AHC: Canada more right-wing than the United States

Canada has a reputation for being, on balance, more politically progressive than the United States. What are the best and/or latest PODs to change that? You can propose a scenario that pushes Canada's politics significantly to the right, America's significantly to the left, or both. Also, no shrinking or expanding the territory of either country to make this a reality - that is, no Quebec secession, no adding a bunch of states to the US, etc.
 
Communist revolution in the US due to a harsher Depression, a failed Business Plot, FDR is assassinated, and stiffer policies (no New Deal, more violent attacks on unions, the Bonus Army is fired on). Just for giggles, a second Civil War breaks out (rejection of the coup by southern states supported by conservative, traditional, and fascist factions). Conservative elements flee north into Canada where, with British support, they form a bulwark against attempts to spread the revolution north.
 
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Communist revolution in the US due to a harsher Depression, a failed Business Plot, FDR is assassinated, and stiffer policies (no New Deal, more violent attacks on unions, the Bonus Army is fired on). Just for giggles, a second Civil War breaks out. Conservative elements flee north into Canada where, with British support, they form a bulwark against attempts to spread the revolution north.

If the UK political establishment needed to high-tail out of the British Isles, surely they'd head to Australia, South Africa, or really any of their dominions are colonies that didn't have a giant communist superpower right across the border.
 
If the UK political establishment needed to high-tail out of the British Isles, surely they'd head to Australia, South Africa, or really any of their dominions are colonies that didn't have a giant communist superpower right across the border.
I threw in a civil war to divide and distract the Communist Soviets of America (pretty much all states East of the Mississippi and north of Kentucky/Mason-Dixon). Dixie sees the South rise again, the Progressive Northwest, liberal West Coast, and sparsely populated Southwest secede. The British aren't fighting the CSA, just defending their empire. The UK can also void their debt to this new unrecognized state. This may lead to a cozying up to the Germans against a very real Red threat.
 
Survival of the New Deal Consensus with Humphrey winning in 1968 and going on to serve two terms. Meanwhile in Canada Winters defeats Trudeau to become Liberal leader and pushes the party back to the right.
 
Now, I'd said best and/or latest POD(s). Is it just conceivable to do this as late as the 90s if you, say, have Mario Cuomo or Jerry Brown elected POTUS in 1992 and serve two terms while simultaneously having Reform somehow get into government in Canada?
 
What if the union nationale took a national role? Dupless himself wouldn’t be prime minister, but perhaps the social credit movement in its Douglas form would serve as a power broker. Greater emphasis on traditional morality.
 
Communist revolution in the US due to a harsher Depression, a failed Business Plot, FDR is assassinated, and stiffer policies (no New Deal, more violent attacks on unions, the Bonus Army is fired on). Just for giggles, a second Civil War breaks out (rejection of the coup by southern states supported by conservative, traditional, and fascist factions). Conservative elements flee north into Canada where, with British support, they form a bulwark against attempts to spread the revolution north.

Funnily though a Soviet *United States probably wouldn't be terribly progressive, socially at least, so Canada would still be to their neighbour's "left" even if they stayed in the pre-Civil Rights era. And based on OTL, social democratic economic policies and sharing a border with a Commie regime are not incompatible so Canada even if it has a staunchly Tory anti-socialist government will probably still have some elements of progressive taxation, social welfare, healthcare provision etc. Hardly a big lurch 'right' even if it does partially meet the OP.

I'd personally go for Canada drifting progressively leftwards in the 20th century, with members of the Liberal Party (both moderates and radicals) looking to British Labour for inspiration. Have a radical left-wing sh*t show take place in the 1970s, a Decade of Discontent with global economic malaise, failing domestic industry, growing civil unrest, overseen by a combative partisan PM (who only got in due to the prior Tory regime crumbling under a major political scandal). He imposes high tax, high spend policies that have limited results. In efforts to ensure high tax codes to narrow the budget defecit he is surprisingly authoritarian, flexing federal power agaisnt the states, Quebec in particular as separatist support peaks.

When the Conservatives get back in they are a New Right revolution of the Reagan and Thatcherite mode. They slash federal power, cut taxes, reduce and even end some social welfare programmes. It is not simply an election but a sea change.

And ironically at the same time, butterflies from Canada saw Nixon's controversial but radical second term come to an end in 1977, cementing a solidly progressive economic and social policy status quo. The "Pink Tide" rolls through the US in the early 1980s. Seeing no opporutinities, many of OTL's New Right's star players may give helping hand up north to make a pay day - and sensing the implosion of a surprisingly socialist Liberal government.

Come circa 1989, Canada is the nation of government-shy low tax decentralisers, sick of minority welfare programmes, much of this antipathy boiled up by Yankee spin doctors already pushing a back to basics "Prairie Conservative" programme that is incresingly religious and increasingly (if quietly) republican.

Meanwhile in the United States, the big shift of the decade was a socially liberal one with budgets falling but quietly and slowly if at all. Gay, women's and minorities' rights, maybe drug legislation and probably healthcare reform of some form (though I still doubt much change on gun legislation).

