Here's what disturbs me: until recently, the "ideal Canadian" stereotype was a *parody* -- specifically, Bob and Doug MacKenzie sitting in the woods with cans of beer, unsuccessfully trying to hunt things, and having rambling absurd conversations. But it seems like the Conservatives are now seriously trying to invoke the idea of "ordinary people", specifically in opposition to the arts; in response to protests against recent cuts to arts funding, Stephen Harper came up with a bizarre spiel about how artists, apparently, spend all our time in ballgowns at fancy galas, funded by taxpayers, and televised on the CBC, and "ordinary people" don't like seeing such shenanigans.
I'm not sure the "ordinary people" are currently defined by anything other than their dislike of highfalutin artists and intellectuals, but if the tactic seems to fly for him, I'm sure he'll make more out of it.
Of course there's a whole different dynamic in Quebec, but I don't feel fully qualified to comment on the ideal Quebecois. The pur laine idea still has strength, though.
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Date: 2008-10-04 12:30 am (UTC)I'm not sure the "ordinary people" are currently defined by anything other than their dislike of highfalutin artists and intellectuals, but if the tactic seems to fly for him, I'm sure he'll make more out of it.
Of course there's a whole different dynamic in Quebec, but I don't feel fully qualified to comment on the ideal Quebecois. The pur laine idea still has strength, though.