Philosophy Historically, Canadian conservatism has been derived from the
Tory tradition, with a distinctive concern for a balance between individual rights and collectivism, as mediated through a traditional pre-industrial standard of morality – which has never been as evident in American conservatism. Red Toryism derives largely from a classical conservative tradition that maintained that the unequal division of wealth and political privilege among social classes can be justified if members of the privileged class practiced
noblesse oblige and contributed to the common good. Red Tories supported traditional institutions such as religion and the monarchy, and maintenance of the social order. This position was later manifested in their support for some aspects of the
welfare state. This belief in a common good, as expanded on in Colin Campbell and
William Christian's
Political Parties and Ideologies in Canada, is at the root of Red Toryism.
Origins In distinction to the American experience where
class divisions were seen as undemocratic (although still existing), Canadian Tories adopted a more
paternalistic view of government. Monarchy, public order and good government – understood as dedication to the common good – preceded, moderated and balanced a belief in individual rights and liberty. Anthony Hall has argued that Red Toryism in Canada developed specifically in opposition to the American Revolution and its ideology. This type of Canadian conservatism is derived largely from the Tory tradition developed by English conservative thinkers and statesmen such as
Richard Hooker; the
seventh Earl of Shaftesbury; and
Benjamin Disraeli, later the first Earl of Beaconsfield. The primary influences on Canadian Toryism in the Victorian age were Disraeli's
One Nation Conservatism and the radical Toryism advocated by
Lord Randolph Churchill. Inherent in these Tory traditions was the ideal of
noblesse oblige and a conservative
communitarianism. In Victorian times, these ideas were the pre-eminent strains of conservative thought in the British Empire, and were advanced by many in the Tory faction of
John A. Macdonald's conservative coalition in the Canadas. None of this lineage denies that Tory traditions of communitarianism and
collectivism had existed in the British North American colonies since the Loyalist exodus from the American colonies between 1776 and 1796. It is this aspect that is one of the primary points of difference between the conservative political cultures of Canada and the United States. The explicit notion of a "Red" Toryism was developed by
Gad Horowitz in the 1960s, who argued that there was a significant Tory ideology in Canada. This vision contrasted Canada with the United States, which was seen as lacking this collectivist tradition because it was expunged from the American political culture after the
American Revolution and the exodus of the
United Empire Loyalists. Horowitz argued that Canada's stronger
socialist movement grew from
Toryism, and that this explains why socialism has never had much electoral success in the United States. This also meant that Canadian conceptions of liberty were more collective and communitarian, and could be seen as more directly derivative of the
English tradition, than that of American practices and theories. Horowitz identified
George Grant and
Eugene Forsey as exemplars of this strain of thought, which saw a central role for Christianity in public affairs and was profoundly critical of capitalism and the dominant business
élites. Forsey became a
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) member, while Grant remained a Conservative – although he became disdainful of an overall shift in policy toward liberal economics and
continentalism, something Forsey saw happening decades earlier. When the Conservative government of
John Diefenbaker fell in 1963, largely due to
the BOMARC controversy, Grant wrote
Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism, a book about the nature of traditional Canadian nationhood and independence that would become a
lodestar of Red Toryism. Grant defined an essential difference between the founding of the Canadian and American nations when he wrote "Canada was predicated on the rights of nations as well as on the rights of individuals." This definition recognized Canada's multi-faceted founding nature as an English-speaking, aboriginal and
Francophone nation.
Predominance and decline Many of the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada's leaders have been labelled 'Red Tories', including
Sir Robert Borden,
John Diefenbaker,
Robert Stanfield and
Joe Clark. Many others have been influential as cabinet ministers and thinkers, such as
Davie Fulton,
Dalton Camp,
Roy McMurtry and
John Farthing.
Rick Borotsik joined the new party but openly criticized it from within, did not run for re-election in 2004, and also publicly endorsed the Liberals over the Conservatives during the campaign. Additionally, three of the twenty-six Progressive Conservative
Senators,
Lowell Murray,
Norman Atkins and
William Doody, decided to continue serving as Progressive Conservatives, rejecting membership in the new party. Atkins, who died in 2010, remained allied with the still-existent
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, and Murray, from Atlantic Canada, opposed the merger of the federal PC party. Most, like prominent Senator
Marjory LeBreton, came to endorse the new party and have been vocal and visible supporters of the party both between and during elections.
Elaine McCoy and
Nancy Ruth were later appointed to the Senate by Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, and chose to designate themselves as Progressive Conservatives. Doody has since died, and Ruth joined the Conservative Party caucus in 2006. Despite the union, some former Progressive Conservative members still identify themselves as Red Tory, including high-profile political strategist turned Senator
Hugh Segal, who in 2013 continued to describe himself as a Red Tory, which has put him at increasing odds with the government on several occasions. A 'grassroots' movement of dissenting Red Tories, who opposed the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada's merger with the Canadian Alliance, gathered signatures on
Elections Canada forms from over 200 Progressive Conservative members and applied to re-register as the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. This name was refused by Elections Canada. Having anticipated such a rejection, the coordinators had had the 'SignaTories' also sign a second application to at least continue with the ballot name "PC Party". On March 26, 2004, the
Progressive Canadian Party was registered with Elections Canada. It aimed to be perceived as a continuation of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, but achieved only very minor results. The party achieved its largest vote to date in the
2006 election, with 14,151 votes in
25 ridings (about 0.1% of the nationwide total). The party was deregistered by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada on November 30, 2019, for failing to comply with
Canada Elections Act requirements set out in subsection 415(1).
Revival in provincial politics With the rise of the conservative
Wildrose Party in Alberta in the 2010s, the term "Red Tory" was revived as a name for the moderate wing of the
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, which was seen to gain power under the premiership of
Ed Stelmach and
Alison Redford. As premier, Redford was closely associated with centrist Tories such as
Joe Clark and
Peter Lougheed, whereas
Danielle Smith—the then Wildrose leader—was associated with the right-wing Tories
Ralph Klein and
Tom Flanagan. Redford was called a "Red Tory" by
Chantal Hébert,
Ezra Levant and others in the media. The
Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia under
Tim Houston, branding themselves as Red Tories, won a majority government in the
2021 Nova Scotia general election. Houston's Progressive Conservatives campaigned on using provincial resources to improve healthcare services. == United Kingdom ==