Fear, Division, and the Future of British Columbia: Are We Being Manipulated?

 Fear, Division, and the Future of British Columbia: Are We Being Manipulated?

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about fear in politics.

Why are so many politicians trying to make people angry at each other instead of helping solve problems?

Pierre Poilievre talks a lot about protecting people, but who is really being protected when fear and division become the main political strategy?

When people are scared about housing, jobs, food prices, or the future of their children, they are vulnerable. That fear can easily be redirected toward other groups: Indigenous communities. Immigrants. Environmental advocates. People living in cities. People living in poverty. Anyone presented as “the problem.”

But are ordinary Canadians really each other’s enemies?

Why does politics increasingly feel like rage, blame, and endless conflict?

Why are we seeing more “us versus them” messaging in Canada?

And why does so much of it sound similar to the style used by Donald Trump in the United States?

Strong communities are not built through fear-mongering. Strong communities are built through trust, compassion, critical thinking, and honesty.

We should ask ourselves: Who benefits when neighbours turn against each other? Who profits from outrage and division? Who gains power when people stop trusting science, journalism, education, or democratic institutions? Who benefits when people are too angry and exhausted to think clearly?

British Columbia is already facing enormous challenges: housing insecurity, climate disasters, healthcare strain, toxic drug deaths, economic anxiety, and growing inequality.

Do we really need more division added to that?

Or do we need leaders who calm tensions instead of inflaming them?

Protecting our families also means protecting them from manipulation, propaganda, and fear-driven politics.

It means teaching our children to ask questions. To think critically. To verify information. To care about truth. And to remember that democracy becomes fragile when people stop listening to each other.

Fear is powerful. But so is empathy. So is community. So is courage. And so is refusing to be manipulated by anger.

Maybe the real question is: What kind of Canada — and what kind of British Columbia — do we want to leave behind for the next generation?

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