2024 was a year of rising tensions, and we can only be nauseously optimistic for 2025

In last year’s year in review for Cult MTL, I wrote that “Quebecers, Canadians and, I suspect, most of the world feel a little worse for wear these days as we collectively navigate rising political tensions, stubborn inflation, creeping culture wars and global existential angst about what’s to come next.”

Well… 2024 came and went, and we’re about to embark on a brand-new year. And, while I hate to be a “Debbie Downer,” it’s not looking great. 

Trump is back, fascism and kakistocracy (a government by the worst, and may I add, most unqualified) seems more of a reality than ever south of the border. Trump hasn’t even returned to the White House yet and he’s already issuing barely concealed threats to everyone — including Canada — which doesn’t bode well for the working relationship between the two neighbours.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has sparked increased regional tensions across the Middle East and contributed to the rise of antisemitism around the world as Netanyahu’s right-wing government continues to pummel Gaza. Tens of thousands have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Lebanon since the war began, and thousands have been displaced, while the situation for those who remain in Gaza grows more dire by the moment. 

Here in Quebec, thousands of students in post-secondary institutions have been protesting for months, demanding their institutions divest from companies with ties to Israel and calling on the federal government to take a stance against the war in Gaza. While students have a democratic right to protest, the constant demonstrations and the occasional introduction of certain bad-faith actors in these gatherings (not to mention some blatantly antisemitic acts and taunts) have caused fear and unease among Montreal’s Jewish community. It feels like everyone I come across — no matter what they support — is on edge.

Both Quebec’s CAQ and Canada’s Liberal governments are suffering from Tired Government Syndrome. Voters are expressing fatigue with both François Legault and Justin Trudeau, who’ve each led long-standing governments nearing the end of their mandates. The opposition leaders gunning to take their places appear more than willing to push all the required buttons to rile up partisan support.

Rising populism and nativism 

I wish I could offer some positive news, but I don’t see that rising tide of collective angst slowing down anytime soon. I don’t think Donald Trump’s re-election south of the border is good news for Americans and women’s reproductive rights, for us as Canadians or for global politics in general. 

I don’t think Pierre Poilievre’s continued popularity in the polls and probable win in the next Canadian election bodes well for Canada. Nor do I think that the Parti Québécois, which stands a good chance of winning Quebec’s next election, and its continuous shift to the right (especially its ease in scapegoating immigration), harbours any good news for those of us hoping for less division and less marginalization of minorities.

I worry that a global rise in nativism and populism, which in turn breeds more intolerance of all “others,” will create the conditions for the most vulnerable among us to be targeted the most. Around the world, politicians willing to exploit people’s fears and insecurities continue to be rewarded with voter support. 

A look back at 2024

Over the past year, I wrote about how the deaths of migrants at the U.S.-Canada border exposes dangerous border policies and the double standards many seeking help face. I wrote about how Elon Musk — someone who’ll soon have a key position in the Trump administration — was lying about undocumented migrants to stir up hate and resentment against them. 

I wrote many articles detailing how the CAQ’s anti-immigration policies have made family reunification for Quebecers a total nightmare, with many of the affected family members forced to wait three and four times longer to reunite with their loved ones than they would in other Canadian provinces. 

I warned about the Trumpification of Canadian politics. “Political strategy that thrives on aggressive opposition and leverages pre-existing discontent,” I wrote back in April, “often fixated on elected officials, could lead to the steady deterioration of our political institutions.” As we embark on a new year, my worries haven’t dissipated. 

If anything, as I watch Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre lean even more into these divisive politics, with constant rage-baiting and Canada-is-broken narratives that only aim to weaponize people’s fears and discontent with the state of the world, I worry that many Canadians will simply vote for a political leader who has shown no signs of maturity or offered any real solutions to what ails Canada, merely out of a desire to “stick it” to the current status quo that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau represents. 

I wrote about how the preservation and protection of the French language has often been used as a weapon by Quebec’s CAQ administration to stir up discontent, all by a government that’s been slow to offer up real investments and support to newcomers wanting to learn the language. Despite the CAQ’s rhetoric that protecting French is a top priority, the government has been slashing francisation classes and letting go of teachers offering classes to newcomers. 

Demanding asylum seekers communicate with the government solely in French within six months, without providing them the tools to do so, is like “newcomers being asked to dig a hole without being given a shovel,” according to those on the ground working to help them integrate. 

And while Quebec’s healthcare and education systems continue to deteriorate, and the housing crisis worsens, a good chunk of Quebec’s political and pundit class appear irrationally obsessed with “wokeism.” 

Uneasy hopefulness for 2025

Right after Trump was re-elected, I saw a social media post describing people’s current state of mind as “nauseously optimistic.” I laughed, but I also shook my head in recognition. It’s a term that I think perfectly captures the current zeitgeist and best describes the trepidation and uneasy hopefulness many of us share. 

As we figure out how to fight for something better, it’s important to remember we’re not at it alone. Even if it all feels rather bleak right now.

I was recently reminded of celebrated author Toni Morrison being asked the question, “How do you survive whole in a world where we’re all victims of something?”

To which she replied, “Sometimes you don’t survive whole, you just survive in part.”

I suspect a lot of us survived the pandemic “in part” and it’s starting to show, as I see too many people around me unravelling. 

Morrison went on: “But the grandeur of life is that attempt. It’s not about that solution. It is about, you know, being as fearless as one can, and behaving as beautifully as one can, under completely impossible circumstances.” 

Many of us — for different and perhaps even opposing reasons — feel that we are currently living under impossible circumstances. What we each hope for may feel like an impossibility right now: Peace, civility, harmony, functioning democracies, justice, a roof over our head, access to a doctor, a salary to cover our basic needs, not constantly worrying about our families in other countries, goodwill towards one another, kindness and empathy for those who have lost and who may stand to lose even more.

But we can’t afford to give up. 

Even if the entire world feels weary and old these days — a universe that sounds more and more like a creaking tree — we need to keep moving forward, insisting that we can collectively create a better tomorrow. As divided, as devastated and as woefully misunderstood as we may all feel today. 

To quote the luminous Toni Morrison once again, “Me and you, we got more yesterday than anybody. We need some kind of tomorrow.” ■

This article was originally published in the Dec. 2024 issue of Cult MTL.

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Read more weekly editorial columns by Toula Drimonis.