* my original thread on Bluesky
** curiosity-inciting article: Xtra Magazine’s “Poilievre and the Conservatives have a ‘wokeism’ problem”

I read the latest Conservative Party of Canada [CPC] Policy Declaration from September 2023, and hoo boy. It’s such an alarming read that a Bluesky user called it “Project 2025 in a toque.”

It has a number of pretty concerning sections, and after I finished reading through it, I couldn’t stop thinking about how many terrible ideas they had managed to jam into 50 pages. Some of the sections are reminiscent of the now familiar Trumpian language we hear from the United States, but it has been filtered down to the calmer and more reasonable tone of the public-facing Canadian political establishment. This might make the CPC policy declaration come off as more rational and well-intentioned than it is to the casual conservative voter, but it is anything but.

Rather than sit alone ruminate, I decided to share what I took from this document and spread the joy, because we can’t allow the obvious sibling of our southern neighbour’s Project 2025 to remain in the dark. Its implications are frightening, and even more so in light of the Conservatives’ friendliness with fascism. Danielle Smith is not the only authoritarian-loving butt-kisser in the party.

Before I dig in, I want to give you a little more information about the documents linked above. I found the Conservative Party of Canada Policy Declaration PDF on the CPC website, but I have also linked to the most recently archived version of their “Governing Documents” page in case they make any changes. The CPC’s original PDF is not accessible, so I created an accessible HTML version so everyone can read it. The CPC policy declaration 106, the “National Disability Act,” doesn’t mention accessibility issues relating to general reading accessibility, even of important government documents, so it is apparently not a CPC concern.

18. Free Speech &
19. Protecting Free Speech on Canadian Campuses

**18. Free Speech**
The Conservative Party recognizes that open dialogue is the basis of any democratic society. For this reason, the Conservative Party supports freedom of speech for all Canadians. The Conservative Party will promote policies and legislation designed to protect freedom of expression (speech) in the public
square, including media and internet platforms in accordance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We will safeguard Canadians Rights to create and access content on the internet without government sanctioned censorship and nullify unconstitutional restrictions.
**19. Protecting Free Speech on Canadian Campuses**
The Conservative Party of Canada will incentivize federal funding to Canadian universities that have implemented Chicago Principles. Such a mandate would mean schools must abide by and protect freedom of expression as it is described in the Charter. Failure to protect free expression would result in losing federal funding.

“The Conservative Party of Canada will incentivize federal funding to Canadian universities that have implemented Chicago Principles” echoes the US regime’s insistence that far right speech be protected on campuses. The “Chicago Principles” were released by the University of Chicago in January 2015 to guide free speech on campus after students protested the growing welcome of speakers sharing overt hate speech at American colleges.

In May 2019, the founding editor of Pyriscence, Shama Rangwala, wrote in depth about the Chicago Principles, or the Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression, following Alberta’s United Conservative Party announcement that they would require post-secondary institutions in the province to adopt the Principles on their campuses. With regard to certain kinds of speech and the resulting discomfort, Rangwala wrote:

Discomfort can be an important part of learning, but the kind of discomfort that challenges dominant worldviews is fundamentally different than the kind of discomfort that reinforces existing systemic oppression.

The Chicago Principles are written as though they are common sense, but they are also ambiguous, which makes them easy to bend in favour of far right movements, weaponizing the American “free speech” ideal to override actions against hate speech and oppression even in Canada. The Conservatives have adopted an American-flavoured free speech stance that would give them more power, which they should not be granted, especially because they want to tie funding to a university allowing whatever potentially malicious speech the government feels just fine about.

20. Unfair Hiring Practices

“A Conservative government will restore merit in Canada’s innovation by directing hiring practices associated with federal research funding away from ideology…” It might be subtle, but the underlying suspicion of women, LGBTQ+, and racialized people’s merit in hiring is quite clear. More women, LGBTQ+, and racialized people are hired now than the old norm of hiring primarily white men. A restoration of “merit in Canada’s innovation” means more positions will be held for the obviously more deserving white male.

