We welcome readers to the Red Tory Standard.
This inaugural bi-monthly newsletter previews our upcoming articles for June, offering a brief introduction to each forthcoming piece. As our first letter to readers, we also take this opportunity to outline the purpose, content, and tone that will define The Red Tory Standard, along with a short description of the site’s current and future navigational tools.
The Red Tory Standard “exists to explore, articulate, renew, and promote a distinctly Canadian strain of conservatism, one rooted in tradition and oriented toward the common good”. Readers can expect articles in the form of historical commentary, book reviews, literary analysis, theological discussion, commentary on current events and issues, and personal reflections. (We invite you to read our full Mission Statement.)
It is our hope that we attract a thoughtful readership, uninterested in the latest contention for contention’s sake. We prefer timelessness, not timeliness; the enduring issues, not the most recent outrages. We are not journalists or social media personalities who rely on manufactured controversy for income; this frees us to provide thought-provoking commentary, not mere provocation. Our content is free and a “donate” button will not be found anywhere on our site. Neither are we aspiring partisan hacks positioning ourselves for future roles in party politics, nor are we aligned with any lobby groups, industries, or donor-driven organizations. We are like-minded Canadians of various occupations – academics, educators, writers, artists, clergymen, students, and other professions – who love our nation and have no vested interest in The Red Tory Standard other than it being an outlet for classic Red Tory thought.
Visitors to the journal will encounter a deliberately minimalist layout. We appreciate national symbols and heraldry, but they will not decorate our journal. Ideas are our focal point. As the journal grows, we will introduce a navigable table of contents organized by themes and topics, along with a general index.
An ongoing topic that our readers will naturally encounter is the definition of the term “Red Tory” itself. Our contributors are various shades of red, but we are all committed to correcting the mistaken notion floating about that Red Tories are “fiscally conservative, socially liberal” (a description that better fits Blue Grits). Likewise, while we maintain that a sense of moderation is a fundamental aspect of any authentic conservatism, we wholly reject the disparaging notion that a Red Tory is somehow “Liberal Lite”.
The first few months of publications will naturally contain a fair amount of definition and explanation of Red Toryism. Clif Clemotte argues that Red Toryism, although a label often misused today, is a political tradition that continues to express itself in voting patterns and beliefs. He draw four principles from historical Red Toryism to guide Canadian conservatives today: active governance, intervention and welfare, communitarianism, and internationalism. Victoria Savage explores the historical roots of Red Toryism, identifying the earliest thinkers and figures in Canadian history that informed the ideology. Mitch Proctor observes that while the modern Conservative Party of Canada often claims Sir John A. Macdonald as its founder, its actual ideological lineage is far more complex and now owes more to the Reform movement and Western populism than to Macdonald’s nation-building tradition. In a more general question of the direction of Canadian conservatism, Clif Clemotte makes the case that Benjamin Disraeli’s account of civil rights in connection to the notion of elevating equality is relevant to contemporary debates on the nature of Canadian conservatism, as it creates an intellectual space for a political vision which is neither classical liberalism nor post-liberalism.
Respect for the enduring relevance of our established institutions, history, and heritage lies at the heart of Red Tory thought. Our most central institution is our constitutional monarchy. Dave Langille reflects on the warm American reaction to King Charles’ recent speech to Congress, exploring what Canada’s tradition of “Peace, Order, and Good Government” and our living constitutional monarchy can still teach us about allegiance, continuity, and ordered liberty. Mark Graham explores George Grant’s argument that the Loyalists, by rejecting the American Revolution, rejected John Locke’s liberalism in favour of the older political philosophy of Richard Hooker. He also highlights the profound influence of classical Anglicanism on Canadian Toryism and later Red Tory thought. Brent Cameron argues that the powerful monoculture of American conservatism has displaced organic local variants of both conservatism and liberalism, leaving nations like ours with ill-fitting imports that ignore our historical rejection of American revolutionary excesses.
Literature, read through a Red Tory critical lens, will have a constant presence in the journal. Even books we read as a child are central to the formation of our political instincts and outlook. Kieran Wilson takes us to the world of Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge stories, arguing that they offer glimpses of Tory utopia to kindle the conservative imagination of young and old alike.
We hope this inaugural edition offers a meaningful glimpse into the character and substance of The Red Tory Standard. We invite you to enjoy the journal, subscribe for free to receive new articles directly in your inbox, and join us in exploring our Canadian tradition that values ordered liberty, continuity, and the common good.