Conservatism in Canada

Yesterday the National Post began a series on the state of conservatism in Canada, beginning with this article by Robert Fulford: The values battle. (Would-be readers of the other articles will have to pay for them.) How does the Post define conservatism? In two words: less government — which appeals to Americans but has always been a tough sell in this country. Working with this definition, it turns out that Canada's first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, was not much of a conservative, despite his party label.