At the beginning of the global pandemic, I warned that the war against COVID-19 could prove to be a real test for societies, particularly those classified as being democratic. After over two years of combating the disease, we are now seeing the brunt of pandemic fatigue on the general population due to its obvious economic impacts. This has led to several anti-government protests, including the current truckers’ protests in Canada, Australia and the U.S. However, people’s general frustration and lack of trust in governments are just the tip of the iceberg. Even if countries may be slowly going from a pandemic to an endemic with respect to COVID, the fact of the matter is that some underlying socio-economic trends had been already set in motion. In Western societies, the growing disparities between the haves and have-nots will no doubt lead to even more rank and file populist protests.
What is contributing to people’s disenchantment with the free market-based economies and political institutions that supposedly protect them? Recent economic data and polls have shown us several outcomes. The pandemic and the resulting restrictive economic measures imposed by governments have further exacerbated the gaps in incomes and increased the average person’s lack of trust in their governments. In recent years, fewer families have been able to become full members of the middleclass. Educational, employment and other opportunities to obtain or retain middleclass status have become fewer and fewer, especially given the increasing costs associated with a post-secondary education. Many of the blue and white collar jobs that offered good wages in the past, whether in manufacturing or other sectors, have slowly disappeared due to new technologies, automation and informatics.
Take these factors and evident increases in the cost of living, including the lack of affordable housing and rising costs in everyday essentials, you have the basis for a lot of disengagement. The majority of economists agree that hyperinflation is here for some time to come. This is especially difficult for low-wage workers and small businesses. On top of this, government subsidies which assisted businesses and workers during pandemic-related restrictions are or have disappeared. As interest rates rise to deal with hyperinflation, there will be increasing debt loads for both individuals and governments. The lack of affordable housing in most North American cities has now reached crisis proportions.
We have whole segments of populations facing extreme stress levels. Everyone is talking about mental health issues, something considered taboo not that many years ago. The growing use of marijuana, prescription and illegal drugs and alcohol has unfortunately led to growth industries which are indicative of our times. Suicide rates are at an all time high, especially among our youth. A study released by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in December 2014 concluded more than 230,000 Ontario adults, amounting to 2.3 percent of the province’s adult population, “seriously contemplated suicide” in 2013. Since then, things on the mental health front have simply gotten worst. Spurred on by the pandemic and substance abuse, the use of violence, most notably gun violence, in our communities and domestic lives has grown in the last two years. Needless-to-say, these are grave societal issues that cannot be resolved overnight. Are governments and communities up to the challenge?
Populist movements have grown within the U.S. and Canada in recent years, with Donald Trump leading the way. America today has two major political parties, but the presidential election of 2016 managed to reshape the platforms and agendas of both. In Canada, one has the People’s Party of Canada (PPC), led by Maxime Bernier, which claims to bring together “common sense, populism, classical conservatism, and libertarianism to create solutions adapted for the challenges of the 21st century.” Bernier was the only political leader to officially address the protesting truckers and others at their demonstration in front of Parliament Hill. In the 2021 Canadian federal election, the PPC did not win any seats, despite winning nearly 5% of the popular vote. Time will tell whether the current truckers’ protests are a sign of things to come in both Canada and the U.S., or just one more anomaly?
FROLITICKS 
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