Using this restoration of “merit” to direct hiring practices “away from ideology” echoes the US government push against and end any scientific research which is notably inclusive of women, LGBTQ+, and racialized people. Scientific research infrastructure is being aggressively disassembled in the US, and this Conservative policy points to a desire that at least has some of the same flavour. Too fine a point can’t be put on the fact that the world needs this type of research, and to treat it as frivolously ideological is to condemn the world to the Conservatives’ own ideology, which is far too close to the present America’s than we should be comfortable with.

The hoofbeats of Project 2025 pound loudly throughout the CPC Policy Declaration.

32. Monetary Policy

How does the “Monetary Policy” section have merely two lines? This is a basic dictionary-style statement about what monetary policy is and its usual goals. It is an introduction to monetary policy, not an actual policy in itself, and, frankly, the vagueness is chilling in an economic climate where the Conservatives are generally friendly to the States’ present regime and far right interests. Their “Monetary Policy” is so opaque that it can be turned to anything they like going forward. Does Canada really want to roll the dice on what that policy might actually be?

40. Economic Principles

v. that lower taxes and reduced government interference in the economy will result in more purchasing power in the hands of the people of Canada, which leads to a more competitive economy, greater productivity, more quality job opportunities, and a higher standard of living;

“[Lower] taxes and reduced government interference in the economy…” means reduced government services such as health care and education. If you give the federal government less money, they will have less to invest in all of us, and that seems to be the point. Pierre Poilievre’s voting record tells us a lot more than he seems willing to say out loud in public:

As an MP in 2012, [Poilievre] voted to cut some $43.5 billion in health-care transfers to the provinces. He’s also voted against expansion to public care, including the Liberals’ pharmacare program.

They’re good at making less for everyone sound far better than it actually is.

If you’re hot to dig into 18 pages (so far) of Poilievre’s voting record, here they are.

78. Health Care

Flexibility for the provinces and territories in the implementation of health services should include a balance of public and private delivery options.
The government should work with the provinces and territories in the development of national quality indicators and objectives. The government should work with the provinces and territories and professional medical groups to increase the supply of health care professionals where shortages exist.
The Conservative Party supports conscience rights for doctors, nurses, and others to refuse to participate in, or refer their patients for abortion, assisted suicide, or euthanasia.
The government should work with provinces and territories and professional medical groups to develop a National Palliative Care Strategy and adopt appropriate legislation to provide timely and equitable access across Canada to palliative care which affirms life, regards dying as a normal process and excludes euthanasia and assisted suicide (MAlD).

The Conservatives give away their desire to act even more strongly against universal healthcare with “…the implementation of health services should include a balance of public and private delivery options.” Private delivery options mean that wealthier people can access health services outside the public system, but it also means that a lot of health professionals are poached from the public system to staff the private. Public health suffers when private enterprise works to make a profit from its patients, funnelling money up and often out of the province while patient access falls.

“Conscience rights” are a bit of a dog whistle, but those who hear it know that it can be used to limit patient access to certain kinds of care, such as vaccination and abortion care, when health professionals are able to refuse service based on their own beliefs despite what we should expect based on our rights. A health professional claiming conscience rights is expected to refer you to health professionals who can accommodate your needs, but that becomes a big problem if, for instance, there is not an appropriate health professional available because you live rurally or there are few specialists it is even possible to refer you to.

For transparency, conscience rights are a personal issue for me specifically, because my old primary care doctor refused to help with a treatment I was seeking. She even joked about it, saying she didn’t have to refer me if she didn’t want to. She made it one of the most frightening periods of my life.

85. Assisted Human Reproduction and Related Research &
86. Abortion Legislation &
87. Euthanasia

**85. Assisted Human Reproduction and Related Research**
The Conservative Party recognizes the need for federal regulation in assisted human reproduction and related research. This field should be governed by principles that respect human individuality, integrity, dignity and life. In recognition of the ethical and scientific concerns around research using human embryos, we support an initial three-year prohibition on embryonic research, and call on the federal government to encourage its granting agencies to focus on more promising adult (post-natal) stem cell research.
**86. Abortion Legislation**
A Conservative Government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion.
**87. Euthanasia**
In principle, the Conservative Party opposes euthanasia and assisted suicide.

