In this episode, Alex speaks with political researcher Sam Routley about how conservatism is changing in Canada. Drawing on his article “Decoding Canada’s Conservative Coalition” published in The Hub, Routley explains why Canada’s conservative movement has remained more stable than those in other Western democracies, where right-wing politics have undergone dramatic upheavals. They discuss the historical roots of Canada’s “fusionist” conservatism, the economic and cultural shifts driving new tensions between working-class and knowledge-economy voters, and how Pierre Poilievre’s brand of populism fits within Canada’s longstanding political traditions. References:
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DeepDive: Decoding Canada’s Conservative coalition — Sam Routley (The Hub) https://thehub.ca/2025/09/27/deepdive-decoding-canadas-conservative-coalition/ The Hub
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Sam Routley — Author Page (The Hub) https://thehub.ca/author/samroutley/ The Hub
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Stephen Harper embraced pragmatic, incremental change. Does Pierre Poilievre have grander ambitions? — Sam Routley (The Hub) https://thehub.ca/2024/10/11/sam-routley-stephen-harper-embraced-pragmatic-incremental-change-does-pierre-poilievre-have-grander-ambitions/ The Hub
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Canada’s hard-fought immigration consensus is crumbling before our eyes — Sam Routley (The Hub) https://thehub.ca/2024/04/10/sam-routley-canadas-hard-fought-immigration-consensus-is-crumbling/ The Hub
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Canada needs new political experts — Sam Routley (The Hub) https://thehub.ca/2023/11/09/sam-routley-canada-needs-new-political-experts/ The Hub
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How Canada’s Conservatives Should Solve Their Free Trade Confusion — Sam Routley (C2C Journal) https://c2cjournal.ca/2023/07/how-canadas-conservatives-should-solve-their-free-trade-confusion/ C2C Journal
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Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption — Stephen J. Harper (Indigo) https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/right-here-right-now-politics-and-leadership-in-the-age-of-disruption/9780771038624.html Indigo
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