Listen Up! Revolution?

Image: An Instagram post advertising a month-long “Youth Summer Program” at the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University is being denounced by the university administration. (PHOTO BY @sphrmcgill on Instagram).

In Montreal this week, at McGill University, there was a call for young people to participate in a “revolutionary” youth summer program. Posters promoting this summer encampment featured online photos of masked, armed guerrillas. The student group, calling themselves, ‘Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights,” is calling for students to be signed up for revolutionary training to be held on the McGill University campus. 

Prominent Conservative Michelle Rempel-Garner has asked, “So, is anyone on the Canadian left going to take issue with an urban summer camp, focused on revolutionism, targeted to minors, that will take place in an arguably illegal encampment that has expressed anti-Semitic views?”  

That may be a fair question, but the other half should also be asked: Are political leaders on the Canadian right going to take issue with this overt call for revolutionary training on Canadian soil? I haven’t heard anything substantive from that part of the political spectrum either. 

In fact, I fail to understand why this initiative has not been nipped in the bud, stopped before it starts, with zero tolerance for this type of activity in Canada. There is a limit to free speech and free assembly when it promotes hate and violence.

There is a lot of anger in Canada today, and I wonder if this will be the summer of discontent. Traditionally, we tend to slow down a little at this time of year as politicians hit the barbecue circuit, glad-handing their constituents, kissing babies, and promising things they will never deliver. I am not certain how effective that will be this year. 

Student demonstrations may ease somewhat as university terms end, but other demonstrations under the flag of support for Palestine will continue. I strongly suspect that many of these rallies, especially those that promote anti-Semitism and vandalize Jewish property, have been infiltrated by activists who promote insurrection at any level and see the Israel-Palestinian conflict as a convenient platform to achieve their more extensive and dangerous objectives, not just in Canada, but in other parts of the western world as well.

If you believe that to be an overstatement, look at our neighbour to our immediate south. Just this week, Steve Bannon, a well-known radio host in that country and a staunch disciple of Donald Trump, said that January 20, 2025 (American Inauguration Day) will be “Accountability Day – Victory or death.”  Trump himself has stated that if he loses the election in November, there will be a “bloodbath” in America. And Trump, in a recent campaign funding e-mail, proclaimed, “Bring out the guillotine.”  Revolution indeed. This isn’t a movie we are watching with popcorn in hand. This is on our doorstep.

Of course, in Canada, we are much more subtle. But the underpinning of civil discontent is here. We see it in the multiple demonstrations across Canada, many of which promote violence and hate. We see it in the reluctance of law enforcement and, yes, politicians to step in and stop it.

We also see it in a tragic increase in anti-semitism in Canada, a place where Jewish people have always felt safe and honoured, until now. These days they have a great deal of concern for their safety. 

To address the elephant in the room, we also see it in the fear that increased immigration is changing traditional Canadian values. It may not be fair or accurate, but it cannot be denied that it is a concern for many Canadians. Nor can it be denied that many other Western countries are dealing with the same conundrum.  

Canada is a product of immigration, and we should always welcome new people with new ideas and customs who want to be here, as we also support and embrace the principles, traditions, and institutions that identify us all, new and old, as Canadians.

Many Canadians are restless right now, perhaps not all for the same reasons, but the cumulative effect is that people are looking for change.  The ballot box is still our preferred method of achieving this, but it should not be ignored that the risk of civic unrest in this country, for multiple reasons, is at a higher level than it has been in decades. 

I believe this is one reason the current Liberal government, headed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is so far back in recent polls and that strategies put in place by that government to reverse its fortunes have not worked. People want change. 

Policies are important, of course, but people primarily want change. They have had enough of Justin Trudeau, who has become a catalyst for their discontent. 

It is time for him to go, and I predict he will—sooner than most people expect, probably this summer or early Fall. No walk in the snow for him.

The people behind Justin Trudeau know that as things stand, he cannot win the next election, and the Liberal Party will need time to choose and introduce a new leader. They will make it happen.

Then, we will have a leadership race and a general election within a year or so, during which time Canadians can let it all hang out. Every single vote will be up for grabs. People will have a chance to express their views and anxieties. Politicians will have to listen or go down to defeat. 

Generally, people want a solid economy, Canadian unity, and many things done very differently than they have been. Whoever can convince Canadians they can do that will win the next election. It will not be so much a left or right thing as it will be who can convince Canadians, in very uncertain and challenging times, that they have their back. 

That’s how it’s supposed to work, and hopefully, it does.

The last thing we need in Canada is anything close to a revolution.

Hugh Mackenzie

Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.

Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.

In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.

Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.

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