Canada’s Conservative Party’s principles are barely late 20th Century

Biden and Carney identify four overlapping major crises, but the CPC is mostly silent on the major issues of the day

In March of 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with climate change accelerating, a decade after the sub-prime mortgage crisis exposed deep flaws in the global economy and after the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) had been out of power for six years and counting, they held a policy convention. International headlines were devoted to their rejection of acceptance of climate change and the need for action as an element of their policy. But it’s worth looking at the full set of principles and those devils that the headline 22 principles elide. Has their new leader, Erin O’Toole managed to drag the party at least part way into this century?

There are two overlapping frameworks to consider when assessing federal party policies in 2021. To the south, we have Joe Biden’s Four Crises framework which is dominating his initial time in office. The crises are climate change, COVID-19, racism and the economy. In Canada, we have Mark Carney’s three crises outlined in his new book, Values: Building a Better World for All. Carney’s are climate change, COVID-19 and credit, with that last focused on the lessons from…