STARING AT THE SUN — A report from the Public Policy Forum today reasserts that “Canada has a polarization problem” and leaves intervention at the hands of current leaders. The Freedom Convoy was a wake-up call, writes award-winning investigative journalist JUSTIN LING, who authored the report. Translation: Time to pump the brakes on “intense social media videos” that launder misinformation on high-emotion issues for votes. “We still have time and ability to address these problems, but we require leaders who want to reduce this polarization and are willing to abandon the tactics that drive it,” Ling writes. “That does not require that individuals in our political system and media water down their beliefs or mute their criticism of each other, but it does demand that they do so thoughtfully, and with awareness of their own potentially corrosive impact.” — The stakes: Growing anxiety among young Canadians. “If these trends continue, our politics will become more gladiatorial and performative. More voters will tune out and drop out, leaving less territory in the middle and on the margins to be contested. Politics will devolve further into trench warfare.” The report is the culmination of a three-year democracy project in which the think tank, led by EDWARD GREENSPON, sought to learn how digital technologies are shaping the way Canadians between the ages 18 and 35 think and feel about politics in this country. — The goal: To understand how polarization manifests and what trends propel it forward. The Freedom Convoy and Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s decision to use vaccine status as a wedge issue in the last federal election received scrutiny in the report. — There were high-level disclosures: Anonymity was traded with politicians, staffers and journalists in exchange for candor. Two unnamed Conservatives MPs told the PPF they’re aware they play a role in a “toxic feedback loop” in which they whip up anger and distrust among supporters in order to fuel party fundraising campaigns. “Those supporters, in turn, are becoming increasingly fervent in their beliefs, distrustful of rival parties and demanding of ideological purity. To meet those members where they are means the party must in turn become more confrontational and dogmatic.” Trudeau’s approach with anti-vaccine groups “really divided” people and encouraged score-keeping, one Indigenous leader said, adding that public health policies designed to protect the vulnerable could have been communicated without denigrating others. — Inside Ottawa: Partisans argue the Hill climate isn’t more polarized than ever, noting that MPs and staffers from different parties still chit chat and drink together when cameras are off. — Outside: 38 percent of young adults surveyed by online polling firm Real-Time Interactive World-Wide Intelligence on behalf of PPF think political division will increase in Canada. “Multiple MPs,” party affiliation not identified, noted how polarization is fated to grow because of an apparent trend in centrist voters rejecting Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE, forcing the party to shop for support among right-leaning, “unplugged” corners of the political system. “This strategy could radicalize the conservative movement in Canada, as it has done in other rich countries,” the report reads. “It is a risk, they admit. But they say it will be worth it to win.” — Digital dupe: Facebook’s 2018 algorithm change that prioritized content from users’ friends and families (and their ranty posts) got a shout out as a factor that inadvertently fueled a “rage arms race” for partisans. “By promoting friends to the exclusion of strangers, Facebook deprioritized news and politics, forcing news outlets and politicians to work harder to break through.” — Smash cut to today: Facebook’s parent company is feeling experimental again. Meta announced Tuesday that it has started ending news availability for all Facebook and Instagram users in Canada as a strong-arm tactic in response to Bill C-18, the Liberals’ Online News Act. (They’re not fans.) All major party leaders posted to their Facebook and Instagram accounts the same day. (They’re still fans of the platforms.) | 
