MacLean's December 2018 issue is causing controversy online.
It features a cover photo of Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Alberta’s United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Ontario Premier Doug Ford titled “The Resistance."
Powerful conservative leaders from across the country are suddenly united against Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax plan. And they’re spoiling for a fight. Meet the resistance. Read the full story by @InklessPW: https://t.co/XeO3T69ggP pic.twitter.com/6ncZD0biTJ
— Maclean's Magazine (@macleans) November 7, 2018
The article inside explores where the five leaders stand when it comes to a federal carbon tax.
But online, it’s the image people are focused on, resulting in a number of parodies, and people referring to the group as dinosaurs.
A political science professor calls it a great cover for the issue, adding it’s only an image.
“It’s always good for provinces to line up against the feds, especially when they’re different parties,” said Jim Farney, Associate Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Regina.
Twitter users claim the term “The Resistance” belongs to the left, but Farney believes it can be used by either side of the political spectrum, adding it raises the question “what are people actually standing for?”
According to Premier Moe, it shows more Canadians oppose a federal carbon tax. He says both Saskatchewan and Ontario are large trading provinces, and don’t support the tax.
“There would have been one province and one Premier in the cover of this paper had they written this story a year ago,” Moe said, emphasizing the growing number of politicians joining them in opposition. “Now we have Ontario, we have Manitoba, likely Alberta at some point in time.”
Farney says the image was photoshopped so it seems like a deliberate decision to portray the five men and show what the conservative parties really are, adding it’s actually an image the Federal Conservatives don’t want, as the party will need to break through diverse suburban ridings in Vancouver and Toronto in order to win the next election.
