Canadian Politics

A11(c) - Populism and the far-right

Date: Jun 4 | Time: 10:15am to 11:45am | Location:

Chair/Président/Présidente : Jim Farney (University of Regina)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Jim Farney (University of Regina)

The Populist Turn in Canada: How Alberta and Saskatchewan Challenge Canadian Democratic Norms: Danielle Bohonos (University of Toronto), Lisa Young (University of Calgary), Alexandra Ballos (University of Calgary), Loleen Berdahl (University of Saskatchewan)
Abstract: The recent rise in far-right populism around the globe has become an increasing concern due to its potential to escalate support for authoritarianism and threaten democratic norms (Norris and Inglehart, 2019; Foa and Mounk, 2016). Within the literature, there is a debate over whether Canada has been exempt from this populist wave (Adams 2017; Ambrose and Mudde 2015; Müller, 2016; Mudde, 2004). However, recent evidence of far-right mobilization, such as the 2022 Freedom Convoy, suggests that Canada may be experiencing the same trend found elsewhere. To examine this issue, we focus on Alberta and Saskatchewan as case studies. While on the national-level Canada has been seen as resistant to contemporary populism (Medeiros 2021), there is a ripe history of populist mobilization (Laycock 1990; Crowley 2022; Wesley 2020) in these provinces, which makes them fertile ground for the emergence of populism today. We employ an ideational approach, the dominant model for studying right-wing populism elsewhere (Mudde and Kaltwasser 2017), intending to define the appropriate measures of populism in the Canadian context. We will measure the supply of populist rhetoric from politicians by conducting a textual analysis of the official Hansard debate record in the two provincial legislatures between 2019 and 2023. This project highlights the dynamic of elite-level political rhetoric, offering a nuanced understanding of Canada’s populist landscape.

Nationalist populism & the Natural Governing Party: Comparing DeValera’s Fianna Fáil and Duplessis’ Union Nationale: Donal Gill (Concordia University)
Abstract: Natural governing parties generate significant momentum for decades-long electoral dominance by successfully pitching themselves as the “instrument necessary for building a democratic national community” (Carty 2015: 59). The proposed paper aims to assess how and why Ireland’s Fianna Fail achieved natural governing party status whereas the Union Nationale of Quebec, despite a similar nationalist populist ideology could not sustain its political momentum beyond the reign of its founding leader. The parallels between Eamon de Valera’s Fianna Fail (FF) party and Maurice Duplessis’ Union Nationale (UN) in Quebec are notable. FF and the UN dominated political life in their respective spheres through effective nationalist populist appeals and firm party leadership. Both parties came to prominence in the early to mid 1930s and were singularly led by their charismatic founders until 1959. Whereas the UN struggled to define itself following the death of Duplessis in office in 1959 (notwithstanding the energy and vigor of Daniel Johnson Snr’s government from 1966-70), FF continued to dominate Irish politics in the process becoming “Europe’s greatest electoral machine" (Carty 2022). In the proposed paper, I argue that the brand of nationalist populism developed by FF under de Valera successfully shut down opposing interpretations of the nationalist question and embedded a “republican ethos” (Girvin 2010: 128) that dictated the contours of Irish political life for subsequent decades. The UN, on the other hand, was outflanked on the national question by both the Liberal Party of Quebec and later the Parti Quebecois. The UN brand of nationalist populism - what Duplessis called “autonomism” - would largely fall out of favour in mainstream Quebec electoral politics until revived recently by Francois Legault and the Coalition Avenir Québec. This paper seeks to differentiate the ideological composition of the FF and UN populist appeal on matters of autonomy/sovereignty in order to assess how one attained natural governing party status and the other faded into obscurity.

‘Corrupt Elites and Media Walk into a Bar…’ : A Case-Study on Humour and Emotional Activation in the Online Communication of a Populist Party: Jérémie Drouin (Université Laval), Thierry Giasson (Université Laval), Thomas Larochelle (Université Laval), Camille Arteau-Leclerc (Université Laval)
Abstract: Due to its ability to act as an emotional lever, humor is frequently employed by political parties, notably through visual elements on social media platforms. However, few studies have focused on the use of humor by populist parties, which are very active online. This study aims to fill this gap in the political communication literature by examining the use of humor in the online communication of the Conservative Party of Quebec (CPQ). The objective is to investigate whether the party, which experienced a significant increase in support during the COVID-19 pandemic, used humor to convey an anti-elitist message and to activate anger among its supporters through its digital communication. To address this question, a content analysis of visual materials published by the party on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram between April 2021 and October 2022 is conducted. This study determines proportion of humorous content in the party's digital communication, the types of messages and humoristic contents conveyed, and the reaction of users.

Examining far-right political ideologies: political challenges in Canada’s past and present: Simon Marmura Brown (University of New Brunswick)
Abstract: Over the past decade, the rise of authoritarian, anti-immigrant, nationalistic, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, and racist, attitudes and opinions in Canadian society have been well documented. How we understand and combat these phenomena is, increasingly, a vital concern. This paper takes an historic approach to understand these phenomena by examining a previous “high-point” of Canadian intolerance: the emergence of Canadian fascism from 1930-1939. This paper examines literature published by the Canadian Union of Fascists, the Canadian Nationalist Party, and the National Unity Party—fascist political organizations prominent in the 1930s—obtained from the National Archives which have not been accessed, discussed, or made public since their original publication. It highlights the importance of a strong labour movement and unions during that time to combat fascist mobilizations and emphasizes economic anxiety as a motivating feature of the fascist right. It postulates that within the contemporary political climate, the progressive weakening of labour laws, labour movements, and the increased deployment of back-to-work legislation, have eroded working class solidarity in ways which make resisting far-right political ideology more challenging than during other periods of Canadian history.