The People and The Nation: The “Thick” and the “Thin” of Right‐Wing Populism in Canada

Abstract

Objective While Canada is commonly portrayed as a bastion of political moderation, two influential right‐wing populist (RWP) movements appeared in the past decade. This study examines support for the People's Party of Canada (PPC) and “Ford Nation” of the eponymous Toronto‐based political family, comparing each movement's supporters. Methods Data from the 2014 Toronto Election Study and 2019 Canadian Election Study were analyzed with logistic regression models to assess differences between supporters of each movement. Results Populism as a “thin‐centered ideology” is displayed by the differences between each movement. Ford Nation advanced a suburban‐focused neoliberal populism while the PPC blended libertarianism and civilizationist–nationalist rhetoric. Contrary to both movements’ platforms, PPC supporters did not display significant animosity toward immigrants, while those of the Ford Nation did. The supporters of Ford Nation were distinct among conventional supporters of RWP movements because they tended to be both immigrants and economically secure. Conclusions While both the PPC and Ford Nation are RWP movements, each movement is only nominally related, as evidenced by their different underlying “thick” ideologies and the substantial differences among their supporters.

Demand without Supply: Populist Attitudes without Salient Supply-Side Factors of Populism

“…Furthermore, populism has had a resurgence in the Canadian political landsape since 2015. At the provincial level, recent elections have seen the People's Alliance of New Brunswick rise to prominence, both Québec solidaire (QS) and the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) obtain electoral success in Quebec's provincial election (with the latter forming a majority government), and the populist Doug Ford become premier of Ontario (Erl, 2021;Medeiros and Gauvin, 2019). Additionally, the 2019 Canadian federal election saw populism have a prominent role, notably with the openly populist People's Party of Canada (Nanos, 2020).…”

Populist media diets

“…By comparing the People's Party of Canada to Ford Nation,Erl (2021) shows that even populist movements from the same (radical right) side of the political spectrum can attract different supporters depending on their "brand. "…”

Subjective economic insecurity and attitudes toward immigration and feminists among voters on the Right in Canada

“…Higher income earners and non-degree holders have been positively related to Conservative support in Canada (Kiss et al 2023). Homeownership has also been found to be a strong predictor of Conservative support in Canada (Erl 2021;McGregor & Spicer 2016). The gender gap has increased substantially in recent years, with men more likely to support the Right (Gidengil et al 2012).…”

“…2023). Homeownership has also been found to be a strong predictor of Conservative support in Canada (Erl 2021; McGregor & Spicer 2016). The gender gap has increased substantially in recent years, with men more likely to support the Right (Gidengil et al.…”