Meanwhile in Canada … Things Are Just as Bad

Canada has two Trump-like candidates running for the federal Conservative leadership on platforms very similar to those that have nudged the United States and parts of Europe into the embrace of white nationalism.

.. After the American election, a member of Parliament named Kellie Leitch sent out an email blast calling Mr. Trump’s win “an exciting message and one that we need delivered in Canada as well.”

.. Ads for Ms. Leitch run on our version of Breitbart, the adorably named The Rebel, a site that traffics in hate speech. Earlier this week, The Rebel wondered if the Quebec City shooter was actually a Muslim extremist rather than a white nationalist.

.. Meanwhile, Kevin O’Leary, a fame-hungry “Shark Tank” judge who has been living in Boston and refers to himself as “Mr. Wonderful,” is the latest to announce he’s running for the Conservative leadership. He has also argued that the 85 wealthiest people in the world having as much money as the 3.5 billion poorest is a good thing.

“It inspires everybody to get some motivation,” he said. “Of course I applaud it.”

.. Toronto has a history of police performing street-checks on black men at far higher rates than they do on white men. Quebec in particular has a lamentable record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies.

.. There is no Canadian exceptionalism. What’s happening here now has been happening for decades: Bias and discrimination are rooted in our history and government. All that’s true about America’s broken system is true, too, of Canada’s. The only real difference is the illusion that Canada is intrinsically better.

America has elected a dangerous demagogue to its highest office. In Canada, we’re just one election away from falling into the same trap.