Quote:
Originally Posted by PyramidsofMars
I'm really continually surprised at how many Conservative voters I hear voicing surprise over the farther-right views held by Conservative MP's. Seriously, aside from the mock-centrist views they blab about in public and the centrist pragmatism they're forced into as a minority government, it's painfully obvious to anyone who does a quick background check on a lot of the Conservative MP's that there are many, well, unsavory aspects to the party.
The people of Calgary in my experience are overwhelmingly socially libertarian and reasonably open-minded, with strong free market views, free speech views, etc. etc. I thought the new Conservative party might be a voice for this majority in Calgary but they seem to be only reluctantly so, for the sake of political gain, and in fact seem to hold many views personally that the people of Calgary by and large disagree with or are less extreme about.
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You're right. Calgarians are not
actually as conservative or right wing as they like think they are. Sure they're free market oriented, but that is pretty much orthydoxy anywhere in Canada now. The presence of union labour is minimal here, so labour is not a big issue like it is in manufacturing based economies. Certainly we're socially libertarian (or perhaps just socially ambivalent). You wouldn't find Calgarians marching against things like gay rights, nor would you really find them actively driving social movements in support.
On issues like healthcare, education and other critical areas of government, Albertans and Calgarians are really the highest supporters of such public systems (and spend the most). One could argue that Alberta has one of the best, if not the best public education system, perhaps only behind Finland. In many ways Albertans seem to epitomize mythical "canadian-ness".
I just don't see Calgarians at all as ideologically driven - they just vote for the supposed "home" party the (in reality centrist) conservatives, because they're not the central canada based liberals that screwed them a generation ago. I think we're more driven by competence and good governance, not blind ideology.
Remind me in what ways Calgarians are actually conservative on issues? Not many obvious things come to mind