Petro-Nostalgia and the Politics of Yellow Vests Canada

Abstract

Background: This article presents a critical discourse analysis of the conservative political organization Yellow Vests Canada and its 100,000-plus member Facebook group (now deplatformed) to theorize far-right groups that harness pro-fossil-fuel/anti-environmental discourses to ideologically cultivate a broader assemblage of traditionally ultraconservative political positions. Analysis: Yellow Vests Canada commonly utilized "petro-nostalgic" discourses, highly ideological beliefs that tie fossil fuels to a mythological nostalgia for an era of unbridled extraction and consumption, but also to this era's hegemonic white supremacy, heteronormativity, masculinity, and settler-colonial nationalism. Conclusions and implications: Understanding far-right petro-political groups is imperative for environmental humanities researchers. The recent growth of these groups presents an alarming threat to progressive and equitable sociocultural politics, but especially to more environmentally sustainable government policies and a post-fossil-fuel future.