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In the same way that in the United States, blacks and other ethnic minorities tend to be Democrats, would this be true of Canada too, with ethnic minorities tending to vote more left-wing? Or is it different in Canada?
Somewhat. But left wing is REALLY left wing, more social democrat. As I understand it, Democrats can run the whole gamut of the US political spectrum from "left wing" to a conservative "red democrat". I would assume that a left wing democrat from the US would probably compare to a centrist Liberal in Canada.
Unions, the poor, some blue collar households tend to vote NDP--a REAL god's honest left wing social democratic party (or "socialists" as Americans are apt to call them, I always get a kick out of that)
The term "ethnic minority" cuts a pretty wide swath across all economic classes and all political persuations, so trying to make a clear connection between this group and a certain political party is pretty pointless. For example, many minorities are very family-oriented and conservative and increasingly they tend to vote Conserative.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would fit in the NDP I think. But mainstream Democrats are in line with the Liberals here.
Stephen Harper is quite conservative on foreign policy, the environment and economics but he is not a social conservative and would probably be deemed a "RINO" in the US context.
At one time, that might have been true. Nowadays, I'm not so sure.
Thirty to thirty-five years ago, definitely. It was the Liberal government under Prime Minister Trudeau, that really opened up immigration, and it was not shy about campaigning on the "we let you reunify your family in Canada, so thank us by voting for us" platform. (See the changes over time in the shape of Eglinton-Lawrence riding in Toronto for example--suddenly, in the 1980s, the riding expanded westward to include a large group of newly-arrived Italians; and the Tories collapsed in Eglinton-Lawrence. I won't call it gerrymandering, but I will call it disingenuous.)
But as I said, today, I'm not so sure. Perhaps thanks to the internet, today's ethnic groups are much more better-informed, and less likely to vote for a party just because it allowed their relatives in. Of course, immigrants are interested in immigration policies, but even if they cannot vote, they are allowed a voice in our national discourse. As such, there are immigrant voices advocating all sides and ends of the political spectrum.
They were traditionally centrist and supported the Liberals (not the more leftist NDP) but over the last couple of elections have been quite successfully wooed away from the Liberals by the Conservatives who have played the traditional values card with them, given that immigrant groups tend to be more religious than native-born Canadian.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would fit in the NDP I think. But mainstream Democrats are in line with the Liberals here.
Stephen Harper is quite conservative on foreign policy, the environment and economics but he is not a social conservative and would probably be deemed a "RINO" in the US context.
I would say Harper is a social conservative. His reform party roots speak to that. Is he rabid about it or has he evolved a bit since then? Or perhaps realizing that the vast majority of Canadians are not socially conservative and reopening debates on abortion and equal marriage would spell disaster?
He does have Baird close by, so he at least doesn't seem to fear gay people, or at least puts up with them for his own reasons.
Thats not true at all. I would say many are just as or even more conservative.
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