The Insiders: Canada's response to the populist wave

Donald Trump may have ridden the populist wave straight to the White House, but how is Canada reacting when it comes to messages like his? 

It remains to be seen how Canadians will respond to party leaders like Ontario's Doug Ford and Quebec's François Legault pushing platforms that promise to return power to the average voter.

As the elections in both provinces near, we asked out expert panel, The Insiders, to weigh in on what populism in Canada looks like. 

Question: What makes Canada's populist wave different than other countries around the world?

David Herle: "I'm not sure that identity politics are at the core of what's driving the populist movements around the world. I think what's at the core of that is 30 to 40 years of an economy that's not working for average people. And over that period of time, I think that people have come to have some serious doubts about if the system is working for them and are looking for people who are change agents to that system."  

Jaime Watt: "We're less divided along class lines than other places. Immigration, racial diversity are really points of national pride here. I think that universal healthcare and equalization payments are two fundamental parts of the structure of the Canadian system that decrease the kind of class system that you need for that kind of populism."

Kathleen Monk: "I think it's really important though, too, to back up a little bit. Populism is often thrown around in politics as a bit of a catch-all phrase. Sometimes it's almost foolishly broad, because there's a different kind of populism that my party, the NDP, had which was at its root arguing for people and farmers and people of different religious backgrounds, compared to the kind of populism we might see and the rhetoric of divisiveness you might see somebody like Doug Ford articulate.I think the challenge when you look at it on a left-right spectrum is the parties on the left actually need to articulate solutions, not just talk about and further people's alienation."