Red Tory is a nickname given to a political tradition in Canada's conservative political parties. Red Tories were traditionally economically conservative, but retained traditional social values of the aristocracy such as noblesse oblige. Modern Red Tories define themselves as "economically conservative and socially progressive".

Red Toryism is contrasted by Blue Tories and Canadian social conservatism.

The Red Tories historically served as the most powerful faction within the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and most of its leaders have been labelled Red Tories. These include Sir John A. Macdonald, John George Diefenbaker, Robert Stanfield and Joe Clark.

Throughout the federal PC Party's decline, Red Tories were generally seen as the most vocal opponents of the Unite the Right initiative, which proposed merging or cooperating with the competing Reform Party of Canada (later the Canadian Alliance). Red Tories considered the Canadian Alliance to be too radically conservative.

When the PCs did ultimately merge in late 2003 with the Canadian Alliance to form the Conservative Party of Canada, many Red Tories expressed the view that they were "now without a political home." Notable Red Tories such as Scott Brison, John Herron and Keith Martin (who, although ideologically a Red Tory, was actually a Canadian Alliance MP) defected to the Liberal Party of Canada. Some Red Tories joined the new Conservative Party. Some prominent Red Tories, including Joe Clark and André Bachand, refused to join the new party, or any other, and are now independents. A small number formed the fledgling Progressive Canadian Party, while others may have joined other parties.

Contents

1 Background 2 Red Tories post-merger 3 "Red" Tory? 4 Definition Drift? 5 Keeping the Red Tory tradition 6 Red Tories in the Provinces 7 External links

Background

The leading philosopher of Red Toryism was George Grant who saw conservative values of collectivism and community responsibility as anathama to liberal values of individualism. Notable Red Tories have been Dalton Camp and Robert Stanfield and to a lesser extent Joe Clark and John Diefenbaker. The collective nation building policies of Sir John A. Macdonald are seen as the foundation of the Red Tory tradition.

In the 1960s, Red Tories such as Grant and Camp opposed the stationing of American Bomarc nuclear missiles in Canada and opposed the Vietnam War. In some ways, Red Tories were closer to the NDP than to the Liberals. David Orchard and his supporters have put themselves as the modern inheritors of the Red Tory tradition, although many Red Tories would not embrace this strident opponent of free trade with the United States as a Red Tory.

In recent years, "Red Tories" clashed with neoconservatives within the Progressive Conservative Party. Joe Clark's leadership was challenged by more conservative Blue Tory PC Party members who endorsed Brian Mulroney. At the provincial level, Albertan Red Tory supporters of Peter Lougheed were marginalized following Ralph Klein's assumption of power. As right-wing support for the Progressive Conservatives bled away to the Reform Party and then the Canadian Alliance, Red Tories increasingly gained control of the federal party. The controversial election of Blue Tory leader Peter MacKay, however, paved the way for merger with the Canadian Alliance.

Red Tories post-merger

One of the most important issues facing the newly created Conservative Party is what will happen with the Red Tories. Many high-profile Red Tories had opposed the merger and do not support the new party. The union has resulted in a number of Red Tories leaving the new party, either to retire or to defect to the Liberals. The latter group includes MPs Scott Brison, André Bachand, Rick Borotsik, Keith Martin, and John Herron. Joe Clark served the balance of his parliamentary term as a Progressive Conservative, outside of the new Conservative party caucus.

Other high-profile Red Tories such as Sinclair Stevens and Flora MacDonald applied to re-register the old Progressive Conservative Party name; however this was refused by Elections Canada. On March 26, 2004, the Progressive Canadian Party was registered with Elections Canada. It aims to be perceived as a revival of the "PC Party". It is not clear how successful it will be in this regard, since no prominent former PC Tories such as Clark, Stevens, or MacDonald, or any sitting MP or senator, is associated with the new party.

Finally, some Red Tories have decided to join the new Conservative Party. A group of them formed the Red Tory Council , a group contructed to give voice to the Red Tories, monitor the party and its positions, and to prevent too great a swing to the right.

"Red" Tory?

The origin of the adjective "red" is not known. The reference may be to progressive aspects of Red Tory principles, since parties of the left have traditionally used the colour red. It may have been a reference to the British roots of the Tory old guard. Others think it comes from the Liberal Party of Canada. The Liberals often used red as their colour, while the Conservatives used blue.

Definition Drift?

With the conservative movement's drift to the political right, the term Red Tory is often used today not to refer to those in the traditional Red Tory tradition of George Grant or Robert Stanfield but simply to Blue Tory moderates in the conservative movement, particularly those who reject or do not sufficiently embrace social conservatism.

Thus, in the 2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race, Tony Clement was sometimes referred to as a Red Tory even though Clement was on the right wing of the Mike Harris cabinet. Clement is a neoliberal, who advocates privatization, tax cuts, the curtailment of social spending and free trade with the United States. He opposes government intervention in the economy. Clement's stances are policies that most Red Tories would reject.

Keeping the Red Tory tradition

However, the other challenger in the leadership race, Belinda Stronach, the former auto-parts magnate, said during the race that she supports trade with the United States but would like to re-examine and review parts of NAFTA so that Canadians can stand on a more equal footing with U.S. competitors. Stronach also stated government intervention is necessary to ensure growth in the economy, and she supports public Medicare. Stronach also went on the record in her support for same-sex marriage rights and more research on the medicinal qualities of marijuana. Stronach's positions on these issues are ones that Red Tories typically support.

Red Tories in the Provinces

The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party has held power in that province for most of the time since Confederation. The Ontario PCs were often labelled Red Tory, for example under the leadership of William Davis from 1971 to 1985. Under Davis, the Tories often ran to the left of the Ontario Liberal Party. Some political commentators have suggested that the new leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, John Tory, is in the mould of the Bill Davis Red Tory tradition.

Throughout the Maritimes, Red Tories are the dominant force in the Conservative Party. This tends to explain why Canadian provinces are often ruled at the provincial level by a party that may be Conservative yet at the same time elect Liberal Members of Parliament to the Canadian House of Commons. Outsiders may not understand the large amount of ideological common ground shared by the two nominally different parties.

External links

• The Red Tory Council of the Conservative Party of Canada http://www.redtory.ca
• The Red Tory's Creed http://vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2003/11/84192.php