Social conservatism in Canada

In the European and North American context, social conservatives believe in natural law as well as traditional family values and policies.

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 prominence of social conservatism is not just limited to United Empire Loyalists settling in Ontario in the 1790s and the subsequent formation of the Family Compact.

By the 1930s, two prominent parties began espousing socially conservative policies in Western Canada, tied to political concerns of the time.

Christian groups began becoming organized by the Diefenbaker era, such as the Canadian Southern Baptist Conference in 1957 and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in 1964.

The main reason is that right-wing, neoliberal politics as promoted by leaders such as former Prime Minister Stephen Harper have not been linked to moral or social conservatism.

Manning's reluctance to allow his party to wholly embrace socially conservative values contributed to his deposition as leader of the new Canadian Alliance in favour of Stockwell Day.

[3] Certain issues remain frozen among conservative circles in Canada, such as the attempted legislation to restrict abortion in 1990 under the Brian Mulroney government that made its way to Senate, but did not pass.

The social conservative movement remained very influential in the Canadian Alliance even after Day's defeat at the hands of Stephen Harper in 2002.

However, 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; however, some would blame it also on Harper's own lack of enthusiasm for the changes social conservatives would advocate.