http://www.socialmatter.net/2016/06/23/5723/We may begin our investigation of this order at the very foundation of Canadian sovereignty: the Crown. This is fitting, because there is no element of Canadian society more illiberal, more un-progressive, and more inherently reactionary than the monarchy. The principle of a sovereign who was born to power and holds her place without election or democratic input is a slap in the face to everything liberalism holds dear. That she rules by Christian oath is a further rebuke to the secularist and post-Christian order which has established itself across the West. A common criticism of monarchy from the Right is that Her Majesty has done little, if anything, to stop the tides of chaos. Some might say her actions have even furthered them. Of course, criticism of the sovereign’s (in)actions may well be valid. But the fact remains that her position is reactionary not merely in action, but in principle. Were the Queen to become a Leninist tomorrow, this would remain the case.
Of course, it must be clarified that Canada’s official self-definition is that it is a constitutional monarchy. The Canadian constitution extends back to the Magna Carta, imposed on King John by his nobles (a further nod to the idea that Canada is the more conservative nation – it has a much older political tradition to conserve). But the monarchy is an institution, whereas “constitutional monarchy” describes a power relationship. As a result, one must distinguish between those who defend the institution versus those who defend the power relationship...
A more subtle rejection of liberalism inherent in the Canadian heritage is the historical focus on the rights of nations and peoples as opposed to individuals. This recognition forms a core part of George Grant’s thesis that Canada represents a more authentic conservative order than the American Republic. This also led him to take a position rather unusual for a Canadian conservative: sympathy for Quebec nationalism and the defence of its distinct culture as a “Franco-American civilization”. Unlike most Quebec nationalists, he realized that liberalism represented perhaps an even greater danger than English Canadian hegemony...
The Canadian position on ethnocultural rights and privileges presents a challenge to the liberal idea of the sovereign individual. Against the homogeneous blank-slate who bears “universal human rights”, Canada defended the social (and indeed, religious) human person whose formation depends on rooted and distinct cultures and ways of life...
To conclude, we have examined three elements of Canadian political society which are incompatible with liberalism in its various American forms. The institution of the Monarchy is a rejection of the idea that sovereignty lies in the people. The Canadian Monarch in particular swears coronation oaths which stem from the age of Christendom rather than that of liberalism. In addition, the people themselves are not conceived of existing as sovereign blank slates. Rather, the liberal tradition of individualistic human rights exists at best in tension with a heritage of national and cultural particularism which governing powers must take into account. Finally, the notion of government has not until recent decades been viewed as being fundamentally undesirable. Government’s task is to be competent rather than “big” or “small”. At times this is achieved through respecting ordered liberties, at others it requires dynamic action.
These currents continue to exist in Canada to this day. To examine and embrace them once again must lead one to a core of principles which exist beyond the scope of the liberal world: concepts such as peoples, civilizations, hierarchies, telos, and a freedom which depends on both internal and external order rather than the unbridled passions of omnium contra omens.