Canada’s chief justice’s U.S. “dictatorship” comment raises eyebrows
Wagner’s comments mark an unusually sharp and sweeping intervention from a sitting chief justice into the political discourse of a foreign democracy.
In a controversial move, Canada’s Chief Justice Richard Wagner appeared to wade headfirst into foreign political waters this week, warning that former U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticisms of the judiciary reflect a global slide toward what he claimed to be a “dictatorship.”
Speaking at his annual news conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, Wagner was asked about Trump’s tense relationship with segments of the American judiciary.
“The rule of law and judicial independence are under attack,” Wagner said, referring broadly to global trends.
He then went further, warning that when governments attack “the media, judges, lawyers and universities,” as he claimed the Trump administration has done, there’s “a good chance it’s a dictatorship, an autocratic government.”
Wagner’s comments mark an unusually sharp and sweeping intervention from a sitting chief justice into the political discourse of a foreign democracy.
While celebrating the strength of Canada’s own institutions, Wagner implied that the U.S. is exhibiting symptoms of autocracy.
Trump, who came back to office in January, repeatedly clashed with U.S. courts over rulings that have delayed or halted aspects of his policy agenda, including tariffs on Canada.
In recent weeks, he has called one judge a “radical left lunatic” and slammed the system as “incompetent” after rulings stalled deportations and other executive actions.
His critics call this dangerous rhetoric; his supporters say it’s a justified response to judicial overreach.
Wagner, without naming Trump, suggested that any government exhibiting such tendencies threatens democratic norms.
“We have to be careful,” he said. “We should not take anything for granted.”
Though Wagner framed his comments as part of a broader concern about global trends, he drew a comparison between Trump-era rhetoric and dictatorship.
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That's an unbelievable comment coming from a judicial system in Canada that is made up of activist judges who aren't applying the law as they should in the name of social justice. The rights and freedoms of the individual Canadian take second place. For example, ones right to be able to walk down the street safely takes second place to the rights of the criminal who happened to be brought up in terrible circumstances, abuse etc. so that the judge says "It's not his fault" and lets him out on bail to commit another crime.
These same type of judges are trying to block policies that Trump is doing in the US by deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes (some very violent crimes like murder), just as one example.
Another Liberal Nut.