LETHBRIDGE, AB | Attacks against Quebecers and French people, serious allegations against the CBC, falsehoods about the COVID-19 vaccine and support for the “Freedom Convoy”: Alberta MP Rachael Thomas leaves no one indifferent in Ottawa. Despite her inflammatory displays, the elected official has very solid foundations in her constituency and the blessing of a leader that allows her to make a splash.
The Journal traveled to Lethbridge, a two-hour drive from Calgary in southern Alberta, to try to understand the electorate behind the MP, who is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.
She distinguished herself in recent weeks by asking Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge to answer one of her questions in English. In view of the outcry that the affair had caused in the Federal Parliament, she apologized. The situation had caused an outcry among many French-speaking people.
French like Mandarin
As we arrive in Lethbridge, after driving through landscapes with fields as far as the eye can see and the Rocky Mountains in the distance, we quickly realize that the controversy is being received very differently here.
“If you speak French, you might as well speak Mandarin for the people here!” concludes Ron, a resident of Coaldale, a small rural town of 8,000 people about fifteen minutes from Lethbridge.
According to the 70-year-old ex-cop, who voted for Thomas in the 2021 election, it is completely normal for his MP to ask for an answer in the only language that 94% of voters in his constituency know.
Ron, a former police officer from Coaldale in southern Alberta. Photo Olivier Faucher
Kevin Farrell, who works at the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce, doesn't believe the elected official he also voted for had any intention of denigrating French.
However, according to him, in Alberta there is actually a perception that French takes up too much space, while “in Quebec, bilingualism is not supported and French is promoted as the only official language.”
Ms. Thomas declined our interview requests for this report.
The example is from above
Cyndi Bester, CEO of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce, sees Ms. Thomas' trips as a sign of determination.
“Rachael leads with kindness,” she assures. But there are times when she needs to be strong and steadfast, and that has to do with the place she represents. »
Kevin Farrell and Cyndi Bester. Photo Olivier Faucher
Not surprisingly, many of the voters gathered in Lethbridge hate Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, particularly his policies on climate change, which many Albertans see as an obstacle to developing vast oil reserves.
If the MP has been making so much noise for some time, it is also because the arrival of her leader Pierre Poilievre has given right-wing elected officials like her the opportunity to speak, explains Frédéric Boily, a political scientist at the University of Alberta.
“The example comes from above,” he said. Not only are they a constructive opposition, often seen as more moderate; We are not in that logic and Poilievre has shown this very clearly. We have to shake the cage. »
The riding of Lethbridge is a Conservative stronghold. In almost 100 years, residents have never voted for a candidate who did not belong to a conservative constituency. In the 2021 election, Rachael Thomas won with 55% of the vote.
He is no stranger to controversy
- Rachael Thomas was first elected in 2015 and has made numerous controversial statements in recent years.
- In June 2021, she apologized after saying that artists targeting Quebec artists were “outdated” and that they “couldn't make a living from their art.”
- In December 2021, it falsely claimed that there were more vaccinated than unvaccinated people in hospitals during the wave of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
- In February 2022, she openly supported the illegal “Freedom Convoy” demonstration in Ottawa, as did Pierre Poilievre, while Conservative MPs in Quebec opposed it.
- The following month, she compared Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to a “dictator.”
- On October 26, she accused state broadcaster CBC of being “in the Hamas camp,” citing an internal memo from the public broadcaster in which it asked its journalists not to use the word “terrorist” to describe them Palestinian armed group.
Origins of the controversy with St-Onge
Rachael Thomas was expelled from the committee after she twice insisted Minister Pascale St-Onge respond in English, a request that caused consternation among elected officials and slowed work. Screenshot
Rachael Thomas twice asked Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge to respond in English at the Standing Committee on Heritage on November 30.
“I noticed that you answer my questions in French, but other questions in English when they come from your liberal colleagues,” she emphasized in particular.
Criticism of him immediately came from all quarters, particularly from the leader of the Bloc Québécois, who compared the episode to the poem Speak White. Ms Thomas then apologized to the chairman of the committee.
“It allows them [aux conservateurs] Reuse the content of parliamentary work for party political purposes [sur les réseaux sociaux] », explains Professor Philippe Dubois, a specialist in political communication at the National School of Public Administration in Montreal.
“ [Le] target group [de Mme Thomas]is obviously monolingual English. Having the content in English makes it more attractive,” he continues.
Opposite reactions
Disadvantages
“Bilingual country, the French version is missing”
-Gina Chubb, on Facebook
“Your behavior today was disappointing […] You’ve once again made Alberta look like a bunch of anti-French fanatics.”
