On the way home from the Conservative Party of Canada’s national convention in Calgary this past weekend, I found myself contemplating something I’ve been chewing on for the better part of the last ten years: What exactly do conservatives conserve?The convention offered an answer, and it was the one I’d been unfortunately leaning toward.Conservatives conserve very little.The late political philosopher Roger Scruton once described conservatives as “people who love something actual and want to maintain it.”If that definition still applies, then the uncomfortable conclusion is that the “it” being maintained by today’s Conservative Party is liberalism.It’s the same thing the Dominion Society of Canada’s founder, Daniel Tyrie, told me when his group was protesting the party’s immigration stance outside the convention.“They’re really just liberals in blue nowadays,” he said.Seems so.The convention itself was fine and competent — boringly so.That’s not a criticism so much as it is an observation of a party managing expectations, both internal and external..Pierre Poilievre secured 87.4% support from party delegates in his leadership review, a number that garnered polite applause and shoulder shrugs suggesting “well, that figures” from delegates I spoke to the morning after.It exceeded former prime minister Stephen Harper’s 84% in 2004 and fell short of Premier Danielle Smith’s commanding UCP leadership review of over 90%.Smith made an appearance on the final day and endorsed Poilievre with a tightly disciplined speech that made no reference to Alberta sovereignty — the major political talking point of the moment — which was understandable, as she has to tread carefully there.The main theme of the convention seemed to be stability.That theme carried through the weekend’s debates and speeches, particularly on topics such as immigration and party membership.Poilievre signalled a tougher immigration posture than the Liberals in his keynote speech, declaring that immigration must be capped at levels Canada can “integrate into our jobs, housing, healthcare, and Canadian way of life.”It was paired — predictably — with appeals to integration, citizenship, and allegiance.“We want a nation with no more hyphens, no more group labels,” he said.Familiar words and catchy phrases.Words conservatives have been using for the past several decades, usually after the damage is already done..Five years behind the Liberals seems to be their modus operandi.Liberalism with a delay popped up elsewhere over the weekend.A resolution to remove the ban on conversion therapy failed despite receiving a narrow majority of popular support from delegates, due to the “double majority” rule, which requires a majority of provinces to also approve the motion.During the debate, Tamara Kronis, MP for Nanaimo—Ladysmith, said the party should not be “adopting policies that divide us.”Opposing a law that makes it easier for children to transition to a different gender is divisive?As filmmaker Tim Thielmann said on X, “If you can’t even oppose child sex changes, what are you good for?”.A constitutional amendment calling to restrict party membership to Canadian citizens — leaving in place existing rules that allow permanent residents to vote in Conservative nomination contests — was also shot down by a vote of 443–305.So letting non-citizens vote in your party is fine..That was the Conservatives’ choice, and they won’t be revisiting it anytime soon — even in the middle of an immigration crisis that they themselves argue is overwhelming Canada..Again, conserve what?Interestingly, Josh Boyes of Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, who spoke as the proponent of that motion, said that “enemies of our country can and have used their diasporas in Canada to manipulate elections in other parties.”He might want to take a look at his own party.After the vote, Tim Uppal, MP for Edmonton Gateway, was asked by political streamer Max Genest why he voted against the resolution, and his defence was perfectly emblematic of modern conservatism.“It is the way it is right now,” Uppal said.“I just voted to allow the status quo.”.Defending the status quo in 2026 is not conservatism, it’s an endorsement of liberal policies — just more fiscally responsible and with fewer land acknowledgements.Peter Copeland, deputy director of domestic policy at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, has argued that Canadian conservatism has long functioned as a kind of “periodic managerial alternative.”Conservatives don’t so much resist liberal ideas as inherit them once the fight is over.They “have never been natural cultural or political leaders,” Copeland said..Free trade. Multiculturalism. Same-sex marriage. Mass immigration.Each time, resistance gives way to acceptance, followed by vows to manage things better and clean up the Liberals’ mess.The late English political activist Jonathan Bowden said, “Conservatism is epistemic humility,” meaning that it is rooted in inheritance and continuity.It is a recognition that the past may have known things the present has forgotten.Think along the lines of Edmund Burke and Thomas Carlyle — not present day social media influencers saying “based” every other sentence.Yet, across Canada and most of the Western world, conservatism has been hollowed out and now preserves procedures while culture dissolves around them.It talks about being a nation of laws while the other side flaunts them.It manages decline rather than resisting it.If conservatism cannot articulate what it is for — or better yet, damn well act on it — it will remain exactly what its critics accuse it of being: liberalism with the brakes on.Irving Kristol once said, “A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality.”Conservatives could use a reminder: reality hasn’t changed — stop ignoring it and wake up.
