While Canadians took to Twitter to express love for their country this July 1, they also took aim at Prime Minister Stephen Harper with an abundance of tweets critiquing his policies and his party.
#DenounceHarper was trending on Twitter in Canada on Sunday and the hashtag was second only to #HappyCanadaDay.
From Bill C-38 and its impact on Canada’s environmental policies, to the robocall scandal to the seal hunt, Canadians held little back when it came expressing their disdain for the prime minister.
A Twitter user going by the name @jabest tweeted: “#DenounceHarper for ignoring doctors, scientists, economists, statisticians, the opposition & the Canadian people before passing legislation.”
However, several Harper supporters took to the twitterverse to defend the prime minister.
“Disappointed to see that Canadian Liberals are using Canada Day to be disrespectful instead of celebrate Canada,” tweeted @HaoleChris.
While it’s unclear where the trend started, a Facebook group called #DenounceHarper: Your Stories had 320 members as of Sunday afternoon. The group stressed that it was non-partisan and encouraged participants to share their concerns about Canada’s future.
A blog post by a Toronto-area writer mentioned the hashtag about a month ago and asked Twitter users to change their profile pictures to a Denounce Harper photo.
Meanwhile, Harper celebrated Canada Day at Parliament Hill, where he addressed the crowd of thousands whohad gathered to celebrate the country’s 145th birthday.
“For the best country in the world, this is a great day,” Harper said.
