In Canadian politics, a Pink Tory is a pejorative term for a liberal member of one of the Conservative or Progressive Conservative parties, more liberal than a Red Tory. The term was often derisively applied to the 1971 to 1985 Ontario Progressive Conservative government of

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

by critics on the right, particularly ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'' columnist Claire Hoy.. The term was used positively by

Ron Dart Ronald Samuel Dart, Bachelor of Arts, BA (University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge), Diploma of Christian Studies, DCS, Master of Christian Studies, MCS (Regent College), Master of Arts, MA (University of British Columbia, UBC), is a university profess ...

to describe the political philosophy of

Robert Stanfield Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative ...

in the 1968 election as a "sort of pink toryism". In 2002,

Jim Flaherty James Michael Flaherty (December 30, 1949 – April 10, 2014) was a Canadian politician who served as the federal minister of finance from 2006 to 2014 under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. First elected to the Legislative Assembly ...

described rival leadership contender Ernie Eves as a "pink" Tory. More recently the term has been used to describe socially progressive Conservatives who support

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

and are pro-choice.Hutchinson, Brian, "The overlooked Tory: The candidate you don't hear about in the Fry-Robinson showdown", ''National Post'', January 12, 2006

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See also