Exploring the faith of party leaders

Week one of the election is behind us; so far, the main mention of religion in the campaign was that Mark Carney went to church before calling for the vote.

Unlike in the U.S., religion is not a factor in Canadian elections. But that doesn’t mean issues of concern to religious people are absent. Things like poverty, Indigenous reconciliation, MAID, climate change, refugees, peace, health care, homelessness and foreign aid all have religious dimensions.

These and other topics will deserve some attention. But for today, let’s take a look at the religious backgrounds of the two men who are most likely to become our next prime minister: Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney.

First off, of the 24 people who have been prime minister since 1867, 10 have called the Roman Catholic Church their home. That number in Canada will grow to 11 after this election, since both Poilievre and Carney are Catholics.

But what does being Catholic mean for each man? Neither have spoken about that; Poilievre has given no interviews about his faith and Carney is so new to politics that he hasn’t had time to delve into it. What we do know about both can be found online in the writing of others.

Poilievre was raised Catholic in Alberta by his adoptive parents. According to Andrew Lawton, who wrote a biography of Poilievre, “none of his friends and colleagues who spoke to me said that faith has, from their perspective, played a meaningful role in his adult life.”

One former aide recalls Poilievre regularly attended church for a time earlier in his career, but says that “he would later on turn up at churches only when he was campaigning or attending events. When Poilievre has discussed and debated faith and spirituality with friends, they say it’s in an abstract and philosophical manner,” Lawton said.

In January, the National Catholic Register (NCR), a conservative American Catholic publication, published an article titled “Nine Things to Know About Pierre Poilievre, Canada’s Likely Next Prime Minister.”

According to the NCR, “Poilievre’s current religious practice is unclear.” It did note that he posted a message at Easter last year that “appeared to profess an active Christian faith.”

The NCR went on to note that, despite being raised Catholic, Poilievre supports abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Indeed, Poilievre has earned a negative red rating from the Catholic Campaign Life organization, which rates politicians on their positions on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and LGBTTQ+ rights.

“Poilievre used to be known as a solid pro-life, pro-family MP. However, he abandoned these fundamental principles,” Campaign Life stated, adding while he identifies as a Catholic, by “abandoning his support for natural marriage and the sanctity of life, he has placed himself outside the moral boundaries of the Church.”

The NCR went on to note that Poilievre opposes further expansion of Canada’s MAiD law and supports parental rights.

As for Carney, he too was raised Catholic in Alberta, attending Catholic schools as a teen. According to Canada’s The Catholic Register, Carney’s “Catholic bona fides are rarely mentioned in Canada, but featured more prominently after his move to the U.K.”

In fact, in 2015 The Tablet, a British Catholic publication, named Carney — then the Governor of the Bank of England — as the “most influential Catholic in Britain.” A 2021 Wall Street Journal article noted that Carney “goes to Catholic church at least once a week.”

The Catholic Register went to say that in his 2021 book Value(s): Building a Better World For All, Carney cited Pope Francis as a source of inspiration for his life, including that pope’s 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ where he criticized irresponsible economic development and lamented environmental degradation and climate change.

Also in The Register, Glen Argan noted that while he has not heard Carney speak about Catholic social teaching, “its influence is evident” in his life.

Carney, said Argan, “does not accept the ideology of market fundamentalism, which assumes that if financial markets are allowed to run their course without outside influence, all people will experience prosperity and happiness. He even dares to assert that financial wealth and happiness are not the same thing.”

Carney “maintains that the values of economic dynamism and efficiency should be joined with those of solidarity, fairness, responsibility and compassion,” Argan said. “All popes since the First World War (and perhaps some before that) have said much the same.”

Brian Dijkema is president of Cardus, a Canadian Christian think tank. Writing in The Hub, he noted that Carney has “made no secret of the fact that he’s a Catholic. What is different, though, is that he appears to be that strange type of Canadian Catholic who actually goes to church.” For Dijkema, that means he fits the description as a “religiously committed” Christian and is something to be celebrated.

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When it comes to Catholic social teaching on money and economics — the idea that the economy must serve people, and not the other way around — Carney is “extremely influenced” by that, Dijkema said.

“Much of his work … is an attempt to integrate a vision of the work, business, economics, and the environment into one whole,” he said.

As for abortion, Carney received the same negative rating from Campaign Life as Poilievre due to his support for a woman’s right to choose.

There is more that can be said about religion and faith, and how it might influence the campaigns of the various parties or the way Canadians vote. But for now, that’s a start.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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John Longhurst
Faith reporter

John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News.

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