-Annette Bergen Diemert, on Facebook
“I don't understand, can you speak French?” »
-Jean-Yves Dallaire, on Facebook
For the
“Quebec can go to hell”
-Deila Manny, on X
“That says a lot. Demand that one of our official languages, English, be used in a respectful manner. The resulting theater is divisive. »
-Kerry Ozard, continue
“She never should have apologized.”
-James Cyr, continue
Uninhibited conservatives like never before
Chris Spearman, former mayor of Lethbridge. Photo Olivier Faucher
MP Rachael Thomas embodies a conservatism that has “radicalized” in recent years, “especially in rural regions,” says Frédéric Boily, a political scientist at the University of Alberta.
“This is particularly true in the context of the last few years with the pandemic and even before the pandemic,” he explains. For such a representative who feels comfortable in elections, she criticizes both substance and form. »
“It's interesting that the perception is radical. If it is radical, we will accept that kind of radicalism,” responds Cyndi Bester, CEO of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce. There are far more radical currents in Alberta on both the left and the right, while the province has become increasingly polarized. »
” Awkward ”
Chris Spearman, who served as mayor of Lethbridge from 2013 to 2021, emphasizes that Ms. Thomas is primarily appealing to her voter base who live in “the rural areas” surrounding the city.
“Several times she has said completely ridiculous and embarrassing things at the national level,” complains the former progressive local politician, whose position shows that the MP in the region is not unanimous.
“It's never well thought out and it's always an extreme position, but there are no consequences because people here are so hard against the Trudeau government that most politicians in Alberta are playing with it to feed the beast,” adds he added.
During the pandemic
Polarization is increasingly being felt in the region, believes Mr. Spearman. The increasingly intense tensions and “controversies” partly explain why he decided to retire in 2021.
According to him, the phenomenon was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he recommended his citizens to comply with public health measures while “people from rural areas” demonstrated with their trucks into the city and “harassed” those who protested wanted to get vaccinated.
He also regrets that progressive and conservative elected officials “can no longer work together like they used to,” for example to obtain federal funding for major projects.
Linsdey Porter of Lethbridge with her dog Dory. Photo Olivier Faucher
“The pandemic has caused great division and some have taken advantage of it,” adds Lindsey Porter, a 42-year-old Lethbridge resident who voted for the New Democratic Party in the last federal election and whose positions MP “makes her angry.”
Hatred of the media and the CBC
Coaldale resident Alan Oudshoorn. Photo Olivier Faucher
Distrust of the media, and the CBC in particular, has become a recurring theme for Conservatives in recent years, particularly for Rachael Thomas, her party's heritage critic. This is seen among many voters in southern Alberta.
“Newspapers? Are people still reading this? » says Alan Oudshoorn to our representative.
He “doesn’t even watch CBC,” he’s so convinced the public broadcaster is biased.
“Anything positive about the Conservatives is at the bottom of the page, but anything about the Liberals or the NDP is highlighted,” believes Cyndi Bester, CEO of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce.
However, she does not believe the CBC should be “defunded” as the Conservative Party hopes.
The “CBC must be a pillar of Canada […]. I believe [tout de même] that they must be subjected to a drastic review and reassessment,” she specifies.
Quebec, this profit… inspiring!
Albertans' perception of Quebec, which was at its lowest a few years ago, is changing, according to local stakeholders.
In 2017, Le Journal traveled to Alberta for a report and found that discontent against Quebecers continued to grow. At the time, the province of La Belle was considered profitable and hypocritical because it benefited from compensation payments that came from, among other things, Alberta's natural wealth, while at the same time refusing to allow pipelines through its territory that would have facilitated the transport of oil.
“I think more and more people in the West are seeing what Quebec and the West have in common, rather than looking at the differences,” argues Preston Manning, founder of the Canadian Reform Party and mandarin of the country's conservative movement.
Sovereignty Act
Danielle Smith, Alberta's premier for just over a year, used Quebec as an example and also wants to make her province “a nation within a nation.” It also passed a sovereignty bill that would allow Alberta to ignore federal laws that are “contrary to the interests of the province.”
Travis Hartley, a resident of the southern Alberta Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner region. Photo Olivier Faucher
“ [Mon sentiment], it's frustrating, but on the other hand, I have a certain admiration for Quebec and I want us to be inspired by it. Quebec represents its interests. “Alberta needs to play the same cards,” said Travis Hartley, a resident of the Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner district in southern Alberta.