The Conservative Party is signalling that it is fundamentally anti-choice:

This field should be governed by principles that respect human individuality, integrity, dignity and life. In recognition of… concerns around research using human embryos, we support an initial three-year prohibition on embryonic research…

“A Conservative Government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion” also means they won’t create laws specifically to protect access to abortion, either. This statement speaks volumes if you’re willing to listen, especially because, according to the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), 100% of Conservative MPs are anti-choice since June 2023. This instills zero confidence in their interest in even preserving what little abortion access many of us have rather than expanding desperately needed access.

Southern Saskatchewan, for example, has so little abortion access that the Regina Abortion Support Network had to be formed to help people access much needed abortion care. This type of emergency support shouldn’t be necessary in a country that supposedly recognizes our right to such care, and the Conservatives will do anything but improve the situation.

89. Maternal Health

The “Maternal Health” section specifically targets Canada’s foreign aid: “Abortion should be explicitly excluded from Canada’s maternal and child health program in countries where Canadian aid is delivered…” Of course there are issues with legality depending on location, but a hard line against abortion care condemns many people to death, because abortion care is about more than people’s right to choose whether they remain pregnant or not. Comprehensive abortion care, beyond a person’s right to choose, allows treatment for life-threatening risks, impacts on mental health, non-viable pregnancies, miscarriage and incomplete miscarriages, and more, many of which threaten the lives of both the pregnant person and the fetus.

Abortion care is health care, period. Abortion access is vital for these integral members of families and society at large, regardless of a Conservative ideology’s puritanical desire to end its life-saving abilities and remove bodily autonomy wherever Canada delivers aid internationally.

92. Protecting Children’s Mental and Physical Health

Why is the “Protecting Children’s Mental and Physical Health” section solely about trans kids? Cis kids are barely able to access mental health services as it is, but the Conservatives want to make sure that trans kids specifically do even worse, even if the choice to end appropriate care flies in the face of scientific and sociological studies. Who needs science and facts? Not the Conservatives, apparently.

The Conservatives’ lack of interest in what would actually improve all children’s mental and physical health truly shines here. They make no mention of ensuring things like adequate food, potable water, better education, and poverty relief for all children, instead choosing to focus solely on making life worse for trans children who are potentially less than 1% of Canada’s population.

102. Women – Protecting Female Sports, Intimate Spaces and Women’s Rights

“[The] term ‘woman’ used throughout this CPC Policy Declaration means ‘female person’ ”. Trans women are excluded, and being trans is basically called a mental illness under “Protecting Children’s Mental and Physical Health”. So what are trans person’s rights under a Conservative government that has become increasingly obsessed with trans people? Just guess.

As a nonbinary person myself, the knowledge that the Conservatives would rather silence us and treat us as though being trans were a mental illness is terrifying. This type of rhetoric not only makes trans women less safe but also makes women in general less safe, casting everyone under suspicion of being in the “wrong space”.

The final paragraph of this section tells us that the Conservatives believe women have been privileged over men in the workforce:

The Canadian workforce has evolved to include more women than ever. We believe all Canadians have the right to freedom from discrimination in the workplace and equality of opportunity.

“All Canadians” in this context doesn’t include women, who were set aside in the previous sentence, and you can bet that it doesn’t include LGBTQ+ and racialized people, either. The workforce including more women than ever sounds positive, but the Conservatives intend to correct the discrimination that they perceive is actually happening against men. Oh, those poor men.

110. Compelled Speech

“Compelled speech” is very Jordan Peterson of the Conservatives. What this term likely references more specifically is the cultural introduction of using preferred pronouns in Canada. All that asks for is a modicum of public decency, because no one has to agree with everything about any person to treat them well.

If you don’t care for certain types of pronoun use, then don’t talk about the person who uses them that way, easy peasy, but the Conservatives would prefer to act as though they are being forced to think, believe, shape opinions, and express themselves in only one way. This has never been true. The consequences of being an asshole out loud in public are not legal force, no matter how much they howl otherwise.

125. Protecting Pregnant Women

Adding extra charges if a fetus is injured or dies during a violent crime against the mother is a method the political right both here and in the US employ in an attempt to wedge fetal personhood into law.

