Canadian social conservatives openly support notions of natural law, tradition and conservative family values and policies. Compared to the United States, social conservatism is not as widespread in Canada. Social conservatives usually reside in rural settings, especially in Western Canada and have generally had little influence in the Canadian government, although that may be beginning to change with the emergence of the new Conservative Party of Canada. Strong expression of social conservatism is usually found in Alberta, which has long been Canada's most conservative province, and British Columbia outside of Vancouver. Natural law or the law of nature (Latin lex naturalis) is a law whose content is set by nature, and that therefore has validity everywhere. ... This article discusses family values as a political concept. ... Western Canada is a geographic region of Canada, also known as simply the West, generally considered to be west of the province of Ontario. ... The Conservative Party of Canada (French: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a right-leaning conservative political party in Canada, formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in December 2003. ... Motto: Fortis et liber (Latin: Strong and free) Official languages English (see below) Flower   Wild rose Tree Lodgepole Pine Bird Great Horned Owl Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong Premier Ed Stelmach (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 28 6 Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of total... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages English de facto (none stated in law) Flower Pacific dogwood Tree Western Redcedar Bird Stellers Jay Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 36 6 Area...

Social conservatives believe in traditional morality and social mores and the desire to preserve these in present day society, often through civil law or regulation. Many social conservatives describe themselves as traditionalists. Social change is generally regarded as suspect, while social values based on tradition are generally regarded as tried, tested and true. It is a view commonly associated with religious, militant and nationalistic conservatives. It is particularly associated with the Christian right, including fundamentalist and evangelical Christianity, and conservative tendencies in the Roman Catholic Church. It has been suggested that Moral reflex be merged into this article or section. ... The term mores (IPA ) as used in sociology is a plural noun. ... Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use. ... The word militant has come to refer to any individual or party engaged in aggressive physical or verbal combat, normally for a cause. ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... The Christian right is a term collectively referring to a spectrum of right-wing Christian political and social movements and organizations characterized by their strong support of social values they deem in line with traditional Christian values in [[Western world by a wide range of commentators. ... Fundamentalist Christianity, or Christian fundamentalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and American Protestantism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by conservative evangelical Christians, who, in a reaction to modernism, actively affirmed a fundamental set of Christian beliefs: the inerrancy of the Bible, the virgin birth... The word evangelicalism usually refers to religious practices and traditions which are found in conservative, almost always Protestant Christianity. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ...

It should be noted that socially conservative values are not necessarily attached to right-wing fiscal conservatism. Many fiscally left-leaning politicians have embraced socially conservative values, such as PC leadership candidate David Orchard and Christian Heritage Party leader Ron Gray. However, other social conservatives, such as Craig Chandler or Stockwell Day, do embrace neoconservatism. David Orchard (born June 28, 1950, in Borden, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian political figure and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. ... The Christian Heritage Party of Canada is a federal political party that advocates the governance of Canada according to the inspired, inerrant written Word of God. [1] This socially and fiscally conservative party held its founding convention in Hamilton, Ontario in November 1987, where Ed Vanwoudenberg was elected its first... Ronald O. Gray is the current leader of the minor federal level Christian Heritage Party of Canada. ... Craig B. Chandler (born 1970) is an obese Canadian political, business and religious activist. ... Stockwell Burt Day Jr. ...

In modern Canadian politics, social conservatives were largely regarded as abnormal oddities or religious zealots by officials in the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Over the years, many of them felt shunned by a party that was largely led and run by Red Tories for the last half of the twentieth-century. Many eventually made their political home with the Reform Party of Canada and its forerunner the Social Credit Party of Canada. Despite Reform leader Preston Manning's attempts to broaden the support of the Reform movement through populism, the party was largely dominated by social conservatives. Manning's reluctance to allow his party to wholly embrace socially conservative values contributed to his deposition as leader of the newly minted Canadian Alliance in favour of Stockwell Day. The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC) (In French: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a Canadian centre-right conservative political party that existed from 1867 to 2003. ... Red Tory is a nickname given to a political tradition in Canadas conservative political parties. ... The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party founded in 1987. ... The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative - populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform. ... Preston Manning Ernest Preston Manning (born June 10, 1942, in Edmonton, Alberta), is a Canadian politician. ... The Canadian Alliance, formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. ... Stockwell Burt Day Jr. ...

The social conservative movement remained very influential in the Canadian Alliance even after Day's defeat at the hands of Stephen Harper in 2002. Many have suggested that the new Conservative Party of Canada, led by Harper, is becoming more beholden to socially conservative values in its recent positions against same-sex marriage and moderate de-criminalization of marijuana possession. Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The wedding of Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf, the first same-sex marriage in Quebec, 1 April 2004. ... A Cannabis sativa plant The drug cannabis, also called marijuana, is produced from parts of the cannabis plant, primarily the cured flowers and gathered trichomes of the female plant. ...

External Links:

Social Conservatives United SocialConservatives.ca Focus on the Family Canada Canada Family Action Coalition

See Also

Social Conservative