The Populist Radical Right Goes Canadian: An Analysis of Kellie Leitch’s

Failed 2016–2017 Conservative Party of Canada Leadership Campaign

Populism and World Politics: Exploring Inter- and Transnational Dimensions, 2019 

BRIAN BUDD UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH, ONTARIO 

 Conservative Leadership candidate Kellie Leitch relied heavily on a populist discourse and policy agenda. 

Leitch’s campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, as her rhetoric and policies were widely condemned among 

members of her own party and the Canadian public. My paper examines why Leitch’s populist campaign 

failed to resoA new wave of populist leaders, parties, and movements have emerged across establish 

Western democracies. These leaders have received populist zeitgeist.Notably, the campaign of 2017  

considerable support while challenging the socio-political status quo at both national and global levels

 of governance. While largely a spectator to the rise of some of the more notable populist leaders, 

Canada has not been immune to the current global nate with and appeal to Conservatives. 

Using Moffitt’s (The Global Rise of Populism: Performance, Political Style, and Representation,

Stanford University Press, Stanford, 2016) theoretical framework that conceptualizes populism as a

 distinct political style that is performed, embodied, and enacted across different political and cultural 

contexts, I argue that the failure of Leitch’s campaign is due largely to her inability to convincingly

 perform core tenet of a populist style of politics in a manner that resonated within the social and 

cultural milieu of Canada. More generally, Leitch’s campaign demonstrates the difficulties facing 

female leaders intending to practice populism due to the inherent masculinity of the populist style.

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 BrianBudd

I am a Ph.D candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. 

I have two primary areas of research. My doctoral research focuses on representations of Indigenous politics

 and Indigenous-settler relations in Canadian media outlets within the era of 'reconciliation'. My second area 

of interest is focused on right-wing populist leaders and parties in Canada