Touching grass, or touching the grassroots? Don’t ask the keffiyeh-wearing NHL anthem singer to understand Canada [Video]

This is a special edition of Doorstep Postings, the periodic political commentary column written by Josh Lieblein for The CJN.

There’s no formal name for it, so, for the purposes of this column, I will call it the astroturf vs. grassroots problem. But rest assured: it is the most difficult problem in Canadian politics, and has been for as long as I have been involved.

If, after reading this, you think you have a solution, you might have a lucrative career in politics ahead of you—but you might have to get in line.

I’m mostly familiar with the right side of the aisle, but all parties and groups struggle with the problem. Thus I can tell you that it affects conservative parties of …