New Delhi:
Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, led by Mark Carney, is in the lead against Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party, according to initial projections. It marks a turnaround for the Liberals, who, only a few months ago, were trailing in the polls.
As Canadian politics enters a new chapter, let’s look back at one of the most memorable – and bizarre – moments in the country’s campaign history: when a candidate flew on a giant goose, slayed a dragon, and shot lasers from his eyes.
In 2015, Wyatt Scott, an independent candidate from British Columbia, released a 60-second campaign video during the federal election. In the ad, Mr Scott soars through the sky on a giant Canada goose, wields a massive sword to slay a dragon, fires laser beams from his eyes to destroy a robot, and even fist-bumps an alien. At one point, he also catches a man falling from the sky.
Mr Scott, who ran unaffiliated in a riding east of Vancouver, campaigned on key issues such as economy, equality, and education.
In an interview with The Guardian, Mr Scott, back then, explained, “In this day and age you have to come up with something pretty clever to get everybody’s attention.” “This is what we thought we could get away with without pushing the envelope too much,” he said.
To create the video, Mr Scott recruited student filmmakers through Craigslist, giving them significant artistic freedom. Although it was posted online in June 2015, it only went viral weeks later.
Mr Scott, a small business owner, decided to run as an independent after growing disillusioned with party politics while managing a friend’s failed Liberal nomination campaign.
In the 2015 Canadian federal election, it was Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party that ultimately swept to power, winning a majority government and ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule.
Now, a decade later, under the leadership of Mark Carney, the Liberals are likely to win – their fourth consecutive term in power. This comeback is attributed to a surge in nationalism spurred by US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies and threats about him making Canada the 51st state.
