Far, Moderate or in Between? The Ties That Shape Canadian Right-Wing Youth Activism

Canadian right-wing youth social movement actors are not a monolith. In this paper, I analyze 45 interviews and notes from a year of ethnographic fieldwork with a population of Canadian right-wing youth activists between 2023 and 2024. While these youth activists are part of the same right-wing organizations, some espouse far-right ideas, others are more moderately right-wing, and some are in between. For this sample of right-wing youth, differences lie in their experiences of peer and familial socialization. While far-right youth had strained peer and familial relationships, their moderate-right-wing peers had supportive families and experienced peer connections throughout the life course. Liminal right-wing participants disrupt this dichotomy as they have had a disconnection from family but have strong peer connections in the university setting as young adults. In this study, I highlight how familial and peer ties may play an important role in youths' turn to the right in Canada.