The Harper Government: True Blue Conservative or Liberal Lite
Frédéric Boily The Harper Government: True Blue Conservative or Liberal Lite
TransCanadiana
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University of Alberta
THE HARPER GOVERNMENT:
TRUE BLUE CONSERVATIVE OR LIBERAL LITE1
Has the Canadian ideological landscape changed dramatically since the first
Conservative election in 2006? Recently, two distinguished commentator s, Darrel
Bricker (pollster for Ipsos) and John Ibbitson from The Globe and Mail, wrote a book
with a an evocative title: The Big Shift (2013). For them, the 2011 election revealed a
great change in the ideological and political nature of Canada. After a L iberal Canada,
these authors claim we are witnessing the dawn of a new conservative era, where the
western Canadian provinces have become more important in the political economy.
Yet, the precise nature of this political or ideological change is not clear. In the first
part of this paper we examine the political ideas of Harper’s conservatives, and we
focus on their conception of the government’s, or state’s role. In the second part of
the paper, we propose to examine these issues in the context of national identity.
Finally, in the third part, we will consider the Conservative government against a
larger backdrop, that is, the so-called “Anglosphere” countries, in order to better
discern the particularities of the Canadian government’s brand of conservatism.
Finally, we conclude that it is too early to asset that Canada turned to the right.
Résumé
A le paysage idéologique canadienne a considérablement changé depuis la première
élection des conservateurs en 2006? Récemment, deux éminents commentateurs,
Darrel Bricker (sondeur Ipsos) et John Ibbitson, du The Globe and Mail, a écrit un
livre avec un titre évocateur: The Big Shift (2013). Pour eux, l’élection de 2011 a
révélé un grand changement dans la nature idéologique et politique du Canada. Après
un Canada libéral, Ces auteurs affirment que nous sommes à l’aube d’une nouvelle
1 I’m very grateful to Natalie Boisvert for her help to transform my French thoughts
into real English.
ère conservatrice, où les provinces de l’Ouest sont devenus plus importants dans
l’économie politique. Pourtant, la nature précise de ce changement politique ou
idéologique est pas claire. Dans la première partie de ce papier, nous examinons les
idées politiques de conservateurs de Harper, et l’accent mis sur leur conception du
État ou au rôle de l’État. Dans la deuxième partie du document, nous proposons que
l’examen de ces questions dans le contexte de l’identité nationale. Enfin, dans la
troisième partie, l’examinera le gouvernement conservateur dans un contexte plus
large, qui est, les pays dits “Anglosphère”, afin que mieux discerner les particularités
de la marque de conservatisme du gouvernement canadien. Enfin, en concluent qu’il
est trop tôt cet actif Que le Canada se tourne vers la droite.
Has the Canadian ideological landscape changed dramatically since the first
Conservative election in 2006? In 2013, two distinguished commentators, Darrel
Bricker (pollster for Ipsos) and John Ibbitson from The Globe and Mail, wrote a
book with an evocative title: The Big Shift (2013). For them, the 2011 election
revealed a great change in the ideological and political nature of Canada. “The 41st
Canadian General Election is a fracture in time. Looking back, analysts will
consider the years that came before it as part of one era, and the years that came
after as part of another” (Bricker and Ibbitson 27). After a Liberal Canada, these
authors claim that we are witnessing the dawn of a new conservative era, where the
western Canadian provinces have become more important in the political economy.
More than a “fracture in time,” other political scientists see in this shift a “fracture”
in the Canadian ideological spectrum because, in their view, Harper is not just a
conservative but a neo-conservative who made “the country unrecognizable”
(Gutstein 246). Yet, the precise nature of this political or ideological change is not
clear. In this context, several questions surround the ideological orientation of
Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. Has he broken with traditional
Canadian conservatism in favour of American-style neo-conservatism? To what
extent does this Conservative government differ from its Liberal-era predecessors?
For many intellectuals, the answer is very clear: the present government is the most
conservative government in Canadian political history.
But these questions about the nature of the recent evolution of Canadian
conservatism are complex; they present many dimensions and involve a wide range
of topics. In this paper, we will examine three of them. In the first part, we examine
the political ideas of Harper’s Conservatives, and we focus on their conception of
the government’s, or state’s role. In the second part of the paper, we propose to
examine these issues in the context of national identity. Finally, in the third part, we
will consider the Conservative government against a larg (...truncated)