CALGARY—If Canadians want to see change, they shouldn’t wait for politicians or elections, but start with changing themselves, American media personality Tucker Carlson said at an event in Calgary on Jan. 24.
“The first thing that you need to do before changing anything in your country, is to change everything about your heart,” he told a sold-out audience of 4,000 at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre.
Mr. Carlson, who also warned Canadians about forces seeking to destroy their culture, said it’s concerning that civil liberties, which he said have been granted by God, not the Crown, have been eroded in Canada.
“You need to change inside. Your attitude needs to change, and your timidity needs to be replaced by bravery.”
The political commentator and former Fox News host shared the stage with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, high-profile clinical psychologist and speaker Jordan Peterson, and entrepreneur Brett Wilson, who acted as host for one segment of the show.
Responding to Mr. Carlson’s questions, Ms. Smith decried federal regulations targeting the energy sector and noted the need for conservatives to have more presence in key institutions.
“One of the things that I’ve noticed here as conservatives is that we have vacated all of the opinion-shaping institutions in society,” she said, listing universities and the media as examples.
“Universities—Dr. Peterson speaks of this very well—are almost uniformly of an ideology that penalizes kids, quite frankly, if they want to write a paper about conservatism.”
The event was warmly received by the audience, which gave several standing ovations, including when each speaker came onstage.
Canada Connection
During his talk in Calgary, Mr. Carlson spoke of his connections to Canada, saying he is part Canadian because his forefathers settled in Nova Scotia before moving to the United States.“I think Canada is the prettiest country in the world,” he said.
But he listed a number of issues that he said are substantial problems in the country.
“They’re trying to kill your children, which are your inheritance, so the only meaningful thing you will ever produce on earth,” he said.
Mr. Carlson also raised concerns about Canada’s law on medical assistance in dying (MAID), one of the most liberalized in the world. He said that in essence, the government is “encouraging [those using MAID] to submit to being killed by the government.”
When it comes to immigration, he said if admissions are granted for economic development and policies are well articulated with reason, he’s open-minded, but unabated immigration is changing the make-up of Canada.
“I don’t care if you’re taking the population of Stockholm and moving them into Canada. If you change the population of the country, you change the country,” he said. “And you dilute the voting power of the people who are invested in that country.”
Mr. Carlson said Canada is known for its politeness, and “everyone feels morally bound to take everyone else’s point of view very seriously.”
But some perspectives, in fact, “aren’t perspectives,” he said.
“You should recognize what is happening to you. This is not a political debate to which you’ve been invited to participate. This is a destruction of you and your culture and your beliefs and your children and your future.”
Mr. Carlson added that he’s concerned about the targeting of Christians, saying the country should embrace upstanding citizens who promote positive values such as forgiveness.
Making references to recent church-burnings in Canada and religious leaders who were taken into custody due to COVID restrictions during the pandemic, he condemned Canadian politicians’ posturing regarding these issues.
Smith Firm on Oil Production
During her talk with Mr. Carlson, Ms. Smith said she would literally “double down” on developing her province’s oil and gas sector despite pressure from the federal government.
“We’re going to double our oil and gas production,” she said. “I think that we can do a lot to make sure that the Americans know that we are here to provide energy security. We are a great friend, a great ally, a great neighbour.”
She also referred to the recent electricity crisis amid record-cold temperatures in Alberta, saying the push to supply the province’s electrical needs entirely from renewables isn’t realistic.
“You need to have more baseload power and more natural gas,” she said.
Ms. Smith’s government has invoked the province’s newly passed Sovereignty Act in opposition to the federal government’s net-zero electricity deadline of 2035.
In talking about the alienation of conservatism in today’s world, Ms. Smith said that increased urbanization is resulting in a disconnect from many realities.
“Hollywood is terrible when it comes to the messages and how they portray conservatives and how they portray capitalism. And I think as well, we have increasingly become urbanized,” she said.
“When you get disconnected from the land, disconnected from something real, disconnected from the dirty jobs, then do you understand that when you turn the lights on, they only work because of everything that is happening in the rural areas?”
Mr. Carlson also asked about the “Coutts Four,” the four men charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta. The men have been in jail for over 710 days without bail, which civil liberties groups as well as Mr. Carlson say is a violation of their rights.
Ms. Smith didn’t comment on the issue directly, saying that as premier she can’t get involved in judicial matters.
But she talked about the importance of freedom and the dangers of government overreach.
Working-Class Citizens
Commenting on the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest, Mr. Peterson said the protest was part of a broader movement of working-class people, not only in Canada but around the world, noting the recent farmer demonstrations in Germany, France, and Spain.“Part of the reason that it is happening is because working-class people, in their implicit wisdom, have decided that they’re not the problem that faces the planet, but the solution,” he said.
“More power to the truckers. I think they handled that demonstration impeccably. They timed it brilliantly. They left at the right time. They did nothing but good,” he said.
When it comes to Alberta, Mr. Peterson said that the province has been blessed with abundant resources that Albertans have a responsibility to develop.
“If you steward those resources properly, you could help Canada move towards an almost inconceivable abundance and do the same thing around the world,” he said.
“If you’re given a gift and you don’t shepherd it wisely, and you don’t take responsibility for it, and you’re not grateful for its provision, that will destroy you.”
