Woke Trudeau minister claims he doesn’t know what 'woke' means

In recent years, the word “woke” has entered the political lexicon, used by conservatives to denounce those who espouse far-left ideology and pander to social justice warrior types.

In response to a speech in which recently-elected Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre used the term to refer to the Liberals and NDP, Trudeau’s environment minister Steven Guilbeault claimed not to know what it meant.



“To the prime minister and his ‘radical woke coalition’ with the NDP, here’s my commitment.” We as Conservatives are always happy to work with any party to collaborate, and advance, and extend the interests of Canadians, but … Conservatives will not support any new tax increases and we will fight tooth and nail to stop the coalition from introducing any.”

Following the speech, Guilbeault was asked by a journalist if he felt “vulnerable to attacks” of being deemed “too woke,” and not “in tune with the needs of Canadians.”

“Frankly, I don’t even know what it means to be ‘woke’,” he replied, before launching into a spiel about climate change.

According to Merriam-Webster, the term “woke” is defined as being “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).”

The dictionary website went on to explain that “immediately following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri … the word woke became entwined with the Black Lives Matter movement.”

“Instead of just being a word that signaled awareness of injustice or racial tension, it became a word of action. Activists were woke and called on others to stay woke.”

Prior to his time in office, Guilbeault was a radical environmental activist, and since being elected to serve in the Liberal government, he has held a number of views that many would consider to be “woke.”

He has been a proponent of fighting “environmental racism,” and even co-founded an environmental organization, Equiterre, that is focused on the relationship between environment and social justice.

In May 2020, while addressing transphobia, he equated pushback to the transgender movement with “violence,” warning that along with physical and verbal attacks, we should be mindful of not committing “microaggressions,” a term coined by woke academia.

Additionally, he has not pushed back against many of the social justice-oriented initiatives pushed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Thus, while Guilbeault claims not to know what the term means, it is likely that with Poilievre now at the helm of the Official Opposition, he will continue to be deemed a member of the “radical woke coalition.”