Religion and Politics in CanadaSee also Anglo Countries. 1. Brief Introduction 1. Brief Introduction to Religion and Politics in Canada According to a July 2011 estimate, Canada has a population of just over 34 million, with a growth rate of .79%. Its 2010 HDI ranking was #8 and its 2010 CPI ranking was 8.9. Of Canadians, 28% have origins in the British Isles, 23% in French-speaking countries, 15% in other European countries, 2% are Amerindian, 6% are other, mostly African, Asian, and Arab; and 26% are mixed. The 2001 Census reported Canada as 42.6% Catholic; 23% Protestant (including 9.5% United Church, 6.8% Anglican, 2.4% Baptist, 2% Lutheran); 4.4% other Christian; 1.9% Muslim; 11.8% other and unspecified; and 16% none. As in most Western countries, religious affiliation correlates with political choice. Guth and Fraser (below) demonstrated the ties between Mainline Protestants and the Conservatives, English-speaking and devout French-speaking Catholics and the Liberals, Evangelical Protestants and the new Reform Party, seculars and the NDP, and nominal French-speaking Catholics and the Bloc Québecquois (BQ). Unlike the United States, Canadian evangelicals make up only 10-12% (versus 23-33%) of the population and have no regional base. Hoover, et al. (below) found that, for example, the attitudes of Canadian evangelicals towards economic redistribution are closer to non-evangelicals in Canada than evangelicals in the United States. Both countries’ evangelicals coalesce on moral issues like abortion and homosexuality. Anglo countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are generally less legally secular than the United States and more observant than European Union countries. From the American political perspective, Canadian society remains the great Blue State to the north, with a liberal political culture much closer to Europe than to the United States, even among Conservatives and evangelicals. Up until the 2006 election, Liberals ruled Canada for 73 of the last 103 years. But they have usually lost power during periods of corruption and mismanagement, as of late. In June 2004 the Liberals only won a plurality of 135 seats in the 308-seat House of Commons. Then then formed a coalition with the New Democrats. Conservative Stephen Harper became prime minister in January 2006 when his Conservative Party won a plurality of 124 seats. The Liberals garnered 103, the New Democratic Party 29, the Bloc Québecquois 51, and other 1. Harper then called another election in October 2008, hoping to win seats before his government was blamed for the global economic downturn. That election returned the minority Harper government to office with an additional 19 seats. In the election of May 2011, the Conservatives won a majority of 166 seats with the New Democrats coming in second with 103 seats. It was a debacle for Liberals (34 seats) and the Bloc Quebecquois, which both lost 43 seats. Hanson (2006), pp. 131-38, discusses “Anglo Societies: Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and the New Immigrants.” 2. A Short Introductory Course to Religion and Politics in Canada Guth and Fraser relate religious adherence to political choice. Hoover, et. al., compare evangelical Christianity in Canada and the United States. Guth, James L. and Fraser, Cleveland R., “Religion and Partisanship in Canada,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 40 (March 2001): 62-63. Hoover, Dennis R., Martinez, Michael D., Reimer, Samuel H. and Wald, Kenneth D. “Evangelicalism Meets the Continental Divide: Moral and Economic Conservatism in the United States and Canada,” Political Research Quarterly 55 (June 2002). 3. Other Key Resource Materials for Religion and Politics in Canada Phillips, Kevin. The Cousins’ Wars: Religion, Politics, and the Triumph of Anglo-America (New York: Basic Books, 1999). The official site of the Canadian Council of Churches, which represents twenty churches of the Anglican, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Protestant, and Roman Catholic traditions. This is one of the broadest denominational representation for any national Christian body across the globe. 4. Recent News Articles on Canada “Campaign Rule 1: Be No More Virtuous Than the Voters,” New York Times, October 25, 2005. André Boisclair given a political lift by report of “wild weekends.” On November 15, Boisclair became the first openly gay person to head a political party in North America, the provincial Parti Québecquois. “Canada’s Smiles for Camera Mask Chill in Ties With U.S.” New York Times, October 25, 2005. Secretary of State Rice visits Prime Minister Paul Martin in Ottawa. Problems in U.S.-Canadian relations. “Liberal Party Loses Vote Of Confidence In Canada,” New York Times, November 29, 2005. “Separatists in Quebec Seek Immigrant Votes,” New York Times, December 12, 2005. BQ runs immigrants for parliament hoping to increase seats and lose reputation as ethnocentric party that hurts them with many young and swing voters. "Gay Marriage Galvanizes Canada's Christian Right," New York Times, November 19, 2006. Christian right, minority of Conservative base, seeks to focus on gay marriage to build a national political movement. Prime Minister Harper, who is both a Conservative and an Evangelical, moves warily on social issues since they could undercut his desire for a majority in parliament. "Immigrants Reject Quebec's Separatists," New York Times, May 20, 2007. PQ party leader Boisclair resigned after March election debacle. New non-French-speaking immigrants made up 10% of voters and don't focus on sovereignity issue. French-speaking birthrate plummets. "Canada's Premier Gambles by Having Election Set for October, a Year Early," New York Times, September 8, 2008. Good summary of Canadian politics as the election season begins. "A Secure Border: In Canada, Religion and Politics Don't Mix," Michael W. Higgins in Commonweal, November 7, 2008. President of Fredericton's St. Thomas University notes the "quintessentially Canadian: measured, unexciting, and gradualist" nature of the country's relation of religion and politics, compared with U.S. "Canada's Election Looks to Defy Early Predictions," New York Times, May 3, 2011. A good article to get the sense of the current volatility of Canadian politics. August 10, 2011 |
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