Canada

There is a lively and continuing debate among Canadian scholars as to just what constitutes Canadian political culture or ideology (Horowitz 1968? Christian & Campbell 1974; Marchak 1975; Manzer 1985). It is now generally accepted that five ideological thrusts have combined historically to create the Canadian public political philosophy: ‘traditional conservatism, anti-democratic liberalism, protective liberal democracy, developmental liberal democracy, and non-Marxist social democracy’ (Manzer 1985, p.180). Tackling the thorny question of which of these strains is the dominant one in the formation of Canadian political culture, political scientist Ronald Manzer has carefully examined how the central and provincial governments have, from the early nineteenth century to the present, gone about promoting economic development, alleviating poverty, structuring the market, controlling crime, building schools and assuring the protection of human rights. His unqualified conclusion is that ‘liberalism is not just the core, it is the essence of the Canadian public philosophy’ (Manzer 1985, p.180).