A Blue Tory in
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
politics is a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
who advocates for
free-market and
economically liberal (sometimes known as
fiscally conservative) policies
such as reductions in public spending, tax cuts, opposition to
deficit spending
Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit, the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budg ...
, and a more limited role of government. They also advocate self reliance, individual responsibility, personal freedom and liberty and therefore do not necessarily support
social conservatism
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...
.
The term has been applied to members of the modern
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
and provincial Progressive Conservative parties, as well as the historical
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada () was a right-wing populism, right-wing populist and conservative List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada- ...
and its successor, the
Canadian Alliance. In contemporary language, Blue Tories are sometimes described as "true-blue Conservatives".
History
For the first 50 years of Canada's existence as a country, the
Conservative Party (also known as the "Tories") subscribed to policies that required the government to play an active role in the economy. The signature achievement of
John A. Macdonald, Canada's first
prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891, was the
National Policy, which
nationalized industries and promoted high
tariffs to protect domestic industries. The party strictly opposed
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
with the United States, and this vigorous opposition played a key role in the party's return to power under
Robert Borden
Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known ...
in
1911
Events January
* January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia.
* January 3
** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...
. As such, Blue Toryism was essentially non-existent in the Conservative Party during its governance of Canada from 1867 to 1873, 1878 to 1896, and from 1911 to 1921.
However, in the 1930s,
R. B. Bennett as prime minister adopted
laissez-faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...
policies during the Great Depression, differing himself from his previous
Red Tory predecessors.
The Common Sense Revolution in Ontario
One example of a provincial Blue Tory government in Canada was the "
Common Sense Revolution" provincial Progressive Conservative government of
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
Premier
Mike Harris. The Harris Tories were widely viewed as
radical by Canadian standards in their economic policies and style of governance. Harris' government embarked on a number of initiatives, including cuts to education, welfare and
Medicare, privatization of government services and health care, the sale of provincial highways and the forced
amalgamation of municipalities. Provincial income taxes were also cut by 30% and corporate tax rates were nearly cut in half during the Harris mandate.
Harper era (2006–2015)
Federally, the most popular example of a Blue Tory government was that of
Stephen Harper, who was prime minister from 2006 to 2015. Tax cuts were prevalent during Harper's tenure; he reduced the
goods and services tax (GST) from seven percent to five percent; reduced the corporate income tax rate from 21 percent to 15 percent; and implemented personal income tax cuts during the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009. . Other economically liberal policies from the Harper government included the privatization of the
Canadian Wheat Board, the negotiation of
free-trade agreements such as the
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and the introduction of the
tax-free savings account (TFSA). In order to
balance the budget, Harper implemented various public spending cuts during his third term in office (2011–2015); one notable change was the increase in eligibility for
Old Age Security from 65 years of age to 67, though this planned change did not go into effect as it was subsequently reversed by the succeeding
Liberal government of
Justin Trudeau in 2015.
Most Blue Tories are at least somewhat ideologically aligned close to the economically liberal positions of the former
Canadian Alliance; as such, they supported the merger between the PCs and the Alliance to form the new federal
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
(CPC).
Notable adherents
Notable Blue Tories include:
*
Mike Harris,
Premier of Ontario (1995–2002)
*
Stephen Harper,
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...
(2006–2015)
*
Ralph Klein,
Premier of Alberta (1992–2006)
*
Preston Manning, former leader of the
Reform Party
*
Pierre Poilievre,
Leader of the Conservative Party (2022-)
See also
*
Conservatism in Canada
*
Fiscal conservatism
*
Red Tory
*
Wets and dries
Wets and dries are British political terms that refer to opposing factions within the Conservative Party. The terms originated in the 1980s during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher: those who opposed some of Thatcher's more hard-line polic ...
, similar factionalism in the
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. The party sits on the Cent ...
*
Small-c conservative
*
Blue Grit
References
{{Nationalism
Conservative Party of Canada
Political party factions in Canada
Conservatism in Canada
Fiscal conservatism
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)
Toryism