Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, a self-proclaimed backbencher, posted a nine-minute video on YouTube this week about the federal government's carbon pricing policy.
It's no exaggeration to say that this video is setting the internet on fire. As of Friday afternoon, it had 329 total views. But suffice it to say that Erskine-Smith has contributed to the hottest new trend in Canadian politics: speaking at length and in some detail online.
Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith jumped on the “explanatory” video trend with an article on carbon pricing. (Rorenda Redekop/CBC)
Videos like Erskine-Smith's are not completely unheard of. For example, the Liberal Party released a seven-and-a-half minute video in 2014 about its economic vision. And long takes in politics are by no means a new phenomenon. But Erskine-Smith's video follows a 15-minute video about housing posted by Conservative leader Pierre Poièvre in December, which seemed novel at the time.
The Liberal Party responded to Poièvre's video with a three-minute video of its own. Mr. Poièvre's Conservative Party then posted an eight-minute video on plastics and a 13-minute video on corporate concentration, and Mr. Poièvre narrated two videos, each more than 15 minutes long, on public debt.
Mr. Poilievre's penchant for data- and number-heavy videos, filled with charts, graphs, and references to news reports, is based on a central theory of political communication that he articulated several years ago. It seems so. He's a politician who loves clever slogans (especially ones that rhyme), but he also loves facts.
“All of us in politics these days make the mistake of being too focused on staying on course. We say we have to get the right message out,” he said in a 2014 interview. told me. What people want are the right facts. ”
The sheer number of numbers in Mr. Poilievre's presentations also seems to be part of his appeal.
When Stephanie Levitz of the Toronto Star attended a Conservative party rally near Ottawa in March, she observed that some attendees “include concrete facts in their speeches, not just political platitudes. I love the way he does things,” he was reported to have said. These voters trusted him because, as one told Mr. Levitz, “he does his homework.”
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poièvre speaks at a rally in Ottawa on Sunday, March 24, 2024. (Spencer Colby/Canadian Press)
Mr. Poièvre's penchant for numbers also creates an added burden for those he debates with, and it distinguishes him from the Liberal government, which lacks a great deal of detail.
Prime Minister Trudeau's Liberals may be good at summarizing the values they stand for and the ideas they aim to implement, but they're never good at explaining what they did or why they did it. No (with some notable exceptions, such as Prime Minister Trudeau's previous appearance on the Emergency Act Committee in 2022).
Complex mathematics behind one fact
No matter how many facts politicians seem to have at hand, ask whether those facts are fairly explained and whether they match the story they are trying to tell. There is a need. For example, whether Canada is facing an imminent debt crisis is at least debatable.
In his latest video on public debt, Poièvre looked at the federal government's large deficits during the pandemic and said, “Even during the COVID-19 crisis, much of the Trudeau government's spending is not a crisis. “We can't do that because we had no relationship.” Only the new coronavirus should be blamed. ” (That comment plays over a clip of someone who appears to be using the ArriveCan app.)
He then referred to the Congressional Budget Officer's 2022 report, specifically the PBO's finding that 35.5 percent of new spending added to the fiscal framework since the start of the pandemic was not related to COVID-19. The conclusion was pointed out to the audience. Next, Poiivre points out the size of the deficit from 2020 to 2021.
However, the PBO analysis covers a period beyond the pandemic, starting in fiscal year 2019-2020 and ending in 2026-2027. And a graph on page 10 of the report shows that the bulk of “non-coronavirus” spending is expected to occur from 2022-2023 to 2026-2027.
In fiscal years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, when the pandemic was at its peak and government deficits were at their highest, coronavirus-related spending accounted for 85% of all new spending. In 2020-21, when the federal deficit reached $328 billion, coronavirus-related spending was $261.8 billion.
Poièvre may still disagree with the federal government's spending decisions, but he questions whether the PBO numbers support the claim that “much” of the spending “during” the pandemic was not related to the pandemic. Of course. (Mr. Poièvre's office did not respond to an email asking about his claims and the PBO figures.)
Still, given how much these videos focus on complaints about government spending, they might be seen as candid statements about Mr. Poièvre's political worldview.
Do the public want answers that are longer than 10 words?
Cynics might see explainer videos as just another way for politicians to promote their vision and set their agenda without having to deal with journalists' opinions. In a fragmented media environment, there may be more room to do so.
But these videos may be responding to a genuine public desire for depth, explanation, and understanding. It's the same kind of desire that partially fueled the rise of podcasts. When Pew surveyed Americans about their podcast habits in 2022, 55% of respondents said their “main reason” for listening was “to learn,” the second most cited reason. Ta.
It is therefore notable that while the Conservatives are rolling out video commentaries, the Prime Minister is taking part in a podcast tour. Prime Minister Trudeau appeared on Today Explained by Vox, the Freakonomics podcast, and The Big Story last week. (He appeared on CBC's Front Burner last fall.) The resulting interviews were each about 30 minutes long.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during an interview in the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Councilor in Ottawa, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
At the end of Trudeau's Big Story appearance, host Jordan Heath-Rawlings had the bright idea to simply ask the prime minister why he was doing this interview. Trudeau said his favorite type of interview is when he sits down with a radio host for 15 or 20 minutes and has a “real conversation.”
Prime Minister Trudeau said podcasts are like “thoughtful conversations that most Canadians have with friends, colleagues and family about the big issues in their daily lives.”
Prime Minister Trudeau said he wants to move beyond the name-calling that often fuels political debate. He cited both former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi and his desire for “politics in full sentences” and quips about fictional president Jed Bartlet's 10-word answers.
Of course, all the podcast interviews he can do between now and October 2025 may not be enough to change the polls. And even the long answer may be lacking.
But if Canada's political leaders wanted to explain themselves at length and in more detail, it would seem foolhardy to complain. Even if it's still important to check the math.
