Social conservatism (Canada)

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Canadian social conservatives believe in natural law, tradition and conservative family values and policies. Compared to the United States, social conservatism is not as widespread in Canada. Social conservatives usually reside in rural settings, especially in Western Canada and have generally had little influence in the Canadian government. Strong expression of social conservatism is popularly associated primarily with Alberta, which has long been Canada's most conservative province, and with British Columbia outside of the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. Social conservatism is present to greater or lesser degree in all Canadian provinces and territories, especially in more rural areas.

Social conservatives believe in traditional morality and social mores and the desire to preserve these in present day society, often through civil law or regulation. Social change 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, militant and nationalistic conservatives. It is particularly associated with the Christian right, including fundamentalist and evangelical Christianity, and conservative tendencies in the Roman Catholic Church.

Socially conservative values are not necessarily attached to right-wing fiscal conservatism. Many fiscally left-leaning politicians have embraced socially conservative values, such as PC leadership candidate David Orchard and Christian Heritage Party leader Ron Gray. Other social conservatives, such as Craig Chandler or Stockwell Day, embrace neoconservatism.

In modern Canadian politics, social conservatives often felt that they were being sidelined by officials in the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Many of them felt shunned by a party that was largely led and run by Red Tories for the last half of the twentieth-century. Many eventually made their political home with the Reform Party of Canada and its forerunner the Social Credit Party of Canada. Despite Reform leader Preston Manning'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 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.