Red Tory
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
197.67242
Summary
As a result of Chris Dontremont crossing the floor from the Conservatives to the Liberals, there s a lot of talk about red Tories and their place in the Conservative Party. And I have to be honest, it s driving me a little nuts.
Transcript
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does anyone know what red Tory means anymore? Over the last week, as a result of Chris Dontremont
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crossing the floor from the Conservatives to the Liberals, there's been a lot of talk about red
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Tories and their place in the Conservative Party. And I have to be honest, it's driving me a little
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nuts. This has always been a pet peeve of mine. In the modern context, the term red Tory is
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constantly misused. People think it means a conservative who's a bit more red, as in someone
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who's fiscally conservative but socially liberal. But that's totally backwards. In fact, it's the
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complete opposite of what it actually means to be a red Tory. Someone who is socially liberal but
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fiscally conservative? That's not a red Tory. That's a blue liberal. Red Toryism is a uniquely
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Canadian tradition, and it's important for nationalists like us to understand because
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real red Tories were not libertarian, not globalist, definitely not socially progressive
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liberals in disguise. Historically speaking, red Tories were big government conservatives,
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rooted in traditional values, deeply loyal to British institutions, and willing to use the
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power of the state to serve the national interest. If you want examples, look at our early prime
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ministers. Sir John A. Macdonald, the architect of confederation and the national policy. He
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believed in tariffs to protect Canadian industry, massive state-funded nation-building projects like
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the CPR, and preserving Canada's unique identity against American influence. That's a red Tory.
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Or Sir Robert Borden. He led Canada through the First World War, expanded state power for the
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war effort, implemented income tax conscription, and strengthened Canada's independence within
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the british empire again strong national state traditional values loyalty order a red tory red
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tories were nationalists who believed in a distinct canadian civilization supported by a
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strong state strong identity and duty to the common good not the libertarian free market
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solves everything mentality and certainly not social liberalism so the next time someone calls
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a socially liberal fiscally conservative politician a red tory remember that's not red
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that's not tory that's just a liberal with a different color tie real red toryism built railways
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won wars, forged a nation, and defended Canada's identity, and maybe, just maybe,
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Canada could use a bit more of that today. Long live Canada.