Liberalism in Canada
Encyclopedia : L : LI : LIB : Liberalism in Canada
| The Liberalism series, part of the Politics series |
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| History of liberal thought |
| Contributions to liberal theory |
| Schools |
| Classical liberalism |
| Cultural liberalism |
| Economic liberalism |
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| Neoliberalism |
| Ordoliberalism |
| Paleoliberalism |
| Radicalism |
| Social liberalism |
| Regional trends |
| Liberalism worldwide |
| American liberalism |
| Liberalism in Europe |
| Liberalism in Canada |
| Ideas |
| Freedom |
| Rights |
| Liberal democracy |
| Open society |
| Negative & positive Liberty |
| Individualism |
| Free market |
| Mixed economy |
| Organizations |
| Liberal parties worldwide |
| Liberal International |
| ELDR/ALDE CALD · ALN · Relial |
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Liberalism in Canadian history
Historically, Canada is a nation of two liberalisms. Prior to the 1960s, Canadian politics were classically liberal, i.e. there was a focus on individual liberty, representative government, and free markets. This brand of liberalism can be traced to the arrival in Canada of the United Empire Loyalists and the enactment of the Constitutional Act of 1791. The Constitutional Act established responsible government through the elected assemblies of Upper and Lower Canada. While the Loyalists were faithful to British institutions and opposed to American republicanism, they were committed to North American ideals of individual liberty and representative government. This brand of liberalism was prominent though the Liberal government of Wilfrid Laurier, which advocated such policies as free trade with the United States, and beyond.
The second liberalism began, roughly, in the 1960s with the election of Lester B. Pearson as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and can be traced through the politics of Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark (although a member of the Progressive Conservative party, Clark was considered a 'red Tory'), and Paul Martin. This liberalism is what is properly called welfare liberalism, or what contemporary North American use of the word signifies: majoritarian democracy, personal liberty (e.g. gay rights, self-ownership including abortion and drug use), minority rights, peace in foreign policy, and a mixed economy (a mostly free-market in which the government provides certain services). In this second sense, Canada is presently one of the more liberal countries in the Americas. By contrast, prior to the 1960s, Canada was one of the most liberal countries in the world in the first sense.
Liberal parties
Liberal parties developed in both the French and English speaking parts of Canada, and led to the formation of the Liberal Party of Canada. Liberal parties exist on a provincial level, but while they share similar ideologies, the provincial parties have no official affiliation with the federal party.In Canada, a "capital-L" liberal refers to the policies and ideas of the Liberal Party of Canada/Parti Libéral du Canada (member LI), the most frequent governing party of Canada for the last century and one of the largest liberal parties around the world. The Quebec Liberal Party (Parti libéral du Québec) combines liberalism with more conservative ideas. Only federal parties are included in the following timeline. The sign ⇒ indicates a reference to another party in that scheme. For inclusion in this scheme, it isn't necessary for parties to have explicitly labelled themselves as a liberal party.
Timeline
Canadian Party / Patriot Party / Red Party
- 1806: Liberals in the Francophone part of Canada formed the Canadian Party (Parti canadien)
- 1826: The party is renamed Patriot Party (Parti Patriote) and is led by Louis-Joseph Papineau
- 1848: The party is further reorganised into the Red Party (Parti rouge)
- 1867: The PR merged into the present-day ⇒ Liberal Party of Canada
Reform Party
- 1841: The Upper Canada Reform Party is formed
- 1855: Radical members formed the ⇒ Clear Grits.
- 1867: The Reform Party merged into ⇒ Liberal Party of Canada
Clear Grits / Liberal Party of Canada
- 1855: Radical members of the ⇒ Reform Party formed the Clear Grits
- 1867: The Clear Grits merged with the ⇒ Reform Party, the ⇒ Red Party and provincial liberal parties into the present-day Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal leaders
- Louis Joseph Papineau
- Liberal Party of Canada: Alexander Mackenzie - Wilfrid Laurier - William Lyon Mackenzie King - Louis St. Laurent - Lester Bowles Pearson - Pierre Elliott Trudeau - John Napier Turner - Jean Chrétien - Paul Martin.
Liberal thinkers
- Michael Ignatieff - political philosopher currently Carr Professor of Human Rights, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard
- Will Kymlicka - Canadian liberal thinker included in Contributions to liberal theory
- A.R.M. Lower - liberal historian
- Jan Narveson - Canadian political philosopher and defender of libertarianism, or classical liberalism, currently Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Waterloo
- Oscar D. Skelton - Canadian classical liberal historian, biographer (notably of Wilfrid Laurier), and diplomat
- Wendy McElroy - classical liberal individualist feminist
See also
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