An Analysis of the Political Thought and Activities of Selected Contemporary Right-Wing Organizations
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> NEW RIGHT, OLD CANADA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL THOUGHT AND ACTIVITIES OF SELECTED CONTEMPORARY RIGHT-WING ORGANIZATIONS by BRUCE WAYNE FOSTER B.A., Simon Fraser University, 1987 M.A., Simon Fraser University, 1989 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA July 2000 ©J3ruce Wayne Foster, 2000 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada DE-6 (2/88) 11 ABSTRACT This thesis is an examination of a moral, cultural and political movement referred to as the New Right. Its specific focus is on three Canadian right-wing organizations, each of which exhibits particular characteristics while at the same time sharing the basic ideological assumptions of the others. These organizations and their particular characteristics are: i) the prolife/profamily REAL Women of Canada and moral conservatism, ii) the anti-bilingualism and anti-Charter Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada (APEC) and cultural conservatism, and iii) what was arguably the dominant New Right organization during its time — and as I show, among the weaker links in the New Right chain — the Reform Party of Canada and conservative populism. Though Reform was a relatively successful federal political party and the other two are pressure groups, the members in each nevertheless conceive of their respective organizations as vehicles for the authentic views of "the people." In other words, of these organizations see themselves as the true representatives of the majprity of citizens in English-speaking Canada who, they allege, have been deliberately denied political influence commensurate with their numbers since the era of left-leaning, "special interest" politics, policies and moral-cultural values took hold beginning in the late 1960s. By analyzing the New Right phenomenon in general and the three Canadian groups in particular, this project seeks to a) understand the ideological perspective of the movement; b) assess whatever tension, be it normative, policy-driven or strategic, existed between the groups examined herein; and c) determine whether or not such tension was indicative of a fundamental wealkness in the Canadian New Right. I also draw upon three basic questions to frame the Ill analysis presented herein: 1. Is the Canadian New Right ideologically coherent? 2. What explains the New Right's relative lack of success in Canadian politics? 3. Is there a future for the New Right in Canadian politics? I keep these questions in mind throughout the thesis and reconsider them specifically in the concluding chapter. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iv List of Tables vi Figure vii Acknowledgments. viii Dedication ix CHAPTER ONE NEW RIGHT, OLD CANADA 1 Introduction 1 The Three Groups Examined in This Thesis 3 Research Design . 7 Conducting Interviews 9 CHAPTER TWO THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW RIGHT IN A COMPARATIVE FRAMEWORK 13 Introduction 13 Explaining the New Right 14 A Survey of Recent Scholarship Examining Contemporary Right-Wing Mobilizations 24 The Rise of the New Right in the USA, Britain and Canada 29 Conclusion 58 CHAPTER THREE THE PROLIFE/PROFAMILY RIGHT: REAL WOMEN, THE STATE, AND TRADITIONAL MORALITY 62 Introduction . 62 The Roots of the Pro-family Movement in Canada 64 Framing Pro-family Activism: The Issues and the Beginning of REAL Women 83 "Everything is a Moral Issue!": Networking With REAL Women 92 The Decline of Pro-family Support for the Conservatives 97 Conclusion 123 CHAPTER FOUR ONE CULTURE, ONE LANGUAGE, NO CHARTER: APEC'S CRUSADE FOR NATIONAL UNITY 129 Introduction 129 APEC's Conservative Values, Part I: Official Bilingualism 138 A Brief Courtship: APEC and the Reform Party 150 V APEC's Conservative Values, Part II: The Charter of Rights 155 APEC Versus the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords 165 Conclusion 176 CHAPTER FIVE A WEAK LINK IN THE NEW RIGHT MOVEMENT? THE REFORM PARTY OF CANADA 179 Introduction 179 The Reform Party of Canada Emerges 193 The Mulroney Tories and the Reform Party, 1987-93 207 Moral Issues, Voter Input, and Voting in Parliament 221 From Reform Party to Canadian Alliance 244 Conclusion 259 CHAPTER SIX WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? 