Could socialists and populists unite?

OAKVILLE, ONT.—If superhero movies have taught me anything, it’s that we live in a “multiverse,” which theoretically means there exists an infinite number of parallel universes, including an infinite number of parallel Canadas. This intriguing notion got me wondering if, amongst all those infinite parallel Canadas, there was at least one Canada in existence where the federal New Democratic Party was propping up a minority Conservative government. Now I know at this point many of you are probably thinking to yourself that I shouldn’t even bring up such a crazy notion; after all, even if there were a trillion, trillion parallel Canadas, there’s no way any version of a progressive, left-wing, socialist NDP would ever find itself supporting a redneck, populist, right-wing Conservative Party. It just wouldn’t happen. And, yes, maybe that’s correct. But before we dismiss this idea entirely, let’s keep in mind that the views of the populist right and of the socialist left do, in fact, overlap on many issues. For instance, both sides share a disdain for the upper class “elites,” both sides are also suspicious of free trade and of unfettered free markets, and both sides don’t think kindly of big corporations, with the populist right thinking they’re too “woke," and the socialist left thinking they’re too exploitive. I could even see a potential agreement between the two sides over an issue such as climate change, i.e., perhaps they could both support imposing a special climate change tax on limousines, private jets, and yachts. At any rate, my point is the idea that right-wing populists and socialists might find enough common ground to co-operate is not really all that outlandish. In theory, it could take place. Indeed, some might argue that if anyone ever succeeded in fusing together an alliance between these two ideological brands it could create a formidable political movement. As a matter of fact, there are those who believe American politician Robert Kennedy Jr., a left-wing Democrat with populist leanings, is trying to build just such a movement right now in the United States. This is why I believe there probably is a variant of Canada somewhere in the multiverse where the NDP and Conservatives are political allies. But the pressing question is: could such an alliance ever happen in the Canada which exists in our own spatial dimension? It’s something we do need to consider since, if public polls are to be believed—always a pretty big “if,”—the Conservatives could very well win a minority government in the next federal election. So, if that happens, will the NDP help keep the Conservative Party in power? I think the answer to that question is a definite no. That’s because in our version of Canada, the NDP, while officially socialist, is actually more ideologically aligned with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s brand of “don’t-rock-the-boat” progressive liberalism than it is to Marxist-style socialism. Yes, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will occasionally rail against capitalist grocery store CEOs gouging Canadian consumers, but for the most part he doesn’t seem interested in urging the proletariat to overturn the bourgeois establishment. Nor do I think Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre is a rabid right-wing populist. Yes, he employs populist-style rhetoric, but at the end of the day, I’d argue Poilievre's ideology is more akin to Stephen Harper’s conservatism than it is to Donald Trump’s populism. In other words, the Conservatives and the NDP lack a common anti-establishment ideological “radicalism” that could form the basis of a parliamentary partnership. Mind you, there’s probably a different version of me in a different universe coming to a different conclusion. Gerry Nicholls is a communications consultant. The Hill Times