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ABlue Tory inCanadian politics is aconservative who advocates forfree-market andeconomically liberal (sometimes known asfiscally conservative) policies[1] such as reductions in public spending, tax cuts, opposition todeficit spending, and a more limited role of government. They also advocate self reliance, individual responsibility, personal freedom and liberty and therefore do not necessarily supportsocial conservatism.[2][3] They are generally regarded as the largest faction of conservatives in the party.
The term has been applied to members of the modernConservative Party of Canada and provincial Progressive Conservative parties, as well as the historicalReform Party of Canada and its successor, theCanadian Alliance. In contemporary language, Blue Tories are sometimes described as "true-blue Conservatives".[4]
For the first 50 years of Canada's existence as a country, theConservative Party (also known as the "Tories") subscribed to policies that required the government to play an active role in the economy. The signature achievement ofJohn A. Macdonald, Canada's firstprime minister from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891, was theNational Policy, whichnationalized industries and promoted hightariffs to protect domestic industries. The party strictly opposedfree trade with the United States, and this vigorous opposition played a key role in the party's return to power underRobert Borden in1911. As such, Blue Toryism was essentially non-existent in the Conservative Party during its governance of Canada from 1867 to 1873, 1878 to 1896, and from 1911 to 1921.
However, in the 1930s,R. B. Bennett as prime minister adoptedlaissez-faire policies during the Great Depression, differing himself from his previousRed Tory predecessors.
One example of a provincial Blue Tory government in Canada was the "Common Sense Revolution" provincial Progressive Conservative government ofOntario PremierMike Harris. The Harris Tories were widely viewed asradical by Canadian standards in their economic policies and style of governance. Harris' government embarked on a number of initiatives, including cuts to education, welfare andMedicare, privatization of government services and health care, the sale of provincial highways and the forcedamalgamation of municipalities. Provincial income taxes were also cut by 30% and corporate tax rates were nearly cut in half during the Harris mandate.
Federally, the most popular example of a Blue Tory government was that ofStephen Harper, who was prime minister from 2006 to 2015. Tax cuts were prevalent during Harper's tenure; he reduced thegoods and services tax (GST) from seven percent to five percent; reduced the corporate income tax rate from 21 percent to 15 percent; and implemented personal income tax cuts during theGreat Recession. Other economically liberal policies from the Harper government included the privatization of theCanadian Wheat Board, the negotiation offree-trade agreements such as theComprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and the introduction of thetax-free savings account (TFSA). In order tobalance the budget, Harper implemented various public spending cuts during his third term in office (2011–2015); one notable change was the increase in eligibility forOld Age Security from 65 years of age to 67, though this planned change did not go into effect as it was subsequently reversed by the succeedingLiberal government ofJustin Trudeau in 2015.
Most Blue Tories are at least somewhat ideologically aligned close to the economically liberal positions of the formerCanadian Alliance; as such, they supported the merger between the PCs and the Alliance to form the new federalConservative Party of Canada (CPC).
Notable Blue Tories include:
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