Picture a leader that says political opponents should be in jail and that if the police aren’t doing that, they themselves are corrupt. Or a leader who attacks diversity, equity and inclusion policies and subtly creates a sense of otherness by calling supporters ‘good folk.’ Or one that attempts to rouse anger and a sense of victimhood by saying that youth jobs are being stolen by foreign workers or one who takes every opportunity to stoke fear over crime and the failure of the justice system.

Such tactics, and others like appealing to a mythical past (‘everything is broken now’), anti-intellectualism and referencing “gatekeepers” or accusing an opponent of using “big words” are all examples of fascism as brilliantly explained by Jason Stanley in his brilliant book How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them.

It’s what makes Donald Trump and his supporters an existential threat to our very way of life. The above examples sound like Trump but they are just a few examples from the social media of our federal Leader of the Opposition.

To be clear, I am in no way suggesting that Pierre Poilievre is a fascist. According to him that would be calling him a socialist, but I digress.

What I am saying is that his messaging seems to have gone from a negative attack style to one that has many echoes of Donald Trump. And as many commentators noted, a lot of Trump’s communication and indeed actions meet the definition of fascist and authoritarian.

What I am saying is that this style of communication is dangerous. It is sent through the vomit comet of social media and amplified by both extreme groups and malicious state actors who actively seek to have us divided to increase their own strategic position.

What I am saying is that you can’t get a genie back in the bottle. We are witnessing scenes south of the border that seemed impossible just 10 years ago. The loss of democracy in what some might call the birthplace of democracy is suddenly a possibility.

Stoking the fear and frustration of a group and making them feel like victims is the start of textbook totalitarianism. It’s the thin edge of the wedge.

(Trigger warning: offensive content ahead.) You can see this dangerous slide in local online conversations. People are labelled ‘Libtards.’ Entire groups are written off and made ‘other,’ their very existence defined as inconsequential or even dangerous. It starts with people experiencing addiction. But it often extends to residents of public housing. Every criminal act or person released on bail is their fault.

Issues of crime, immigration, and mental health are serious topics and demand a vigorous response from all political parties. But the approach and tone of that response are now crucial.

The stakes are high. We might not survive us versus them.