Some Liberals fear 'woke' image

Shock rippling through party after byelection loss

- ALEX BALLINGALL

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rides a horse during celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the Tsilhqot’in decision, in Nemaiah Valley, B.C., on Wednesday. Trudeau hasn’t taken questions about his leadership plans from the media since the Conservatives won this week’s byelection in a Toronto riding that had been Liberal since 1993.

OTTAWA Shock and disappointment over Monday’s byelection defeat in midtown Toronto is still rippling through federal Liberal circles, with some insiders stating their party has veered too far from the political centre and gained a damaging association with the “woke” left.

It’s one of the many factors Liberals are pointing at — alongside souring views on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership — to explain how they lost to Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives on Monday, in a riding that has elected Liberals reliably in 10 previous campaigns since 1993. On Thursday, former B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark became the latest prominent voice to call on Trudeau to resign.

For Marcus Powlowski, a Liberal MP from northern Ontario, part of the problem is a public perception — which he thinks is wrong — that the party is connected to a closedminded political correctness that prioritizes “identity politics” over “universal human values.”

Powlowski described this type of politics as including “cancel culture,” in which people are shamed for expressing certain opinions, and said the party needs to counter the perception it is too “woke” by better showcasing its centrist values of fiscal discipline, support for free enterprise, and the “traditional” liberalism of free speech, civil liberties and equality.