Populist rage demands leaders who listen — and choose their words with care

The convoy has moved on. The challenge of extreme populism remains.

It's a long-term challenge both for Canada's democracy and its political leadership — one that was apparent long before the trucks laid siege to the streets of downtown Ottawa.

On February 17, 2017 — five years to the day before he stood in the House of Commons and opened debate on his government's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the St. Matthew's Day Banquet, an elegant, centuries-old event held annually in Hamburg, Germany.

A year earlier, Donald Trump had become president of the United States. Shortly thereafter, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Trudeau suddenly found himself portrayed as a torch-bearer for liberal democracy and progressive government. Five months after his speech in Hamburg, he appeared on a Rolling Stone cover which asked whether he was "the free world's best hope."

In his remarks to the banquet, Trudeau first attempted to diagnose the populist surge roiling Western democracies. He talked about the "anxiety" people were feeling about the future and their frustrations over the unequal distribution of wealth. Those feelings, he said, were turning into "distrust" and "anger."

Five years later, the initial focus on economic "anxiety" and inequality has given way to a broader discussion about the other things that might be feeding the disenchantment upon which populism feeds. "Status risk" and tribalism. A diminished sense of economic fairness. Political polarization, social media and "misinformation." The convoy has now demonstrated both the potential impact of the pandemic and the power and reach of American media's perpetual anger machine.

Progressives and moderates are still grappling with the question of what to do about all that. But Trudeau's prescription remains relevant.

Trudeau told the business and political figures in his audience that he wanted to "challenge" them, "to highlight that the challenges we're facing require real action and real leadership."

Trudeau cited the actions of his own government. In its first 16 months, Trudeau said, the Liberal government had increased support to families through the Canada Child Benefit, boosted assistance for post-secondary students and made new investments in training and employment programs.

In the face of political alienation and anti-democratic anger, such proposals can seem quaint. It's probably too much to imagine that new or reformed government programs could completely extinguish the flames of radical populism. Trudeau's agenda apparently failed to cool those embers.

But it also stands to reason that smart and effective policy that provides meaningful support to citizens might at least shrink the pool of voters who might be drawn to extreme populism. If governments and legislatures show they can deliver solutions and relief, they might maintain faith in the democratic institutions that populists attack.

After two traumatic and frustrating years of the pandemic, the need to reinforce institutional trust might be even greater.

Trudeau's second suggestion was simpler in theory but maybe harder to follow in practice. Political leaders, he said, need to listen.

As Trudeau told his audience in Hamburg, he had just completed a national tour of town hall forums, taking questions from anyone who happened to show up. This was not without political risk, he said, and it could be unpredictable and sometimes intense, "but it's only in having those tough conversations that we can get at the heart of what matters."