The aforementioned ARCC article speaks about the Conservative caucus’ unanimous vote for Bill C-311, “which would have created an ‘aggravating circumstance’ clause in the Criminal Code to allow for greater penalties when a pregnant person is attacked.” Joyce Arthur, ARCC’s Executive Director, said of the bill, “‘Even though the wording did not directly implicate abortion, it was being leveraged for the purpose of advancing restrictions or to boost fetal personhood.’ ”

Their willingness to come for the legality of abortion by roundabout means shows that the Conservatives know banning or making abortion more difficult to access is unpopular, but they are willing to put the will of the people aside to sneak in laws and obscure their true intentions. This anti-choice mission is highly dangerous, and it does not protect pregnant people as they purport. Extra charges for violent crime harming a fetus doesn’t stop the violent crime from happening, and limiting or banning abortion leaves people without vital care that covers an array of potentially life-threatening conditions.

127. Firearms

We recognize the legitimacy of private ownership of firearms and will resist any domestic or international pressure to the contrary.
A Conservative government will not deprive Canadian Citizens of legally owned firearms.
A Conservative government recognizes that civilian firearms ownership is a Canadian Heritage.

“A Conservative government recognizes that civilian firearms ownership is a Canadian Heritage.” Gun ownership is apparently a core part of (capital-C) Canadian (capital-H) Heritage now. Since when? And why make gun ownership an intrinsic part of Canadian culture through government policy? We don’t need that type of violent Americanization. Nobody does. We’ve seen what gun ownership as culture has done to much of the US, and it is heartbreaking.

133. Sexual Exploitation in Canada

The Conservatives want to target sex traffickers through “criminalizing the purchase of sex…” It has been documented for decades that targeting johns only drives vulnerable people deeper underground, further limiting their visibility and access to help should they need it. The Conservatives’ policy would unnecessarily make sex work far more dangerous for both those who are trafficked and those who freely choose the work.

167. Birthright Citizenship

This section stopped me cold. The Conservatives are talking about eliminating birthright citizenship for certain people born in Canada. Such a policy would drag us closer to the mass deportation gearing up across the States. Cheese on rice, this evil, and especially so when you take their desire to renegotiate Canada’s Safe Third Country Agreement with the US into account, which is our next stop on this Conservative policy declaration train.

173. Safe Third Country Agreement

A “Safe Third Country” agreement is what empowered Trump to use US immigration officials to deport non-Salvadoran migrants to El Salvador, and now the Conservatives want to renegotiate Canada’s present Safe Third Country Agreement with the US to allow for more deportations, or, as the Conservatives termed it, to allow them “to close the gaps.” How willing would Poilievre be to use Trump’s pipeline to prisons in El Salvador or Guantanamo Bay?

Aside from WHAT THE EVER-LOVING HELL, need I say more?

174. Canadian Embassy in Jerusalem

And finally, in another exceedingly Trumpian turn, the Conservative Party wants to move the Canadian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This type of move has been favoured by far right Christian groups, which is always an alarming signal. It feels like the Conservatives more than happy to follow Trump and his regime down into fascism and help them close the loop with Russia from Greenland to the Panama Canal.

The 2025 Canadian federal election has us all on edge, especially at a time when Canada is navigating a shakeup of the world order that has never before been witnessed. Trump is making direct threats against Canada’s sovereignty while wielding enactments and threats of nonsensical tariffs to mess with the economies of most of the countries on earth while everyone outside Russia and the US scrambles to reorder and affirm their allegiances in a bid to survive Putin’s Russia from one side and Trump’s America from the other.

There is nothing in the Conservative Party of Canada Policy Declaration, last updated in 2023, that responds to the issues at hand in the very different and swiftly changing political climate of 2025. When the Canadian government should be spending its energy on important political work, the Conservatives are still pushing their tired ideological lines about a tiny number of trans people and limiting women’s choices with regard to their employment and their own bodies. So far the Canadian government has its eye on what’s important under Mark Carney’s Liberal leadership at this point in history, but we head to the polls on April 28th to elect our new federal government. What happens to us after April 28th is up to us.

I’m hoping most Canadians have at least some understanding of the new world we’re now facing and what we might need to meet it head on. I’m hoping most Canadians know an obsession with trans children, control of women’s and trans people’s bodies, and following Trump’s path to defeat birthright citizenship are never what we’ve needed. I want us all to be and do better than the fascists that threaten our sovereignty, and I hope most of you do, too.

Project 2025 in a Toque? A Tour Through the Conservative Party of Canada’s Policy Declaration Before Voting in the 2025 Federal Election