The Calgary School, a group of conservative academics at the University of Calgary including the historian David Bercuson and the political scientists Barry Cooper, Tom Flanagan, Rainer Knopff, and Ted Morton, has been recognized as an important intellectual formation on the Canadian right since the early-1990s. These Calgary Schoolers have been associated closely with the political rise of Stephen Harper, who was Prime Minister of Canada from 2006-2015. They have also been associated more generally with histories of neoliberalism and neoconservatism in Canada. This dissertation is the first comprehensive history of the Calgary School; it traces the intellectual history of the group from the mid-1960s to the mid-2000s. The Calgary Schoolers were united most of all by their outlook on the proper role of states in socio-economic life. In their critique of the intentional state, which they inherited from various thinkers in the transnational orbit of conservative ideas, the Calgary Schoolers opposed the notion that states can purposely direct civil society towards acknowledged goals and outcomes. To seek outcomes like economic equality, for example, was to engage in what Calgary Schoolers often maligned as “social engineering.” Sharing in this perspective as they did, the Calgary Schoolers then sought to extend the influence of their views, doing so in various “modes of influence.” The Calgary Schoolers established their authority as scholars, used that authority to undergird ventures into public view as polemicists, and associated themselves with people and institutions that could give practical weight to their positions. While resisting the idea that the Calgary Schoolers somehow made the neoliberal era in Canada, this dissertation shows how they made influence from within the confines of that era, recognizing the opportunities it afforded them and leveraging those opportunities for their ends. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Plusieurs indices permettent de croire que le premier ministre Harper a pour projet de faire du Parti conservateur le parti politique dominant au Canada. À cette fin, il doit transformer l’organisation sociale et politique du pays de façon à le rendre plus conservateur. L’objectif du présent mémoire est de préciser les fondements idéologiques du projet de réforme de l’État canadien du premier ministre en m’appuyant sur les écrits des membres de l’École de Calgary. Je fais l’hypothèse que les politiques publiques mises en place par Harper sont inspirées des convictions des membres de cette école de pensée, dont il est un proche. Dans le premier chapitre, je détermine la signification du concept d’idéologie et établis la pertinence de l’analyse des idéologies pour expliquer les décisions politiques. Je définis ensuite les principaux types de conservatisme, afin de déterminer lequel inspire les membres de l’École de Calgary et le Parti conservateur. Dans le second chapitre, je dresse un portrait de la pensée de l’École de Calgary relativement à quatre thèmes, soit ceux du développement économique et social, du pouvoir judiciaire, de la politique étrangère et de l’identité nationale. Enfin, dans le troisième chapitre, je recense les décisions prises par le gouvernement Harper en relation avec ces quatre mêmes thèmes et vérifie leur concordance avec les idées portées par l’École de Calgary. / Several signs suggest that Prime minister Stephen Harper is seeking to make the Conservative Party the new dominant political party in Canada. For this purpose, he has to transform the social and political organization of the country to make it more conservative and move the ideological preferences of the majority to the right. The objective of this thesis is to explain the ideological foundations of the reform strategy adopted by Harper in light of the writings of the members of the Calgary School. Because the Prime minister is close to the members of this school of thought, my hypothesis is that the public policies he implements are inspired by their convictions. Through a brief review of the literature, I clarify, in the first chapter, the meaning of the concept of ideology and establish the relevance of studying ideologies to explain political decisions. Then, I define the main types of conservatism to determine which one inspires the Calgary School and the Conservative Party. In the second chapter, I draw a portrait of the ideas promoted by the members of the Calgary School, on issues of social and economic development, on the role of the judiciary, on foreign relations and on national identity. Finally, in the third chapter, I identify the decisions taken by the Harper government in relation to these four themes since it came to power and I verify their consistency with the ideas promoted by the Calgary School.

Plusieurs indices permettent de croire que le premier ministre Harper a pour projet de faire du Parti conservateur le parti politique dominant au Canada. À cette fin, il doit transformer l’organisation sociale et politique du pays de façon à le rendre plus conservateur. L’objectif du présent mémoire est de préciser les fondements idéologiques du projet de réforme de l’État canadien du premier ministre en m’appuyant sur les écrits des membres de l’École de Calgary. Je fais l’hypothèse que les politiques publiques mises en place par Harper sont inspirées des convictions des membres de cette école de pensée, dont il est un proche. Dans le premier chapitre, je détermine la signification du concept d’idéologie et établis la pertinence de l’analyse des idéologies pour expliquer les décisions politiques. Je définis ensuite les principaux types de conservatisme, afin de déterminer lequel inspire les membres de l’École de Calgary et le Parti conservateur. Dans le second chapitre, je dresse un portrait de la pensée de l’École de Calgary relativement à quatre thèmes, soit ceux du développement économique et social, du pouvoir judiciaire, de la politique étrangère et de l’identité nationale. Enfin, dans le troisième chapitre, je recense les décisions prises par le gouvernement Harper en relation avec ces quatre mêmes thèmes et vérifie leur concordance avec les idées portées par l’École de Calgary. / Several signs suggest that Prime minister Stephen Harper is seeking to make the Conservative Party the new dominant political party in Canada. For this purpose, he has to transform the social and political organization of the country to make it more conservative and move the ideological preferences of the majority to the right. The objective of this thesis is to explain the ideological foundations of the reform strategy adopted by Harper in light of the writings of the members of the Calgary School. Because the Prime minister is close to the members of this school of thought, my hypothesis is that the public policies he implements are inspired by their convictions. Through a brief review of the literature, I clarify, in the first chapter, the meaning of the concept of ideology and establish the relevance of studying ideologies to explain political decisions. Then, I define the main types of conservatism to determine which one inspires the Calgary School and the Conservative Party. In the second chapter, I draw a portrait of the ideas promoted by the members of the Calgary School, on issues of social and economic development, on the role of the judiciary, on foreign relations and on national identity. Finally, in the third chapter, I identify the decisions taken by the Harper government in relation to these four themes since it came to power and I verify their consistency with the ideas promoted by the Calgary School.