i've been over this a few times, but i need to clarify a point: the legacy of the "progressive movement" in canada did not end up on the left.

for most the twentieth century, the two major parties were the liberals (on the soft-left) and the progressive conservatives (on the soft-right). this is because the progressive party merged with the conservative party in 1942.

maybe the confusion people will have about this is in not understanding old toryism. but, the conservatives in canada were trade protectionists up until the 1970s and broadly supportive of the concept of christian charity. they were also socially conservative, but so were many progressives. it wasn't some frankencreature - the merger fit, and it created some stable governments.

the point i'm making is that there isn't a history of a progressive liberal caucus supporting sin taxes and prohibition like there is in the united states. there's not a dormant history, there. it's just weird.

i'm not even complaining; i don't drink a lot, and the couple of cents won't matter. but that's just my point. it only makes sense as an unexpected ideological shift to attract a nontraditional demographic. and, combined with a list of other things, liberal voters should be getting a little worried about shit.