The Impact of Federalism and Historical Institutionalism on Evangelical Anti-Abortion Mobilization in the United States and Canada

Diverging paths of evangelical anti-abortion mobilization in the United States and Canada reveal how federal structures and political institutions shape social movement success. While evangelicals in both nations share similar opposition to abortion, their political influence differs dramatically due to contrasting federal systems and party structures. In the U.S., decentralized federalism and a permeable political system enabled evangelicals to build cohesive national networks, align with the Republican Party, and significantly influence abortion policy, evidenced by state-level restrictions and the party’s adoption of anti-abortion platforms. Canada’s fragmented federalism, by contrast, fostered regional and denominational divisions among evangelicals, while its centralized party system marginalized moral traditionalists, leaving anti-abortion efforts fragmented and ineffective. Historical institutionalism further explains these outcomes: The U.S. system’s openness to interest groups allowed evangelicals to exploit electoral and legislative opportunities, whereas Canada’s conflict-averse, executive-dominated polity stifled such mobilization. These institutional differences underscore why abortion remains a defining partisan issue in the U.S. but a peripheral concern in Canada, despite shared ideological foundations among evangelicals.