Plans vs. Slogans. But, hey... a new slogan!
The unbearable hypocrisy of damning slogans with... well, slogans.
You may hate them. You may think they’re childish. But slogans are integral to politics. And marketing. And they’re not going anywhere.
The Liberal Party of Canada unveiled a new three word slogan in an email to party supporters just recently: “Fight. Protect. Build.” As slogans go, it’s a good one. Two of the three words call out to Canadians in a fighting spirit to face down Donald Trump’s de facto declaration of war. The third (least important?) recognizes that Canada’s in a mess after 10 years of ideological efforts to unbuild much of what made Canada strong in the first place.
Unsaid, is the truth it was the Liberal Party of Canada who so weakened Canada that we are in such a mess, but hey… memories are short in politics and did I mention “WAR!!??!!"
Forgotten, it seems is one of Mark Carney’s first rhetorical attacks on Pierre Poilievre when he was running to win patiently waiting to be crowned the Liberal Leader. He condemned the Conservative leader for offering “nothing more” than fatuous three word slogans. Axe the Tax. Build the Homes. Fix the Budget. Stop the Crime.
It was a good shot. Unfortunately for Carney, his team summed up that condemnation of three word slogans with Plan Versus Slogans which, of course, is a three word slogan.
Doubling down on the rhetorical hypocrisy, Team Carney went further, promising a vote for Carney to become Liberal leader was a vote for: Experience versus Incompetence, and Calm versus Chaos. They pointed out it was Time to Build, so Canadians should join Carney then Let’s Build Together and Commit to Vote.
You can’t make this stuff up.
All of Carney’s leadership race competitors, save one, quickly recognized the Liberals would not win against the Conservatives if the ballot question was a referendum on the past decade of their governance. The election had to be about something else. Enter new US president Donald Trump, stage (very, very) right, to seize the day and become the only news story on Earth.
Trump was born a villain. It’s what he does. Always has been. Canada must be strong to fight against him. Canada Strong.
The Conservatives saw the shift coming too and adjusted their campaign brand to Canada First. Unfortunately, this slogan rings similarly to Trump’s own America First brand. Not the look Canadians are hungry for today. Trump is the villain, remember? Canadians don’t emulate the bad guy.
Canada Strong is a slogan. Like all good political slogans, it looks good, fits easily on signs, podium placards, posters, t-shirts and merch. Like most good political slogans, it’s not original. It mimics Boston Strong, the historic callout to Bostonians to stand strong and heroic in the face of brutal terror. It doesn’t side with the villains.
Carney has, so far, faced many allegations of “borrowing” other people’s ideas. His first leadership campaign logos were criticized for ripping off corporate logos and wordmarks. There are suggestions he’s padded his memory with undue credit for the work of others during the 2008 financial crisis and Brexit. Even his Oxford Ph.D. thesis has recently been called into question with allegations of plagiarism.
And then there’s Carney’s election platform. Beyond doubt, many of Carney’s election promises are lifted directly from Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative policy book. The Liberals can’t run on their own record, after all. It’s what destroyed them and gave the Conservatives an overwhelming lead in public support. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em became Carney’s unofficial campaign axiom. Too bad it’s too long for a bumper sticker.
Canada’s consumer carbon tax (the one that “put more money in your pocket” and was vitally necessary for the continued existence of the planet, according to the Liberals) was the Justin Trudeau’s keystone policy achievement. It raised the price of everything and was loathed by all Canadians who aren’t rich enough afford it. Its elimination was foundational to Poilievre’s core campaign promise to Axe the Tax and Spike the Hike. It was winning. So, winning that Carney stole that too.
On his first day in office as Prime Minister, Mark Carney promised to make the consumer carbon tax go away (kinda, sorta, though not really.) Why? Because, as Liberals explain, eliminating the carbon tax will “put more money in your pocket.” It is, apparently, no longer vitally necessary for the continued existence of the planet. Hey, things change.
Team Carney so admires Donald Trump’s showmanship they stole one of Trump’s signature moves from his presidential reality show “Executive Orders” (have you watched season 2 yet?) and staged their own dramatic TV vignette.
With a televised flourish, Carney signed a meaningless document “instructing that the fuel charge be removed as of April 1, 2025.” Nevermind, he had no legal power to do so. Nevermind Canada does not have Executive Orders. Nevermind the document he signed was nothing more than a campaign prop. Just nevermind.
Props and slogans have won elections for Liberals before. In 2003, Dalton McGuinty famously won the premiership of Ontario after publicly signing The “Taxpayer Protection Promise” (three words) to not introduce any new taxes if elected. Shortly after winning the election, McGuinty’s Liberal government introduced the largest increase in provincial health taxes in memory. As an interesting, and possibly relevant aside, the same political operatives who produced McGuinty, later produced Kathleen Wynne, Justin Trudeau and are now producing Carney.
Slogans Work.
The public may decry them. Pundits may mock them. Competitors may criticize them. But, slogans work.
Three word slogans are powerful. They' have poetic rhythm. They help build cadence in good speeches. They’re easy to remember. They’re easy to pass from person to person by word of mouth with zero loss of fidelity or broken telephone syndrome.
They fit on bumper stickers. They fit on signs. They fit on t-shirts and coffee mugs, posters and podiums.
So, they’re not going away.
What political slogans do you remember most?
Stop the Gravy Train
The Common Sense Revolution