There is a revolution happening in Canadian federal politics. It first became apparent in 1997, but gathered momentum with the 2004 election. A new generation of socially conservative politicians are finding their way into the House of Commons.

Five years ago, Pierre Pollievre was only part way through his international relations degree at the University of Calgary. An essay he wrote at the time won him a top prize in the annual “If I were prime minister …” contest, sponsored by Magna’s Frank Stronach.

Today, at the age of 25, Pollievre sits as a Conservative MP in the same caucus room as Frank Stronach’s daughter, Belinda. In fact, he is the youngest of all 308 MPs in Parliament, and his pathway there was no easy feat. He won a heavily contested nomination contest in the Ottawa-area riding of Nepean-Carlton in March, then in June wrested the riding from the incumbent two-term Liberal defence minister, David Pratt, by nearly 4,000 votes.

Here’s the revolutionary part. Despite the conventional wisdom spouted by the mainstream media, who are constantly claiming that “moderation” is the key to success, Pollievre was elected as a known social conservative. The pro-life, pro-family MP was most recently employed as executive assistant to Stockwell Day and had also worked for Jason Kenney in the past.

Yet, Pollievre is only truly exceptional in that he is the youngest of a new generation of socially conservative MPs who are being sent to Ottawa by Canadians who are becoming fed-up with liberalism’s “anything goes” philosophy.

Andrew Scheer, also 25, beat NDP veteran Lorne Nystrom in Regina-Qu’Appelle to become part of a near-total Conservative sweep of Saskatchewan. (Liberal Ralph Goodale is the only non-Conservative MP left in the province.) The pro-life Scheer worked for Stockwell Day when he was leader and also briefly worked for Larry Spencer, then the Canadian Alliance’s family issues critic. Scheer is bright, articulate and is able to defend conservative social policy positions without controversy.

Remarkably, the Conservative party ran 30 candidates under the age of 30 and many more who were under 40. Most of those who were actually elected are pro-life and pro-family, and in many cases, they beat pro-abortion, anti-marriage incumbents.

Rob Moore, 30, beat incumbent Liberal John Herron in Fundy riding, New Brunswick. Jeff Watson, 33, beat incumbent Liberal Sue Whelan in Essex riding, Ontario. Brad Trost, 30, beat incumbent independent Jim Pankiw in Saskatoon-Humboldt, while nearby, 26 year-old Jeremy Harrison, a self-described libertarian who nonetheless opposes the re-definition of marriage, beat incumbent Liberal Rick Laliberte. And, in South Surrey-White Rock, B.C., Russ Hiebert held the riding for the Conservative party, but is more notable for being one of the few candidates in the country to beat an incumbent in a nomination – three-term MP Val Meredith, who was less than stellar on family issues.

This new class of youthful MPs joins the class of 1997’s under 30s – Jason Kenney, Rob Anders and Rahim Jaffer – and 2000’s under-30, James Moore. Of these, Kenney, now 35, is the brightest star as both a formidable debater and public speaker, and as a wily political strategist.

All these youthful MPs share much in common. Most have significant educational achievements in hand, and many have dabbled in business ventures as well. All have a serious background in politics, having paid their dues for years by working on campaigns and for MPs. Most have a deep personal faith. And, all are driven by the courage of their clearly identifiable convictions.

Interestingly, the one young Liberal MP elected, 30 year-old Ruby Dhalla from Brampton, Ont., is apparently an orthodox Sikh, a religion that emphasizes, among other things, the importance of traditional marriage.

The election of young, socially conservative MPs likely mirrors a trend that is developing in society. Opinion polling data, particularly from the U.S., demonstrates that much of the newest generation of voters eschews the values of their more liberal baby boomer parents. Having suffered the worst of the fallout of the sexual revolution as children, the so-called Generation X rejects, for example, easy divorce and abortion as solutions to life’s challenges. Instead, this younger generation places a high value on “traditional” marriage, or marriages that will last. They are seeking permanence and stability in life.

The polling data reveal something similar about the spiritual values of this generation as well. Most are seeking after orthodoxy in whatever faith tradition they are pursuing and reject the moral relativism of the boomer generation.

This societal trend is undoubtedly part of the key to the success of today’s young conservatives. Firm and consistent in their ideology, the promotion of life and family is finding an audience with voters who have tired of fence-sitting politicians. While they may not have the clout to stop the liberal social agenda cold yet, they will be around long after Paul Martin and friends have retired from politics. Though the movement is seemingly still in its infancy, there is a good possibility that some of today’s young MPs will be prime minister one day.

Peter Stock, a frequent contributor to The Interim, was the Conservative candidate in Simcoe North.