Social conservatism in Canada represents

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

positions on issues of family, sexuality and morality. In the European and North American context, social conservatives believe in

natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...

as well as traditional family values and policies. In Canada's modern context, social conservatism also includes pro-life values on abortion and euthanasia.

Background

Canada's political and social history stems from long established ties to conservative institutions and ideals. The major founding institutions of pre-Confederation Canada, both in English and French Canada, were religious organizations. Groups such as the Jesuits in Quebec and various Anglican missions in Ontario gave rise to the founding educational, political and social hierarchies of the ensuing centuries. The Catholic Church's control and influence in Quebec was insurmountable for nearly three centuries prior to the Quiet Revolution. Similarly, British Toryism and Protestant puritanical ideals in Ontario were so deeply entrenched after the migration of conservative United Empire Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution that laws regarding alcohol, tobacco sales and gambling are still strictly regulated in Ontario. At the turn of the 20th century, Toronto had strict moralistic by-laws (which included a ban on Sunday sports into the 1950s as well as

Sunday shopping Sunday shopping or Sunday trading refers to the ability of retailers to operate stores on Sunday, a day that Christian tradition typically recognises as a day of rest. Rules governing shopping hours, such as Sunday shopping, vary around the worl ...

into the 1980s). To this day, Ontario has some of the strictest liquor laws outside the Near and Middle East. The extent to which social conservatism was embedded in the 19th and 20th centuries is evidenced by the power and influence of Tory factions in pre-Confederation Canada, such as the

Family Compact The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (today’s Ontario) from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in ...

and the Chateau Clique, the prominence of the Conservative Party of Canada after Confederation and the pronounced stifling of left-leaning or progressive views until after the Second World War. Even to this day, social conservatism in Canada still has support outside the major urban centres in Canada including Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. In modern times, however, social conservatism has not been as influential in Canada as in the past, and has been in constant decline. The main reason is that right-wing, neoliberal politics as promoted by leaders such as

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

and former Prime Minister Stephen Harper have not been linked to moral or social conservatism. That is, there is no large political party behind it, and social conservatives have divided their votes. Social conservatives demand a return to traditional morality and social

mores Mores (, sometimes ; , plural form of singular , meaning "manner, custom, usage, or habit") are social norms that are widely observed within a particular society or culture. Mores determine what is considered morally acceptable or unacceptable ...

, often through civil law or regulation. Social change away from traditional values is generally regarded as suspect, while social values based on tradition are generally regarded as tried, tested and true. It is a view commonly associated with religious conservatives, particularly Evangelicals or conservative Roman Catholics. Socially conservative values do not necessarily coincide with those of right-wing fiscal conservatism. Fiscally left-leaning politicians may embrace socially conservative values. Examples of socially conservative Canadians include Christian Heritage Party leader Jim Hnatiuk former leader Ron Gray and former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

Andrew Scheer Andrew James Scheer (born May 20, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Regina—Qu'Appelle since 2004. Scheer served as the 35th speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015, and was the lead ...

Political impact

In modern Canadian politics, social conservatives often felt that they were being sidelined by officials in the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

. Many of them felt shunned by a party that was largely led and run by

Red Tories A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to favour ...

for the last half of the twentieth century. Many eventually made their political home with the

Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protest ...

and its forerunner the

Social Credit Party of Canada The Social Credit Party of Canada (french: Parti Crédit social du Canada), colloquially known as the Socreds, was a populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform. It was the federal wing of the Canadi ...

. Despite Reform leader

Preston Manning Ernest Preston Manning (born June 10, 1942) is a Canadian retired politician. He was the founder and the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance in 2000 which in tur ...

's attempts to broaden the support of the Reform movement through populism, the party was dominated by social conservatives. Manning's reluctance to allow his party to wholly embrace socially conservative values contributed to his deposition as leader of the new

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed ...

in favour of Stockwell Day. The social conservative movement remained very influential in the Canadian Alliance even after Day's defeat at the hands of Stephen Harper in 2002. In the Conservative Party of Canada that emerged from a coalition of Canadian Alliance members and Progressive Conservatives, social conservatives are still a force to be taken into account, but many Conservative Party supporters have been disappointed with what they regard as the minimal influence of social conservatism in the Stephen Harper government. In part this minimal influence can be explained by the fact of a minority government, but some would blame it also on Harper's own lack of enthusiasm for the changes social conservatives would advocate. There is a large relationship between fiscal liberalism and social conservatism among Canadian ethnic communities. These communities have for the last twenty years voted conservative-leaning. The

Christian Heritage Party of Canada The Christian Heritage Party of Canada (french: Parti de l'héritage chrétien du Canada), also referred to as CHP Canada, is a minor social conservative and Christian right federal political party in Canada; it was founded in 1987, the brainc ...

is also socially conservative, as are its provincial wings like the Christian Heritage Party of British Columbia. The

People's Party of Canada The People's Party of Canada (french: Parti populaire du Canada, PPC) is a right-wing populist federal political party in Canada. The party was formed by Maxime Bernier in September 2018, shortly after his resignation from the Conservative P ...

has also been described as socially conservative. There are other socially conservative provincial parties such as, formerly, the

Family Coalition Party of Ontario The New Reform Party of Ontario (NRP; french: Nouveau Parti réformiste de l'Ontario) was a minor provincial political party in Ontario, Canada, that promoted a populist, fiscally conservative, socially conservative, libertarian, and localist i ...

and the

Alberta Social Credit Party Alberta Social Credit was a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on social credit monetary policy put forward by Clifford Hugh Douglas and on conservative Christian social values. The Canadian social credit movement w ...

Geography

Social conservatism is strongest in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, long Canada's most conservative province, where the

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

movement preached evangelical values and came to power in the 1930s. It is a factor as well in parts of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

outside of the Lower Mainland and

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

. Social conservatives are strongest in rural settings, especially in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

, however, social conservatism is not limited geographically to any one area or to any one political party.REAL Women of Canada: About Us. http://www.realwomenofcanada.ca/issues/. retrieved 2013-06-04{{better source needed, date=February 2021

Notes

External links

Some Canadian websites with socially conservative viewpoints:
Canadian Family Action CoalitionCatholic Civil Rights LeagueCanadian Alliance for Social Justice and Family Values AssociationFocus on the Family CanadaReal Women of CanadaSocialConservatives.caSocial Conservatives United Institute for Canadian Values
Political movements in Canada Conservatism in Canada Social conservatism

Background

Political impact

Geography

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links