So by the mid 90s you basically have Tedkennedyland and a Neo Con chalet in Manitoba.
 
TL;DR: President Huey Long turns America's post-Depression economy into Scandinavia, and a different WWII establishes a different NATO that an unbothered Canada doesn't join, causing it to develop nationalist and isolationist tendencies.

Somehow, an assassin kills FDR during his inaugural address, leaving Vice President Huey Long in charge. The "People's Deal" goes through and is incredibly popular among the destitute masses, although the heavily redistribution-ist program pissess off more than a few members of the business community. Under Long's very progressive welfare program, a basic income is instated for all the poor and middle-class Americans at the expense of the rich. After a few years (circa early 1940), Corporate America's had their fill of Long's agenda, and begins conspiring with the NSDAP of Germany, and a Nazi infiltrator (later thought to be an acquaintance of Henry Ford's) drives a car bomb into Long's motorcade. Long survives, but the revelation of the attacker as a German prompts the US to declare war against the axis. However, America's executives are much less enthused about conversion than they were under FDR in OTL, which is saying something, and with an extra year of prep time knocked away, the European front is much bloodier for the US. However, thanks to the Corporate-NSDAP collusion and the subsequent attack on President Long's life, Japan is scared away from launching the Pearl Harbor attacks, and as a result, they continue their campaign through the East, eventually taking over China.

The Soviet Union comes to the rescue as in our OTL, and the European Theater is narrowly won for the Allies. In the Pacific Front, Japan has near-total control of Asia, and has begun moving into southern Soviet Territory in 1946. After three more years of fighting in the Chinese Theater between the Allies (now with less US commitment and the help of Chinese rebels) and Imperial Japan, the joint Soviet-American Nuclear Program comes to fruition over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Shogunate agrees to cease any hostilities, but it won't relinquish any territory. The Allies, tired of the decade of bloodshed, reluctantly agree.

There's no Cold War that we'd recognize, instead, the world is tripolar, with The United States, Soviet Union, and Japanese Empire as the three major powers. Nothing ever goes nuclear, but there's some military scuffles between the USSR and the Shogunate over the border of the Country Formerly Known as China. The U.S., finally enjoying economic prosperity (the economy looks like what we'd consider the Nordic Model) lets the other two wear each other out like a couple of Siamese Fighting Fish. We use our status as the only country whose manufacturing isn't destroyed and/or still in war mode to create a sphere of influence in Europe, the North Atlantic Prosperity Organization, which is still kicking in the 2010's.

Canada, largely unaffected by WWII, sits the negotiations out and does not join NAPO. The NAPO agreement members are miffed at Canada, and take their ball and go home. Canada develops a paleoconservative and economic nationalist streak, which persists into the modern era.

As of 1952, Huey Long looks at the idyllic economy and the improved world order and decides not to run again. The first thing his successor, President Dewey does is sign the 22nd Amendment, preventing anyone else from sitting behind the Resolute Desk for two straight decades.
 
Define right wing, I guess.

Both countries have strong traditions of property ownership and firearm ownership, as well as frontier experiences that strongly pertained to a tradition of community self defense, so there are grounds for more rightist sentiment in both.

Canada WAS more right wing than the US for a long time, seeing as it was fundamentally a Tory society compared to the American Whig experience. But then again, it depends on how you see that on the left-right spectrum. Monarchism and respect for hierarchical authority are considered right wing, but so is free market economic preference nowadays.

An independent Quebec would help. Anglo Canada is actually fairly conservative for the most part but they are pulled towards the centre by fundamentally statist Quebec. Then again, on issues of immigration and cultural nationalism, Quebec is probably to the right of Anglo Canada.

So again, this really requires defining what is right wing and what isn't.
 
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IMO, the real difference between the US and Canada politically right now are Quebec and the former Confederate States. I don’t view British Columbia as that different Fromm Washington/Oregon, the Maritimes as that different from New England, Ontario as that different from the Mid-Atlantic, or the rural Rocky Mountain/Great Plain states/provinces as that different.

Getting Canada to lose Quebec seems easy enough with a relatively late PoD. The US losing the South East however might prove difficult with a 1900 PoD.

If not for demographics, changing them by just having the right personalities at the right moments can change the course of direction. If FDR suddenly becomes a huge supporter of the welfare state or Reagan takes a decisive turn the Left, that could be a big change.
 
. . . in the 1970s, a Decade of Discontent with global economic malaise, failing domestic industry, growing civil unrest, . . .
I think this is the keys to the kingdom, at least as far as interesting late 20th century timelines! :p

All a person has to do is to time the lurches to left and right, and you can have Canada, U.S., or UK end up with the long-term government of your choice, and same for a ton of other countries as well.

The so-called “70s” economic malaise arguably ended the first half of 1986 when the price of oil dropped two thirds ( from about $30 a barrel to about $10, highly significant ). This was good for the overall world economy. And of course bad for major oil producing nations.
 
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