We are in the middle of an election campaign—a time when we as Canadians have an influence on the direction of our society. For the past ten years, that direction has been anti-family. The present Liberal Government has implemented policies that have harmed and harassed families, both through ideological experiments like transgender policy and through economic means like the carbon tax. At the core, it seems that the Liberal Party of Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney does not even know why the family is significant. All they might see is some sort of voting bloc to be exploited. But the family is much more than that.

Since the dawn of time, the family has been at the heart of society. Long before government existed, the core unit of the father, the mother, and the children formed the centre of human civilization. From this core unit, all human relationships grow, and government is but a refinement and organization of these relationships. The family is eternal, but as we in the Westminster system understand well, the government is merely temporary. And, politically, the family is the best defence against authoritarianism.

Our modern world tries to tell us that the individual person is the basis of society, and that all individuals are part of a great mechanism called the State. They treat human beings as though they are interchangeable parts of a machine with no inherent worth beyond what they can provide to the greater whole of society. Standing against this dystopian ideology is the family, a true place of love and care that sees individuals not as cogs in a machine but as people with inherent worth and purpose. The family is a shield, protecting people from the loneliness, isolation, and purposelessness that assail the unattached individual in this harsh and unfeeling world. One is born or adopted into the family, and cannot then be removed, even if one loses the ability to contribute.

This unique entity, with its independent existence and loyalty, is anathema to authoritarianism and the supposed total supremacy of human governments. Because of this, the authoritarian impulse has always struck at the family. Plato, in his Republic, recognized that to achieve the creation of his utopian society, children must be removed from their families to be raised without familial loyalties cluttering up the development of “good citizens.” The German Nazi and Soviet Communist parties both saw the vital necessity of removing children from their families and indoctrinating them so thoroughly that they would turn in their own parents for disloyalty to the state. And one can understand why. The family provides a loyalty that is greater than anything a politician can muster unless people are brainwashed early and kept from experiencing the fullness of family life.

Those who hate or distrust the family tell us that the government is the true pre-existent entity, that it preserves the family, and that it has the authority to regulate and even overthrow the family for the good of society. They teach that parents cannot know what is best for their children, and that children will be harmed should parents raise them according to their values. They prefer to see families subsumed by an all-pervasive bureaucratic force that will use the family as an experimental platform for every ideological innovation that comes along. Those who wish to control every aspect of national life hate the family. They dislike the greater allegiance that blocks total loyalty to the state. They hate the freedom of the family, where acceptance is not predicated on fidelity to the values mandated by the state. They despise the self-reliance of the family, where people do not need to look to the all-providing benevolence of the state, but can find their support and security among loving people who care for them no matter what they do. They fear the family, for as long as family is the primary loyalty, there will never be total control.

This same fear is sadly present in our country. Great efforts are made to belittle the family, to sow distrust between parents and children, to champion alternate “communities.” People, children especially, are encouraged to find their identity and value in the state. They are taught to look to the government. Teachers encourage students to fear their parents because of what they may think or do to harm them. If we listen to the rhetoric of political leaders of all stripes, we could be excused for believing that the family is merely an economic unit that benefits from certain government policies, or perhaps even a creation of government. Prime Minister Mark Carney has even gone so far as to muse about whether the right to be a parent should be controlled by the government and auctioned to the highest bidder.

Government, however, does not have to be the enemy of the family. Instead, it can be a defender, encouraging family health and prosperity through thoughtful policy. All that it takes is the recognition that a truly free, healthy, and strong country grows from free, healthy, and strong families. The leader who rules for the good of Canadians will do all in their power to preserve, protect, and empower parents to raise their children freely and with safety. They will have the humility to trust their citizens, understanding that no bureaucratic apparatus can replace the individual operations of family life and values. They will have the boldness to stand against ideological innovations and preserve the traditional foundations that have built our Western society. Above all, they will recognize that they are the servants of the nation, and not the masters.

Families in Canada have a unique opportunity in the upcoming election. They can speak boldly to politicians who are in the mood to listen to their people as they work to be elected. They can engage in the political process, looking for those who value freedom and believe that the role of government is not to totally control the lives of the people but to provide a safe and free environment where families can thrive. They can demand of their candidates the respect that they deserve, and they can see a change in Canada as the family retakes its position as the heart of Canadian society. Above all, families can remember that their future does not rest in a politician, party, or the public purse, but in the unshakeable love and care of a kind Father by whom all earthly kings reign.