds onto public opinion regarding the issue. Data collected last week found nearly half (46%) believe invoking the legislation it was necessary to clear the protests, while 28 per cent say police already had the necessary powers required to end the demonstrations. Notably, almost one-in-five are of the view that the protesters should have been left alone entirely. Canadians lean towards believing the federal government’s move to appeal is the right decision (45%) than the wrong one (36%).

Part One: Political discourse in a time of division Emergencies Act: public opinion versus legal opinion

One of the most significant tests of Canada’s democracy occurred in February 2022, when Freedom Convoy protesters descended on Ottawa with the goal of having the governor general dissolve the government. The protesters occupied Canada’s capitol for more than a month until the federal government controversially invoked the Emergencies Act to grant police additional powers to clear the protests.

Last week, a federal court ruled that there “was no national emergency justifying the invocation of the

Emergencies Act”, siding with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Constitution Foundation, which brought forward the case. The two groups argued the federal government had not met the legal threshold when it invoked the never-beforeused act.

This ran counter to what the public inquiry headed by Justice Paul Rouleau concluded in 2023. After six weeks of public testimony, and analysis of cabinet documents, the Rouleau inquiry found “the very high threshold for invocation was met”. However, notably, Rouleau also said that “reasonable and informed people could reach a different conclusion than the one I arrived at” in a statement after the inquiry report was made public.

The contrary conclusions from the Rouleau inquiry and the federal court ruling have not swayed Canadians’ opinion on whether or not they believe the Emergencies Act was necessary.

In data taken after the federal court’s ruling last week, approaching half (46%) say the Act was necessary to remove the protesters from Ottawa, while three-in-ten (28%) believe the Emergencies Act was unnecessary because police already had the powers needed. The minority who believes no action was needed and the protest should have continued has grown slightly to one-in-five (18%).

Men are more likely than women to believe it was unnecessary for the federal government to invoke the Emergencies Act. However, for all demographics except for 35- to 54-year-old men, that is a minority opinion. Women older than 54 are the only demographic to believe invoking the Emergencies Act was necessary at a majority level (63%, see detailed tables).

Political leanings are a strong driver of opinion on this matter. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said he supported the protesters who were “law-abiding” and “peaceful”, while “condemning” those who broke laws. Past CPC voters are much more likely to believe either invoking the Emergencies Act was unnecessary (43%) or the protesters should have been left alone (32%) than those who voted Liberal or NDP in 2021: