Well.. I suppose this isnt much of a shocker, but the main conservative and religious-right groups in the US have decided they’re going to try to stick their noses in the Jan 23/06 Canada federal election in order to gain a Conservative Party victory.
There is a history of this of course: The first instance of this happenning was in the interim period between the June 2004 election and now. Stories and editorials appeared in Canada’s major centrist newspaper The Globe and Mail talking about how several Conservative Party nominations in certain ridings had been taken over by Canadian members of Focus On The Family.
The Globe and Mail – as detailed by Progressive Blogger member Cerebrus – explained how this and Defend Marriage (another religious-right conservative group) attempted to influence the debate on allowing Gay-Marriage in Canada:
In the past 17 months, a stunning amount of money and machinery was put to use in an effort to stop the Liberal government from cramming through a redefinition of marriage. One coalition group, called Defend Marriage [US-Canada], hosted 320 rallies (including one of more than 15,000 people on Parliament Hill), made a million protest phone calls to MPs, distributed 1.4 million brochures in five different languages, posted 50 billboards, 11 full-page ads, and united over 200 multifaith organizations.
Supporters of another organization, Focus on the Family, paid for even more full-page ads, protest e-mails and radio broadcasts, and they’ve now sponsored a policy institute in Ottawa and have a goal of raising millions of dollars to be spent for TV.
Their fight to repeal Gay-Marriage rights in Canada is ongoing, in otherwards. But now, this has escalated recently, with one of the major religious-right figures visiting Canada and urging action be taken to elect a conservative movement to Canada’s government:
Yes…Ralph Reed is in the fray sticking his nose in where it doesnt belong:
The man known to have blazed the trail for the religious-conservative movement in the United States rallied Canadian faith leaders yesterday, urging them to get behind the vote.Ralph Reed, who led hundreds of thousands of members of the religious right to get the vote out during the era of former U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, told delegates to a Christian conference last night to put on their work boots and tennis shoes and knock on doors.
“Come Jan. 23, there’s going to be a new Canada of conservative traditional values,” he told a cheering crowd of 400 people who greeted his remarks with a standing ovation.
As you might note, 400 people would seem like peanuts… but nevertheless, these are 400 faith leaders of organizations across Canada, and their influence cant be underestimated.
Today.. we find out yet another US organization is trying to rally its compatriots in Canada:
The National Rifle Association, arguably the most powerful lobby group in the United States, has been enlisted to help shore up the influence of the Canadian gun lobby during the federal election campaign — something opponents say smacks of foreign interference and is indicative of the NRA’s widening influence around the globe.
Glen Caroline, director of the NRA’s grassroots division, is a keynote speaker and is giving a seminar today in Scarborough at the general meeting of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, an umbrella organization of recreational firearms groups…
While the association hasn’t officially endorsed a party, it likely will this weekend.
You can bet they will be endorsing the Conservative Party, who wishes to weaken gun laws. As for the NRA, the NRA is up here because they’ve never liked the fact we have stricter gun laws to begin with, and they especially hate the National Gun Registry, which is used to track firearm registration and who owns the guns across Canada. It has come under criticism (justified) that it is costing way more money then it should to operate, but all the police organizations will tell you that the Registry has helped them immensely. The Registry should be reformed so that it doesnt cost as much.. but Canadian Gun-Owners groups want it killed outright. They have never had the influence or the power their NRA cousins have (Canadians look dimly on guns), which is why they look to the NRA to help them campaign against this.
Finally, George Bush and his administration may not be directly involved in all these US conservative groups campaigning up here.. but it appears they hold an interest in the election and are hoping the Conservatives prevail. The reason why comes from the Washington Times:
“Why does President Bush hope Christmas comes a little late this year? Because on Jan. 23, Canada may elect the most pro-American leader in the Western world. Free-market economist Stephen Harper, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, is pro-free trade, pro-Iraq war, anti-Kyoto, and socially conservative. Move over Tony Blair: If elected, Mr. Harper will quickly become Mr. Bush’s new best friend internationally and the poster boy for his ideal foreign leader.”
To quote one of our Progressive Blogger members, Blue Grit:
Why thank you. It’s nice to have an outside observer – and a right-wing one at that! – remind us that the Conservative Party wants Canada to bow down and kiss American boot.
