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Political culture consists of the characteristic values, beliefs, and behaviours of a society’s members. This chapter examines political culture through an analysis of the Canadian political ideologies, values, and institutions. Ideologies are sets of interrelated beliefs about how society is organized and how it should function. Three dominant ideologies in Canada are liberalism, conservatism, and socialism. The meaning of all three has changed over time for Canadian politics, but socialism has changed the least. In the past, liberalism was more about free enterprise and free trade in economics, freedom of religious choice and practice, and freedom of association and expression in politics, but it now holds that governments should act to create more equality and protect the rights of minorities and the disadvantaged. Conservatism used to be about the importance of tradition and accepted inequality, but it now focuses more on equality of opportunity and the economic beliefs once held by liberals. Socialism has always been based on equality of condition and egalitarianism, but now tempers its view with a larger role for the state.
There are three major theories regarding the origins of Canadian political culture. First, fragment theory holds that New World societies were “fragments” of the European societies that gave birth to them. Fragment theory is used to help explain the emergence of social democracy in Canada. Second, societies are marked by certain formative events at critical points in their development. Third, economic structures and political ideas emphasize the way political class relations and dominant values and beliefs shape society. Regarding political ideas, Canadians are typically preoccupied with their national identity, given that their sense of community has seemed quite fragile at certain points in history. Also, while Canadians have historically been more deferential to authority than Americans, over time that is becoming less and less the case.
Along with institutions, and ideologies the chapter also explores the differences between Canadians and Americans with special emphasis on ideas such as community, freedom and equality. As part of this discussion, the chapter examines such significant issues as gun control, multiculturalism, and income equality. Discussions on these issues help to provide important contextual background in considering Canadian political institutions and political culture.