Canada's opposition to US not as militant as it looks
Televised images of Canadian hordes denouncing President Bush, the United States and the war on terror provide a distorted image of the political differences Canada presently have with the U.S.
Clearly, most Canadians oppose US actions in the Iraqi front of the war on international terrorism (they supported the US in Afghanistan), but the made-for-TV protests from Vancouver to Halifax show not only a militant fringe, but a poor turnout as well.
Though organizers said 20,000 demonstrators converged on Ottawa, the press reported only 5,000 actually showed up - an indication that despite their differences, almost no Canadians even bothered to show up to protest the visiting American president.
Many of the demonstrators came in by bus from other cities and possibly from the US.
In the Canadian capital, protesters were as upset with Bush's opposition to homosexual "marriage" as they were with Iraq. They included an organizer of the Young Communist League, according to the Ottawa Citizen, who had brought in demonstrators by bus from Toronto to protest Canada joining a US missile defense system.
TV coverage in several cities showed many protesters wearing Muslim headgear - not representative of the Canadian mainstream - and that most of the protesters' pre-printed signs bore the name of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP).
The SWP isn't a Canadian group at all. It does not appear on lists of Canada's registered or unregistered parties. It is a Trotskyite organization based in the UK, Ireland, Australia and the United States. The posters shown on CNN and Fox News were of the same design and font as SWP posters at US protests.
Were the "Canadian" demonstrators another American export?
Clearly, most Canadians oppose US actions in the Iraqi front of the war on international terrorism (they supported the US in Afghanistan), but the made-for-TV protests from Vancouver to Halifax show not only a militant fringe, but a poor turnout as well.
Though organizers said 20,000 demonstrators converged on Ottawa, the press reported only 5,000 actually showed up - an indication that despite their differences, almost no Canadians even bothered to show up to protest the visiting American president.
Many of the demonstrators came in by bus from other cities and possibly from the US.
In the Canadian capital, protesters were as upset with Bush's opposition to homosexual "marriage" as they were with Iraq. They included an organizer of the Young Communist League, according to the Ottawa Citizen, who had brought in demonstrators by bus from Toronto to protest Canada joining a US missile defense system.
TV coverage in several cities showed many protesters wearing Muslim headgear - not representative of the Canadian mainstream - and that most of the protesters' pre-printed signs bore the name of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP).
The SWP isn't a Canadian group at all. It does not appear on lists of Canada's registered or unregistered parties. It is a Trotskyite organization based in the UK, Ireland, Australia and the United States. The posters shown on CNN and Fox News were of the same design and font as SWP posters at US protests.
Were the "Canadian" demonstrators another American export?
posted by JMW at 10:11 AM
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