What is Tucker Carlson doing in Canada? | Politico | Ann Lum:
January 24, 2024 - "A year ago, Tucker Carlson was calling on Americans to invade and 'liberate' Canada from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Now, he’s getting the red carpet treatment in Alberta.... The far-right darling’s liberation mission features two sold-out events in Alberta, with 4,000 people attending in Calgary and 8,000 in Edmonton. Entry tickets in Calgary cost C$200, plus hundreds more for a seat with catered lunch, organized by a small PR firm that has produced separate events in Canada for George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama....
"Carlson was poised last spring to release O Canada, a documentary he teased with a provocative trailer that included Trudeau in the likeness of Adolf Hitler. The project was permanently shelved after the anchor was suddenly sacked by Fox News. Now, Carlson has retrained his focus on Trudeau.... The hard-right provocateur’s focus on Canada took root during the so-called Freedom Convoy’s three-week occupation of Parliament Hill, a protest that immobilized downtown Ottawa with semi-trailer trucks, RVs and vehicles. Emergency laws were invoked for the first time ever to dislodge protestors....
"'Canada, under Justin Trudeau, has become, effectively, a dictatorship,; the then-Fox News host said on an episode that aired last February, a year after the convoy protest. 'Why don’t we liberate it? We’re spending all this money to liberate Ukraine from the Russians, why are we not sending an armed force to liberate Canada from Trudeau? And I mean it,' he said at the time.
"Carlson expressed outrage over the implementation of Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) law, which he identified as an issue motivating his Canadian speaking tour. At least 44,958 medically assisted deaths have been recorded in Canada since the law was introduced in 2016, according to a government report published last year.... The Canadian government faces a March deadline to decide whether or not to expand the medically assisted death law to people who identify a mental disorder as their sole underlying condition for eligibility.... Carlson pointed to MAID as evidence that Canada is slipping into a totalitarian state.
"Unease over Carlson’s Alberta whistle stops will be fodder for political debate in Canada as Trudeau’s approvals struggle to recover from record lows with his Liberals trailing Conservatives. Trudeau’s inner circle has been gaming out how the specter of Trump’s comeback — and the intrusion of MAGA apologists like Carlson into Canadian commentary — could influence the Liberals’ odds in the next federal election. Under law, the next Canadian election must take place on or before Oct. 20, 2025....
"Trudeau spent the fall accusing rival Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of leading a party that he says is importing a 'right-wing American, MAGA influence' in Canada.... Trudeau’s Liberals deployed similar gambits during the 2019 and 2021 federal election campaigns, scoring points by accusing Canadian Conservatives of being MAGA copycats. Conservatives have shrugged off the Liberals’ past attempts to link the party to Trump, stating they trust Canadians can pick up the differences between their cause and the MAGA movement."
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/24/tucker-carlson-canada-00137380
Tucker Carlson draws thousands in Calgary, speaks with Alberta Premier | CityNews | January 24, 2024:
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