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🍁 Left of Woke WarriorSeptember 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM EDT

Most of you are aware of Christian Nationalism in the US, but did you know there’s a strong-enough strain of it in Canada as well? This 🧵 with useful links will try to give an overview (think of it as an introduction) of what to know without duplicating (too much) of what’s already out there. 1/22

A good place to start is Marci McDonald’s 2010 book: The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada, which chronicled the rise 15yrs ago already with names you may recognize – Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day, Charles McVety (head of Canada Christian College), and Ezra Levant.

Did you know former PM Stephen Harper is an evangelical Christian? And how that influenced his policy-making decisions, disregard for environmental science, & staunch pro-Israel stance even though he kept his religious beliefs well under the radar? Older article explains: thetyee.ca

Two excellent articles, one from the CBC, and one from The Tyee (read both!), outline some of the history and important characters (both individuals + organizations) of Canadian Christian Nationalism (CN). But pay attention also to links with US organizations, and individuals like Doug Wilson. Take special note of Liberty Coalition Canada (who supported anti-trans Catholic student Josh Alexander), EZRA think tank in Grimsby (halfway between Hamilton/St. Catharines) with one of its directors the CEO of Book Outlet (boycott!), what Doug Wilson said, and other US names and links.

Hell, Liberty Coalition Canada deserves its own link. You'll see that besides defending those "who are being discriminated against for their religious and conscience beliefs" like Josh, they're not keen on library drag story hour, Bill C-4 Anti-Conversion Therapy law, lockdowns, vaccine coercion…

The recent Tyee article covers some of the same ground & characters as the CBC article, but they include concepts that are good to know such as NAR (New Apostolic Reformation), the Seven Mountain Mandate, Reconstructionism, & how Canadian orgs are influenced by US ones. thetyee.ca

Before I identify a player BOTH articles overlooked, there are some key phrases, goals, and movements to be aware of. If you see phrases like: ‘the Bible is inerrant [or infallible]’ or ‘bring a biblical perspective to civil government’ or ‘align laws with biblical principles’, know that’s CN speak. Folk talking about anti-Christian bias or discrimination? (Google ‘Christian privilege’ to see how Christianity is actually the societal norm.) From the clown in The Shite House), to JD Vance’s Canadian buddy Ontario MP Jamil Jivani, they’ll argue Christian persecution where none exists.

Goals of CN? To influence the public square; have Christians become politically active and gain positions in civil service, on school boards, the judiciary; have Christian schools, universities, law firms, intervenors; in short, base secular laws on THEIR interpretation of biblical principles. Movements? The most important IMO, is the active effort to have more Christians become politically involved (which would be neutral, except that many/most XNs are social conservatives), and related to this, expand private (mostly XN) schools and homeschooling, also XN-based, both in the US and here. Highlighted a few orgs in both articles above, but want to turn your attention to the 1 KEY & highly influential organization (+ registered lobbyist) that BOTH for some reason (why?) excluded: ARPA - Association for Reformed Political Action, Reformed referring to the Reformed Christian community. Their mission statement? “The mission of ARPA Canada is to educate, equip, and encourage Reformed Christians to political action, and to bring a biblical perspective to our civil authorities.” Also, “ARPA Canada is grounded on God’s infallible word.” Sound familiar? (I'll explain why they scare me.)

While they state that they uphold the separation of church and state, READ the fine print under EACH of their core principles below e.g., Obedience to God Trumps Obedience to Civil Government - If civil government demands from us what God forbids, we need to obey God rather than man. Hmm.

PDF highlights: * started in 2007, one of the largest/most active XN political advocacy orgs in Canada + registered lobbyist * annual budget over 1M mostly without fundraising * intervenor status: meaning they regularly make court arguments e.g., Trinity Bible Chapel (remember them?) v. Ontario Their 4-page PDF document referenced above. Fascinating & frightening IMO (with a bit of boasting thrown in), but it gives a good overview. Keep in mind: "The second part of our mission is devoted entirely to bringing a biblical perspective to our civil governments." arpacanada.ca

Trinity Court case: They argued that the COVID-19 restrictions on religious gatherings violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees of freedom of conscience, religion, assembly and association, and that the gov’t interference with religious freedom was not demonstrably justified.

One of their boasts: “We also now see Reformed Christians active as MLAs, MPPs, MPs, and town counselors, as well as employed as staffers in political offices across the country.” One of those MPPs? Conservative Ontario MPP Sam ‘make abortion unthinkable in our lifetime’ Oosterhoff. Yep. Sam has an older brother Aaron (as well as 6 other siblings), who in 2024 was a Vice Chair of, wait for it, ARPA, which has been busy pressing local municipalities to challenge graphic images bylaws; a bylaw that would require graphic abortion flyers to be covered up & have warning labels. Another family connection? Sam’s 1st cousin, whom you may have heard of: Alberta MP Arnold Viersen. Yep, THAT Arnold, who in 2022 called abortion “…a terrible human rights tragedy in Canada and the greatest human rights violation of our time...” Arnold, who celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade. ARPA is also the organization behind WeNeedaLaw (restricting abortion) using terms like ‘pre-born children’ and ‘pre-born human rights’ and were instrumental in helping to draft Cathay Wagantall’s Private Member’s anti-abortion bills: C-311 Pre-born victims of crime, & C-233 Sex selective abortion. So I hope this looong intro to CN gives you a better sense of how it operates in Canada, how it’s influenced by US groups & individuals, and some of the key groups & folks here (operating in multiple orgs) who would like to see Canada become a Christian nation as well. Keep an eye on them all! 22/22 Whew, that was a lot! Here's an easier to read all on one page version: skywriter.blue