Canada’s Enduring Populism

Canada has a long history of populist politics. From Prairie farmers who gave rise to the socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in the 1930s, to the right-wing Social Credit movement that ran from 1930s to the 1970s, and the western-based Reform Party of the 1980s and 1990s, the country has long harboured mass-elite cleavages. With the rise of contemporary populism globally, in toxic authoritarian and other manifestations, populism is back on the radar in Canada—particularly on the political right. The convoy occupation of Ottawa in the winter of 2022, for instance, billed itself as a populist movement. So too does the far-right People’s Party of Canada, which secured nearly 5 percent of electors—over 840,000 votes—in the 2021 federal election. This chapter traces the history and assesses the state of populism in Canada, examines how domestic and global networks shape populist movements, and details the implications of populism for the country’s domestic and foreign policy.