260 Introduction 260 Returning to the Three Questions 264 Conclusion 269 Appendix Excerpts from REAL Women, APEC, Reform Party, and Canadian Alliance Literature 272 References-Bibliography 276 VI LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Ideological divisions within the New Right 25 Table 2.2: Basic ideological dimensions in American politics 34 Table 3.1: Canadian pro-family views on government intervention 71 Table 3.2: Concerns/issues leading to pro-family activism 90 Table 3.3: Comparison of funding between REAL Women and feminists 102 Table 3.4: REAL Women's requests for funding, 1984-89 107 Table 3.5: Year and grant amounts, 1989-1996 107 Table 3.6: Changes in attitudes towards homosexuality, 1981 and 1990 112 Vll FIGURE Figure 2.1: Divisions within Conservative Capitalism Vlll ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I wish to acknowledge the very generous assistance given by my Research Supervisor, Professor Richard Johnston of the Political Science Department at The University of British Columbia. His wisdom, insight, hard work and at times, blunt words, were instrumental in seeing the project through to its completion. I would also like to acknowledge the splendid contributions' of the other members of the Supervisory Committee, Professor Donald Blake and Professor Avigail Eisenberg. Their encouragement, expertise and patience were of tremendous benefit to me. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance provided by other department members, particularly Professor Philip Resnick, Professor Samuel LaSelva, and Professor R. Kenneth Carty. I extend a special "thank you" to Professor George Hoberg who, in his capacity as the department's Graduate Advisor, helped to get this project back on track. Thanks to those who consented to be interviewed for this project: Jan Brown, Dr. Tom Flanagan, Stephen Harper, Elmer Knutson, Gwen Landolt, Ron Leitch, Preston Manning, Dr. F.L. (Ted) Morton, and the late Mrs. Peggy Steacy. Your time has been very much appreciated. To my political science colleagues at Mount Royal College in Calgary ~ Duane Bratt, Keith Brownsey, Manuel Meitin, Marco Navarro-Genie, and Lori Williams — thanks for your encouragement, support, and the occasional libation to ease the stress. ix DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to the following: my parents, Priscilla and Gordon Foster, who provided a splendid environment and gentle encouragement while I was teaching at the University of Victoria; to my in-laws, Violet and Melville Barrett, for their encouragement and support. To my three wonderful children, Chris, Nick, and Jen, for their forbearance and understanding. They have grown into adulthood during this undertaking. Above all, I dedicate this thesis to my lovely and remarkably patient wife, Gwen. She never doubted, even during the trying times. 1 CHAPTER ONE NEW RIGHT, OLD CANADA What happened to my country, anyhow? — frequently-heard lament of right-wingers The conservative impulse [is] aimed at rekindling the harmony of the traditional community. - Cooper, et. al. (1988:6) INTRODUCTION This bulk of this thesis is an examination of three Canadian organizations usually described as possessing a conservative or right wing political ideology. These organizations are a part of what is often referred to as the "New Right," a rather amorphous designation analysts have given to all manner of right-leaning organizations and activists during the last quarter of the twentieth century. In setting out to explore its ideological contours and activities, and to determine what influence, if any, these New Right organizations have had on Canadian politics and political institutions, I have also sought to understand the nature of the relationships between them. Viewed from the perspective of Canada as a modern (or to some, a "postmodern") western liberal-democracy, possessing a vibrant, pluralistic, largely secularized population, and one of the world's more accommodating polities in terms of the political, social, economic, and cultural freedoms of its citizens, the New Right as a whole and the organizations under scrutiny here may seem at first glance to be profoundly out of step with the rest of the country, if not outright subversive. At the very least, what it wishes to accomplish, both in the legislative arena and in society at large, is controversial. The Canadian New Right seeks to reform — others would say alter radically ~ the political, social, economic and cultural institutions of the country in such a way as to reflect their values. And what values are these? Briefly, they consist of the conservation of a) traditional moral, ie. Judeo-Christian, values as they relate to sex and/or gender 2 roles, sexual orientation, abortion, family life, and the like; b) the historical traditions of anglophone political, cultural, linguistic and social dominance, the supremacy of Parliament, including an emphatic rejection of constitutionally-protected (or positive) rights as provided for by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and c) the primacy of the free market and accordingly, fiscal prudence in government, and the populist-driven right of "the people" to influence directly the reform of existing institutions, the behaviour of politicians and much of the policy output of government.