THE MORAL AUTHORITY A Theory of Political Character by Liam F. Arthur Hunt Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia August 2017 © Copyright by Liam Hunt, 2017 Dedicated to my mom. ii Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................... v List of Figures .................................................................................................................. vi Abstract.............................................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iix Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Elite Moral Analysis: What and Why ........................................................ 1 1.2 Questions and Hypotheses ............................................................................. 6 1.3 Canada’s Security Agencies: A Brief Institutional History ................. 8 1.4 The Future of the Surveillance State in Canada ...................................... 10 1.5 “Accountability Gaps” in the Canadian Surveillance Regime ............ 13 Chapter 2: Moral and Political Psychology: Theory and Method ........... 16 2.1 What is Moral Psychology? .......................................................................... 16 2.2 Moral Psychology from Antiquity to Modernity .................................... 17 2.3 Moral Foundations and Social Intuitionism ............................................. 21 2.4 Chapter Conclusions ........................................................................................ 30 Chapter 3: A Genetic and Patrilineal History of Stephen Harper ........... 31 3.1 Early Family Lineage: 1774-1951 ............................................................... 31 3.2 Tragedy and Toronto: Stephen’s Parental Upbringing .......................... 34 3.3 Steve: The Toronto Years: 1959-1978 ....................................................... 37 Chapter 4: Stephen J. Harper ................................................................................. 40 4.1 Harper: The Calgary Years, 1978-1993 ..................................................... 40 4.2 Stephen: The Ottawa Years, 1993-2002 .................................................... 44 Stephen Harper as Rookie MP ....................................................... 44 National Citizens Coalition and the Private Sector .................. 47 The Canadian Alliance: A Return to Federal Politics ............. 49 iii 4.3 Harper’s Breakthrough: The Opposition Years, 2003-2006 ................ 50 Conservative Party Leadership and Belinda Stronach ............ 52 Election Campaign 2004 .................................................................. 53 Election Campaign 2006 .................................................................. 56 Chapter 5: The Premiership of Stephen Harper (2006-2015) .................... 62 5.1 Overview of Events as Prime Minister ...................................................... 62 5.2 Primary Trait Analysis: Authority/Subversion ........................................ 64 Permanent Campaign ........................................................................ 66 Media Suppression ............................................................................ 70 ‘Hierarchizing’ and Subordination................................................ 71 Secrecy, Transparency and Information Control ...................... 74 Censorship, Security and Surveillance ........................................ 78 Consolidation and Concentration of Executive Power ........... 83 5.3 Secondary Trait Analysis: Loyalty and Betrayal .................................... 87 5.4 Conclusions: Trait Analyses on Authority and Loyalty ........................ 91 5.5 The Authoritarian Personality and Further Conclusions....................... 92 Chapter 6: Justin Trudeau and the Moral Mind ............................................ 97 6.1 Family Background and Early Years in Ottawa ...................................... 97 6.2 Justin Trudeau: A Moral Analysis............................................................... 104 Chapter 7: Conclusions and Discussion .............................................................. 112 7.1 Discussion and Executive Summary .......................................................... 112 7.2 Postscript: Bills C-49, C-22, and Policy Recommendations ............... 117 Appendix ........................................................................................................................... 120 Bibliography..................................................................................................................... 122 iv List of Tables Table 5.1, Cases: Permanent Campaign ................................................................... 68 Table 5.2, Cases: Media Suppression ....................................................................... 70 Table 5.3, Cases: ‘Hierarchizing’ and Subordination .......................................... 72 Table 5.4, Cases: Secrecy, Transparency, and Information Control ............... 75 Table 5.5, Cases: Censorship, Security and Surveillance ................................... 79 Table 5.6, Cases: Consolidation/Concentration of Executive Power .............. 84 Table 5.7, Cases: Loyalty and Betrayal ................................................................... 87 Table 2.1, Means, Standard Deviations, and Alphas ............................................ 120 Table 2.2, Pearson Correlations with External Scales and Scale Items .......... 120 Table 2.3, The Five Foundations of Morality ........................................................ 121 v List of Figures Figure 1, The Social Intuitionist Model of Moral Judgment ............................. 23 vi Abstract Jonathan Haidt has redrawn the ‘map of the moral domain’, by positing six heritable foundations that circumscribe one’s moral reasoning. Known as moral foundations theory, Haidt’s model currently lacks any application to Canadian political leadership. The following study seeks to bridge this gap by (psycho-)analyzing Canadian Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau through the lens of moral foundations theory. Specifically, it will consider whether the personal character of Canadian political leaders are significant factors in assessing their potential for enacting institutional reform—particularly in the context of moral conservatism. The moral similarities found between Trudeau and Harper contain compelling insights into the superficiality of ‘left- right’ ideological division, ultimately suggesting that differences in moral character may bear greater predictive capacity. Additionally, the findings give credence to the centrality of ‘agency’ in the debate between the roles of institutional structure and individual leadership in the policy-making process. Acknowledgements First I’d like to thank Louise Carbert, for her supervision, open-mindedness and guidance from the start. Second, Frank Harvey, for the much-appreciated nudge toward graduate school. Kristin Good for the thoughtful comments and suggestions over the past year. Robert Finbow, David Black, Steven Seligman, and Katherine Fierlbeck for the helpful feedback. Tracy Powell, for the exceptional support. I thank my fellow classmates: Callee, Erik, Susan, Nick, and Gerhard. Thank you for making this process as enjoyable as it was. Connor, for the much-needed pomodoros. Danika, for more than can be said here. As well, my family, who are responsible for this all. And of course, the moral (immoral?) support provided by my friends, housemates, and the ‘plex fam cannot go unacknowledged. I thank you all. Character is fate —Heraclitus (535-475 BCE) ix Chapter 1: Introduction The following section not only seeks to explain what the proceeding study is, but also to justify its importance. To date, a great body of literature has analyzed political personalities and leadership traits, fitting neatly into the tradition of “elite analysis”. However, little attention has been paid to the substance of elites’ moral psychology. With this study, I intend to carry the tradition of elite analysis into the moral realm. I contend that this will yield greater predictive insights with respect to Canadian public policy, especially those with explicit moral dimensions (e.g., state surveillance, border security, etc.). To this end, Jonathan Haidt’s moral foundations theory will figure prominently. Through this lens, Canadian Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau will be used as case studies in which qualitative inferences will be drawn from source material. However, because these subjects haven’t submitted to interviews or questionnaires pertaining to moral foundations theory, I will rely on secondary sources such as biographical and autobiographical texts to draw inferences independently. 1.1 Elite Moral Analysis: What and Why Margaret Hermann does well to point out that when most of us talk politics, we talk about personalities.1 We talk about leaders, candidates, parties, and the ideas they represent. We have a natural interest in the people behind them, which explains why it’s often the personality and not the policy that make for memorable headlines and viral news