Apart from an unaccustomed national grouchiness it’s revealed an ugly underbelly of assertive discontent that can’t be waved away or ignored as a tiny fringe. In both the most recent elections Canada’s No. 2 party attracted more votes than the No. 1 party (and was so upset it quickly dumped its leader), but less note has been taken of the fact almost a million voters cast ballots for fringe parties campaigning on an overwhelming disaffection for the existing order.

A million votes out of 17 million cast is not nothing, given that we’ve just learned that 400 trucks are enough to bring Ottawa to a standstill for three weeks. Taken separately they may not amount to much but at their core they share something potent: a belief in a wholly different world. Malcontents have always been there, but something — blame Donald Trump if you want, or the pandemic, or impatience with obvious injustices — has encouraged a determination to be heard, while the internet and social media has given them the means to challenge the beliefs with which we’ve so long insulated ourselves.

It’s been often observed that the 9/11 attacks produced a permanent change in a world that could never go back to what it had been. It’s hard to imagine the same won’t be true of the pandemic. We’d have to forget too many lessons, ignore too many shocks, above all how badly it’s been handled at so many levels that were supposed to be there to deal with such things. While it’s not likely to cheer Ottawans to any degree, it’s probably fortunate the recent madness took place on their doorstep, right in front of Parliament where it couldn’t be spun, hidden, dismissed or otherwise disguised, and with all the pundits watching just a short hop from their homes and offices.