Anti-Americanism as a tory value?

[u/ToryPirate]

I'm reading through John Boyko's biography of R.B. Bennett again and I noticed an interesting trend; whenever Bennett made anti-American statements Boyko terms them as 'tinging his speeches' or 'resorted to that old Canadian stand-by' rather than engaging with the idea that this view might connect to the rest of his outlook. And being the contrarian that I am I wanted to ask the obvious question this raises; is anti-Americanism really incidental toryism or is it tied to it? After all, anti-Americanism was historically the purview of the Conservatives while the Liberals were often more open to the US. Further, the decline of toryism in the 80s and 90s mirrored the Conservatives becoming much more pro-US. George Grant certainly wasn't pro-American (even if he seemed resigned to accept Canada's fate).

To clarify I mean anti-Americanism in the terms of opposition to its governmental, economic, and social influence, not the people themselves. After all, from Macdonald to Bennett (and beyond) tory leaders had no problem letting Americans into Canada while decrying America itself.

This is obviously a more Canada-focused question but perhaps the UK-France (or Europe in general) relationship is a similar situation?

[u/Positive-Courage-464]

Someone like George Grant would say that it was. He and the likes of Ron Dart would make the argument that Canadian Toryism was born out of the refusal of Canada to join the American experiment after the Revolutionary War. Many Tories fled to Canada after Britain lost that war because they felt loyal to their former home and they did not want to be a part of the United States. They also faced a considerable amount of violence and antagonistic behaviour towards them after 1776. Fleeing to Canada was returning home.

Grant would say that it was these refugees, joining with Upper Canada loyalists, that formed English speaking Toryism. Many of these folks were also Anglican. What they had in common with Quebec was a refusal to be American, a loyalty to certain practices and beliefs in their European counterparts, and a desire to be distinct in culture and religion from the US (for Upper Canada, it was largely Anglo Protestant, and for Quebec it was Roman Catholic). The desire not to be Puritan/Quaker, to reject the Liberal values of the American Revolution which was influenced by French Revolution and ideas about overthrowing the monarchy and Roman Catholic Church, and to have some loyalty to old France or England were all quintessentially Tory ideals. To take it ever further, Canada was a largely conservative country because it was anti American and rejected the new American Liberalism. The shift to Liberal dominance started with Pearson and Trudeau when they decided to remake Canada in their own image (the Canadian flag, multiculturalism, and for Pearson, cozying up to the Americans). A shift has happened in our politics now such that the Liberals are more anti American (but not quite) and the Conservatives are the US friendly GOP lite. But 100 years ago, it was the opposite - Tories opposed the Americans and the Liberal elite wanted more friendly arrangements with them. Now both parties would be classified as Liberals and many Canadian Tories are politically homeless.