Canadian MSM props up Jagmeet Singh after expulsion from Parliament

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh made headlines yesterday, June 17th, after getting kicked out of the House of Commons, following a spat with Bloc MP Alain Therrien. Singh accused Therrien of being a racist and then refusing to retract the charge.

Mr. Singh’s gaffes as a rookie continued with another tangent about racism/systemic racism following his expulsion from parliament.

Actors within the mainstream media defended Singh’s behaviour, championing his support for the recent anti-racism motion that joins the list of fluff pieces supportive of Singh.

Topics included “Everyone is Still in Love with Jagmeet Singh’s hot wife.” MacLean’s also saw fit to chime in on the subject of Singh’s wife.

Another such example in this trend includes Vice’s “People Can’t Stop Watching This Jagmeet Singh TikTok Meme,” carrying the subtitle, “Meanwhile, Justin Trudeau is nowhere to be found on TikTok.”

As recently as early May, HuffPost continued to inflate Singh’s social media presence: “Jagmeet Singh Ups TikTok Game With ‘Flip The Switch’ Challenge,” featuring his wife.

Singh does, however, make headlines on issues of political importance. For example: during the 2019 campaign, Singh pointed out the hypocrisy of Canada priding itself over universal healthcare but not covering drug expenses for a broad age group. 

In a final example of terribly, uncritical journalism surrounding Singh, CBC released an article on “Meet the meme mastermind behind Jagmeet Singh.”

At the same time, Singh led the NDP to an electoral defeat last November, falling to 24 seats in the House of Commons from the 44 they achieved in 2015.

The NDP got rid of Mulcair as party leader after 2015 when their seat count dropped even more significantly from 103 to 44. 

The lack of pressure was not afforded to Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, who was questioned profusely on his pro-life views before and following the 2019 election.

Under Scheer’s leadership, the Conservatives gained a significant number of seats over Harper’s total in 2015 and won the popular vote.

CBC, Dec. 06, 2019: ‘Andrew Scheer doesn’t seem to be quite done fighting the election yet’

Global News from Oct. 22, 2019 (one day after the election): ‘63% of Canadians believe Scheer should resign for not winning election: Ipsos exit poll’

CBC News from Nov. 26, 2019: ‘Andrew Scheer tries to hold on to power by redirecting blame’

The collapse of Canada’s New Democratic Party

After the 2011 election, the NDP under Jack Layton reduced the Liberals to third place, and the Bloc went on life support.

In 2011, they won 103 of 308 seats, forming the Official Opposition for the first time in its nearly 60 year history.

Founded in Saskatchewan, the party has failed to make a dent nationally in the Prairies. This isn’t a national-level example, but just who did Alberta turn to when oil collapsed in 2014 and people wanted to change? Hint: it wasn’t the Liberals.

With the Liberal Party eating into a strong base of support for the NDP in Québec, 2015 onwards. Despite losing its centrist leanings in recent years, the Liberal Party’s core remains strong despite a slew of embarrassing gaffes by the prime minister. 

The NDP, on the other hand, has always been left-wing and proved they could be nationally competitive with massive gains in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. 

Layton was the man on fire then, with charismatic leadership and an appealing platform for his base as well as undecided voters.

Singh has not lived up to Layton’s legacy as a leader, owing mainly to a whole host of problems, and not least amongst these is his issue with India, which denied him a travel visa in 2013 over his views on Sikh Separatism.

Singh, born in Canada, is the first western legislator denied entrance to India, which is argued to have stemmed from statements by Singh regarding the 1984 assassination of Indian President Indira Gandhi. However, that has never been verified outright.

Singh also has optics problems on the domestic side: he was a criminal lawyer before making the career change to government. Today’s populist surge has left lawyers as generally unattractive candidates for the typical voter amongst the working class.

In the same vein, Singh is known as a ‘snazzy dresser,’ with a taste for expensive suits and clothes, demonstrating an approach that appears tone-deaf.

Singh’s rant, yesterday, about systemic racism in Canada and other topics mirrors the optics used by prime minister Trudeau, without differentiating himself and his party from the progressives in the Liberal Party.

With Singh’s longevity as party leader in question, expect the leftwing vote to split between staunch Liberal and NDP leaders.

The continued revival of the Bloc is also expected, with the Conservatives facing turmoil themselves during a crucial leadership race. The latter is flirting with their commitment to defund CBC and is openly opposed to the recent media bailout.

Other large media companies aren’t exempt from this trap as well, as the Trudeau government has bailed out several media companies in the past and is in discussions to bail more out in the future due to the COVID-19 crisis. 

***author’s note: it isn’t known at this time whether Jagmeet Singh’s ban from travel to India has extended past 2013, whether that ban has been lifted. At the time of publication, TNT had reached out to Mr. Singh’s office, but have not received a response.