Roundup: Piercing Lantsman’s kayfabe

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Because everything is so stupid, Conservative Twitter got itself all hot and bothered over the weekend because Nathaniel Erskine-Smith had the temerity to break the kayfabe when the Melissa Lantsman was engaging in performative outrage.

Context: This was an event Erskine-Smith held in his riding for Mark Carney, and Lantsman stood outside to say ludicrously stupid things, and Erskine-Smith, who was standing right there, made a good-natured objection, and did so in a way where Lantsman broke—her performative outrage cracked, she smiled and basically admitted it was all bullshit, and then tried to carry on to finish the performance, got her talking points backwards, but she finished the scene. Conservatives, however, were incensed that the fakery was exposed, so they edited the clip, invented the charge that Erskine-Smith was a creep because he touched her shoulder and shook her hand—the most regular things in politics—and *gasp!* suggested they get a drink like a good-natured colleague would. This would not stand.

What’s particularly hilarious about this is that this is just more Conservative cry-bullying (which I have been on the receiving end of), where they pretend to be the wronged party in order to have someone “cancelled,” while they bemoan and wail about so-called “cancel culture” (which has never actually cancelled anyone, especially in a country where the National Post gives them column inches the very next day). Meanwhile, if they think that women like Lantsman are that fragile, perhaps they should start insisting that women not be accompanied outdoors without a male relative escorting them, or that they should start wearing burkas so as not to attract unwanted attention—you know, like the Taliban would say.

It’s all so fake, and this is what they want our political discourse to be.

Ukraine Dispatch

Ukraine downed 50 out of 72 Russian drones launched overnight Saturday. President Zelenskyy replaced the commander of the eastern forces for the third time in a year, as Russia continues to encroach on strategic settlements.

Good reads:

  • Mélanie Joly says a Canadian who went missing in Afghanistan and was presumed captured by the Taliban is now freed thanks to Qatar.
  • The task force looking into the productivity of the civil service says they’re not looking at remote work as part of their mandate.
  • CBC tried to look into those fake article scam ads that use Canadian politicians’ images as bait, but much of the trail leads to Twitter refusing to do anything about it.
  • King Charles isn’t weighing in on Trump’s predations about Canada? Well, no, it would actually be incredibly inappropriate for him to do so. (FFS, guys!)
  • Here’s a look at how Poilievre latched onto the American culture war to weaponize terms like “woke” in Canadian political vernacular.
  • Chandra Arya was disqualified from the Liberal leadership race, so he’s crying foul, and a bunch of conservatives hoping to back him are mad online.
  • NDP MP Charlie Angus wants Elections Canada to investigate Elon Musk and his ownership of Twitter for election interference.
  • Danielle Smith says the other premiers went freelancing regarding Trump, and then proceeds to detail how she went freelancing after being told not to. Honestly…
  • Kevin Carmichael considers the options available in a looming trade war.
  • Philippe Lagassé reflects on just how integrated our military is with the US, and how untangling from them in the face of Trump’s predations may be unfeasible.
  • Susan Delacourt and Matt Gurney debate whether it’s wise for leadership candidates like Freeland to try and use Trump to make their case, as it attracts his ire further.
  • Delacourt delves further into the election hopes of both Doug Ford and Pierre Poilievre, and why 2025 has changed their calculations.
  • Paul Wells ponders what Trump may be thinking when it comes to Canada, Greenland and Panama, and the position we find ourselves in.
  • My weekend column looks at the Liberal leadership candidates who realised that the party has abandoned its grassroots and that they need to get them back.

Odds and ends:

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