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Mostly partisan propaganda. The "Canada is broken" slogan is by no means organic; it is a carefully executed propaganda piece. The conservative leader is very g

by lbrito 2y ago

Mostly partisan propaganda. The "Canada is broken" slogan is by no means organic; it is a carefully executed propaganda piece. The conservative leader is very good with punch lines and communication in general (and is maybe a bit too proud of it - e.g. he has a "Justinflation" plaque in his office; a term that he coined). There are problems and people want them fixed. That is always the case. In a short couple of years Canada will suddenly not be broken anymore, as everyone will forget the slogan. Then in a few more years the next opposition will decry how awful things are, etc. It is all very predictable and clear.

3vidence 2y ago
I feel like its sentiment like this why the liberal party is heading for a historic collapse. "Everything is fine, just cancel disney+" Like young people are struggling... really badly and it seems like the government has done everything they can to make it worse. Most people I've met really don't Like Pierre Pollieve (myself included) but to say the current governments ineptness is propaganda is actually insane.
- lbrito 2y ago
  Well, that wasn't my comment at all. I was specifically stating that the "Canada is broken" rhetoric is largely propaganda. That is very different from saying "everything is fine".
  - busterarm 2y ago
    What do you call broken then? Society is fundamentally not serving the prosperity of its younger generations. That is true in both the US and Canada. The wealth transfer upwards across generations is a breakdown of the social contract. Millenials and younger have a great point, even if they articulate it poorly, and are being completely ignored but can't be for much longer. These demographics are just now coming into their political agency...
    - lbrito 2y ago
      Your comment and the sibling comment touch on more or less the same issue - "what does 'broken' mean?". We all agree there are problems, but does that justify saying "Canada is broken"? You start by saying that the US shares an issue with Canada. So is the US also broken? The sibling comment mentions other social and financial problems. Can we categorically say that a specific country is "broken" if it faces those issues? From my perspective, calling a country "broken" is a very categorical statement, bringing to mind failed states, coups etc. I'm sure (or rather, hopeful) that we can all agree this isn't the case of Canada. When people say "broken" in this context, it is much more in the sense of "my car has a broken fuel line" than a commentary on how Canada is a Libya-style failed nation-state. So in essence, "Canada is broken" is really "things are less good than they could or should be". That is the essence of my initial post - there are problems, yes; but the slogan is mostly inaccurate, ergo propaganda. The "Canada is broken" people would also benefit from broader perspectives. I've lived most of my life in a developing country in the global south, so living here and seeing your definition of "broken" is a bit bewildering. I haven't lived here long enough to have seen how wonderful things were in the past decades, though, so who knows.
  - belval 2y ago
    Propaganda? I am the only one of my friend group with a house at 30 years old. Most have completely given up on home ownership, we just registered a 62B$ deficit and homelessness is the worse it's been in my living memory. Universities are balancing their budget by pumping their foreign student numbers and hospitals are so deep in the red access to a specialist for anything non life threathening like a dermatologist or allergologist puts you on a 22 months waiting list even with a physician recommandation... Not sure what you definition of broken is, but considering our tax rate we are well within our rights to call it broken.
  - eli_gottlieb 2y ago
    To most people those are not really so different. For something to not be broken means that it's mostly fine, more in order than not.
steve_adams_86 2y ago
I do think the "Canada is broken" slogan works because there are some concerning issues and trends, but people need to realize they're decades-old trends that present politicians had little to do with. I worry about Canada, but I don't care much about Trudeau's involvement, nor do I think any politicians in the race can do much about it. It's tricky. I don't want to contribute to propaganda at all, in part because I believe it's manufactured by and serves the conservatives primarily, and I don't see their leader as anything close to a solution. Yet I don't want to pretend things are fine. Our economy doesn't look like it's on the right track, and the underpinnings of it seem to be corroding and failing. We're a very extractive, resource-intensive economy with very few new ideas, very few inventive or innovative programs or people, and little potential for making sweeping changes. So, broken? Not really, and not more than most places. Canada is still incredible in so many ways. But on a good track? Utilizing our potential? Will my kids experience as healthy of an economy and society as I did at their ages? It doesn't seem like it, no.

by lbrito 2y ago

3vidence 2y ago

I feel like its sentiment like this why the liberal party is heading for a historic collapse. "Everything is fine, just cancel disney+" Like young people are struggling... really badly and it seems like the government has done everything they can to make it worse. Most people I've met really don't Like Pierre Pollieve (myself included) but to say the current governments ineptness is propaganda is actually insane.

lbrito 2y ago
Well, that wasn't my comment at all. I was specifically stating that the "Canada is broken" rhetoric is largely propaganda. That is very different from saying "everything is fine".
- busterarm 2y ago
  What do you call broken then? Society is fundamentally not serving the prosperity of its younger generations. That is true in both the US and Canada. The wealth transfer upwards across generations is a breakdown of the social contract. Millenials and younger have a great point, even if they articulate it poorly, and are being completely ignored but can't be for much longer. These demographics are just now coming into their political agency...
  - lbrito 2y ago
    Your comment and the sibling comment touch on more or less the same issue - "what does 'broken' mean?". We all agree there are problems, but does that justify saying "Canada is broken"? You start by saying that the US shares an issue with Canada. So is the US also broken? The sibling comment mentions other social and financial problems. Can we categorically say that a specific country is "broken" if it faces those issues? From my perspective, calling a country "broken" is a very categorical statement, bringing to mind failed states, coups etc. I'm sure (or rather, hopeful) that we can all agree this isn't the case of Canada. When people say "broken" in this context, it is much more in the sense of "my car has a broken fuel line" than a commentary on how Canada is a Libya-style failed nation-state. So in essence, "Canada is broken" is really "things are less good than they could or should be". That is the essence of my initial post - there are problems, yes; but the slogan is mostly inaccurate, ergo propaganda. The "Canada is broken" people would also benefit from broader perspectives. I've lived most of my life in a developing country in the global south, so living here and seeing your definition of "broken" is a bit bewildering. I haven't lived here long enough to have seen how wonderful things were in the past decades, though, so who knows.
- belval 2y ago
  Propaganda? I am the only one of my friend group with a house at 30 years old. Most have completely given up on home ownership, we just registered a 62B$ deficit and homelessness is the worse it's been in my living memory. Universities are balancing their budget by pumping their foreign student numbers and hospitals are so deep in the red access to a specialist for anything non life threathening like a dermatologist or allergologist puts you on a 22 months waiting list even with a physician recommandation... Not sure what you definition of broken is, but considering our tax rate we are well within our rights to call it broken.
- eli_gottlieb 2y ago
  To most people those are not really so different. For something to not be broken means that it's mostly fine, more in order than not.

steve_adams_86 2y ago

I do think the "Canada is broken" slogan works because there are some concerning issues and trends, but people need to realize they're decades-old trends that present politicians had little to do with. I worry about Canada, but I don't care much about Trudeau's involvement, nor do I think any politicians in the race can do much about it. It's tricky. I don't want to contribute to propaganda at all, in part because I believe it's manufactured by and serves the conservatives primarily, and I don't see their leader as anything close to a solution. Yet I don't want to pretend things are fine. Our economy doesn't look like it's on the right track, and the underpinnings of it seem to be corroding and failing. We're a very extractive, resource-intensive economy with very few new ideas, very few inventive or innovative programs or people, and little potential for making sweeping changes. So, broken? Not really, and not more than most places. Canada is still incredible in so many ways. But on a good track? Utilizing our potential? Will my kids experience as healthy of an economy and society as I did at their ages? It doesn't seem like it, no.