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Bill Maher offers Canada as cautionary tale on ‘extreme wokeness’ in blunt rant

April 15, 2024 | | Print Article

Comedian Bill Maher argued on Friday’s HBO broadcast of “Real Time” that progressives in America should look to other progressive countries to learn what does and does not work.

At the same time, he warned that Americans should look to Canada, the beacon of liberalism, as a “cautionary tale” of where the path of “extreme wokeness” leads.

After reminding viewers that the unemployment rate is higher in Canada and that 14 of the 15 worst cities in North America for air pollution are in Canada, Maher railed against “zombie lies,” which he explained occur when things change but what people say about them doesn’t.

“They say in politics liberals are the gas pedal and conservatives are the brakes. And I’m generally with the gas pedal. But not if we’re driving off a cliff,” he warned.

“Canada was where every woke white college kid wearing pajama pants outdoors who had it up to here with America’s racist patriarchy dreamt of living someday. I mean, besides Gaza,” Maher said. “There’s only one problem with thinking everything’s better in Canada: It’s not. Not anymore, anyway.”

He highlighted the reality that the housing crisis in American cities paled in comparison to the cost of housing north of the border.

“If Barbie moved to Winnipeg, she wouldn’t be able to afford her dream house and Ken would be working at Tim Hortons,” he quipped, before noting that Canada has the highest debt to GDP rate of any nation.

Maher also targeted Canada’s “vaunted” single-payer health care.

“Their vaunted health care system, which ranks dead last among high income countries, and access to primary health care, and the ability to see a doctor in a day or two,” he noted. “And it’s not for lack of spending. Of the 30 countries with universal coverage, Canada spends over 13% of its economy on it, which is a lot of money for free health care. Look, I’m not saying Canada still isn’t a great country, it is, but those aren’t paradise numbers.”

“If Canada was an apartment, the lead feature might be America adjacent. And if America was a rental car, Canada would be America or similar,” the comedian concluded. “And again, honestly, Canada, I’m not saying any of this because I enjoy it. I don’t because I’ve always enjoyed you, but I need to cite you as a cautionary tale to help my country.”

“And the moral of that tale is yes, you can move too far left, and when you do, you wind up pushing the people in the middle to the right, he said. “At its worst. Canada is what American voters think happens when there’s no one putting a check on extreme wokeness.”

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:

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