measles outbreaks this year in southwestern Ontario and Alberta hint at rising vaccine hesitancy. Lantsman herself is not a vaccine skeptic: she got the COVID-19 jab and publicly wore a mask during the pan- demic—positions that not every member of her party shared. Yet she remains sharply critical of how the federal Liberals handled the outbreak with preventative measures such as the closure of elementary schools. When I pointed out that public health officials in that highly uncertain moment didn’t have a road map, Lantsman replied, “If this were to happen again, I would want that road map, because I think there were a lot of mistakes made [by] a lot of different people. And what’s worse about all of those mistakes is that it was used as a political tool by one side to demonize another”—the reference is to Trudeau’s putdown of anti- vaxxers —“and that’s just not something I’ll get behind, not as a politician and not as a woman. I have family members who decid- ed not to be vaccinated, and like other deci- sions in our families, we don’t point fingers at each other.” The reality, of course, is that the deluge of pandemic misinformation and opportunistic rhetoric from the anti-vax po- litical right did, in fact, divide many families. As for Canada’s record on Israel, rising antisemitism, and the war in Gaza, Lants- man—who represents the riding with the highest proportion of Jewish residents any- where in Canada—is unsurprisingly critical. She regards the Carney government’s move this fall (alongside Australia, the UK, France, and Portugal) to recognize Palestinian state- hood as nothing but a “reward” for Hamas. “The bigger concern for Canadians,” Lants- man continues, “is what [the war] is doing here to our population, on our streets, to com- munities. I think the government, for a long time, found a way to play both sides. They
in this country: the freedom to practise your religion while still integrating into Canadian society. I can relate to other religious people better knowing that they’re fac- ing some level of persecution in this country.” The line about religious freedom is an active Conservative talking point these days, and dovetails with rhetoric from MPs like Leslyn Lewis, who talks frequently about attacks on Christian churches. Notwithstanding the party’s posture, Lantsman’s views are evidently conditioned by her own experience of the past two years. Lantsman has had round-the-clock RCMP protection for much of this period. She’s one of
said one thing to one group of people for a long time, and another thing to another group of people, and hoped that that would appease everybody.” In her view, Ottawa’s prima- ry responsibility is to ensure that all communities, regard- less of colour or faith, are safe. “That,” she contends, “is not happening today.” In a 2023 Facebook post, Lantsman wrote that “vile antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant views aren’t welcome in my politics.” These days, she also takes care to stress that she’s not only focusing on attacks on synagogues or Jewish day schools. “I frame it around religious freedom, because I think it’s a big component of what we’re missing
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