For years, I thought I was politically orphaned. Raised by self-declared Red Tories, I grew up believing there was a place in the political landscape for people who were fiscally responsible, socially compassionate, and allergic to extremes. Turns out, that place was like Narnia—real in theory, impossible to find on a map.
“Red Tory,” they’d say at the dinner table, with pride. A term I once thought meant “liberal who liked spreadsheets” or “conservative who didn’t hate people.” It was a dignified kind of centrism—one that respected institutions but wasn’t shackled by them, that could balance budgets and still fund libraries.
But as the political spectrum bent into a pretzel over the years, that red tory identity became… well, kind of vintage. I wasn’t left-wing enough for the left, not right-wing enough for the right, and definitely not unhinged enough for Twitter/X.
Enter: Mark Carney. Is he the Second Coming of Red Toryism? I don’t know, but I’d like to believe he’s at least Red Tory–adjacent. A man who speaks in full sentences, believes in climate science and markets, and doesn’t treat nuance like a communicable disease? Be still my pragmatic heart. Carney walks into a room and doesn’t make me want to Google “How to move to Scandinavia.” He talks like someone who has read a book and written a balance sheet. He’s got that rare vibe of a person who’s balanced billion-dollar budgets and waited patiently in a Shoppers Drug Mart line during flu season. So maybe, just maybe, I’m not politically homeless anymore. Maybe there’s room again for the practical idealists, the moderate radicals, the spreadsheet socialists, the “yes to public transit, no to populism” crowd.
Maybe Red Tories weren’t extinct—just waiting for the right guy with an Oxford brain and a Bay Street backbone to dust off the label and make it cool again. Call it what you want—Red Tory, sensible centrist, adult-in-the-room—but if Carney’s leading, I’m following.
Nancy's Notes 