Saloni Bhugra: Rise in Populism: Then and Now

About the author:

Saloni Bhugra became one of the recipients of the prestigious CBC Joan Donaldson scholarship in 2022. Being an active and aware citizen, and after attending and organizing over 26 international level conferences, she inculcated the trait to speak up about world issues on a regular basis. Through her work, she aims to voice the deliberately silenced sections of society and act as a watchdog to the people in power. Bhugra has spent the past four years in Canada practicing journalism at Humber’s Skedline, Florence University of Arts, and FBI Style Magazine. In November 2020, she produced a conference at Humber to educate journalists about the ‘Unapologetic Reckoning in the Media: Racism in the Newsroom.’ Her engagement with communities from all over the world led her to become a humanitarian aid worker at The Safe Space Project, and a digital contributor at The Blindian Project. Bhugra is a contributor and administrator of Ruckus Women, where she is working to facilitate BIPOC artists in Canada to build an art collective that aims to ‘decolonize art’ and raise funds to empower Canadian BIPOC artists. Her interest in politics around the world and sociological issues led her to base her thesis on the topic “The Rise in Populism: Then and Now” which talks about the history of polarization and right-wing extremism, the reasons behind it, and most importantly, why are we still failing at preventing it from rising. If you wish to send her story ideas or feedback, feel free to reach out on social media or email. Twitter: BhugraSaloni Instagram: Saloni_Bhugra

Click here for Saloni Bhurga’s portofolio.

About the Project:

A Pew Research of 2014 shows the rising gap between the Republicans and the Democrats since 1990s. The gap has doubled from 10 per cent to 21 per cent. Such increasing polarization can be seen around the world; giving rise to extrajudicial movements and right-wing extremism. This project takes the recent examples of such extremism in North America: the January 6, 2021 riots in the States and the Truck Convoy 2022 in Canada. Poet Laureate and professor at the University of Toronto George Elliott Clarke has written a poem about the convoy, comparing it to the Bring Coup. He gives historical context tracing the issue as back as the Hayes Tilden Compromise, to Adrien Arcand and now the Truck Convoy; all with an underlying issue of race. International affairs professor at Carleton University and extremism analyst Stephanie Carvin points the several driving forces to such extremism and the potential danger our future might hold. NDP member of the House of Commons, Alistaire MacGregor and international relations professor at University of Toronto Arnd Jurgensen, point out the economic factors that pull people on both ends of the political spectrum, and why some political parties are playing a dangerous game of “riding a tiger.”

Contact information of sources:

George Elliott Clarke: torontopoetlaureate@gmail.com

Stephanie Carvin: StephanieCarvin@cunet.carleton.ca

Arnd Jurgensen: ajurgensen@sympatico.ca

Alistaire Macgregor: adam.moore.810@parl.gc.ca

Henry Berube: henry Henri.Berube@humber.ca