Problematizing Canadian exceptionalism: A study of right-populism, white nationalism and Conservative political parties
Keywords:
Right-populism, racial governance, Conservative Party of Canada, Canada, Populismo de derechas, gobierno racial, Partido Conservador de Canadá, CanadáAbstract
The myth that Canada has resisted the “West’s populist wave” persists despite evidence that demonstrates otherwise. This article traces how the assumption that Canada has avoided the rise of right-wing populism and white nationalism is tethered to the fiction that Canada has been a raceless society. After briefly reviewing the myth of racelessness and the history of right-populism in Canada, the article explores how the Reform Party of Canada conceptualized “the people” in racialized terms. This article examines how the Conservative Party of Canada’s appeals to symbolic “diversity” and denial of systemic oppression have enabled more overt forms of racism. By examining the recent rise of hate crimes, this article makes the case that a direct link can be traced between the Conservative government’s seemingly neutral discourses about the preservation of Canadian “heritage” and “common values” and the re-emergence of right-wing populism and the re-emboldening of white nationalism in Canada.El mito de que Canadá ha resistido la “ola populista de Occidente” perdura a pesar de que se puede demostrar lo contrario. Este artículo expone que la aceptación generalizada de que Canadá ha evitado el auge del populismo de derechas y del nacionalismo blanco está unida a la ficción de que Canadá ha sido una sociedad sin razas. Tras repasar brevemente el mito de la ausencia de razas y la historia del populismo de derechas en Canadá, el artículo explora cómo el Partido Reformista de Canadá conceptualizó “el pueblo” en términos racializados, y examina cómo las apelaciones del Partido Conservador de Canadá a la “diversidad” simbólica y su negación de cualquier opresión sistemática han permitido formas más abiertas de racismo. Al analizar el aumento reciente de crímenes de odio, el artículo argumenta que se puede hallar un nexo directo entre el discurso aparentemente neutral del gobierno conservador sobre la defensa del “patrimonio” y los “valores comunes” de Canadá y el resurgimiento del populismo de derechas y el reforzamiento del nacionalismo blanco en Canadá.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1127
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