'Liberals are engaging in bad faith politics': Feminist Conservatives fight back

National Post

2 days ago

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American politics can be a distraction, we agree, and labelling Canadian conservatives as MAGA acolytes is manipulative. But we also agree the federal Conservatives could have done better in the last election, engaging more effectively with female voters, making stronger connections between issues that matter to women — for example, reducing violent crime on streets. 'There was a way their platform could have taken down a lot of this rhetoric on the left about women's rights,' Stella says, 'because, frankly, it's just sensational.'
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'The weaponization of feminism, weaponizing what it is to be a conservative,' Stella observes, 'is really frustrating.' There are many women in the conservative movement, she suggests, pointing to Rona Ambrose as one example, who are strong independent thinkers and wouldn't join a party that's actively trying to harm them.
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Yet it's sometimes difficult to have rational discussions with people, Seniru observes, when they can't explain what underpins their distrust of conservative leadership. 'When I speak with female friends, some of them are conservative, some are not,' Seniru says. Some just believe these things about Poilievre — such as, he's anti-immigrant. 'When I ask why, they say, 'Oh, it's just the vibe that I get.' How do you try to course-correct a vibe?' he shrugs.
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Do optics influence public perceptions of equality; for example, Prime Minister Mark Carney's gender-balanced cabinet? Seniru is skeptical; he sees Carney's decision to not appoint a gender-balanced cabinet during the election as a ploy to convince conservative-learning voters he wasn't a DEI crusader, like his predecessor. However, he notes, once elected, Carney reverted to diversity quotas.
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Stella's response is more personal: 'I never want to be told that I got my job or that I'm in a position of power because there's a quota,' she declares. 'Being told that because I'm a woman, things are going to be harder,' that's a message that can be very harmful, she adds.
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'We support women when they are liberal and as soon as an unapologetically conservative woman comes to the front,' Stella asserts, 'all of a sudden, that support goes away.' Pointing to people like Alberta NDP opposition leader Naheed Nenshi — who refers to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith as a 'pick-me girl' and 'selfie-queen' — Stella suggests this idea of empowering women disappears when the female doesn't fit the narrative of what we think a girl boss should be.
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Although social media is often identified as a culprit in the deepening divide between young men and women, both Seniru and Stella credit Poilievre's success to a solid online presence over the last few years. And yet, we agree, where are the female influencers in this space? That could make a difference. Conservative females in Canada can't seem to find their Jordan Peterson.
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And all that sloganeering in the last election, how did that land with young voters? Both Stella and Seniru roll their eyes and submit: You might attract attention with slogans, but younger generations, males and females, also crave substance.
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'We're tired of having Boomers think we just care about funny memes,' Stella says, with a chuckle.
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