The Canadian Christian right is hoping that Karl Rove can offer tips to help them have an impact on politics in this country.

The man who led the fight against same-sex marriage in Canada has announced that Karl Rove will visit his Christian school during the G-20 meetings in Toronto.

Charles McVety, president of Canada Christian College, stated today (June 18) in a news release that Rove, a senior political adviser to former president George W. Bush, will give the keynote address at a summit for "faith and business leaders".

Rove is widely credited for helping Bush get reelected in 2004 by mobilizing the Christian right to vote. One tactic was by focusing on wedge issues, such as same-sex marriage.

The Republicans also suppressed turnout among African-Americans, who traditionally vote for Democratic candidates, by reducing the number of polling stations in some districts, creating long lineups.

The three-day Toronto conference will end with what the organizers are calling "A Rally to Stop a Nuclear Iran" on June 27.

In a bestselling book, The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada, journalist Marci McDonald described McVety as being steeped in an apocalyptic world view, centred on the belief that the messiah will return to Earth to save Christians as the rest of the world perishes in a final, terrible battle.

She also noted that McVety is very close to controversial Texas evangelist John Hagee, one of the foremost proponents of this dispensationalist thinking.

"In Jerusalem Countdown, his 2006 bestseller, Hagee...makes a case for the Israeli military to bomb Iran, thus eliminating both its nuclear threat and the anti-Semitic slurs of its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," McDonald writes.

McVety is also the cofounder of the Canada Family Action Coalition and led the 2005 Defend Marriage Campaign against same-sex marriage in Canada.

Brian Rushfeldt, executive director of Canada Family Action Coalition, stated in today's news release: “Karl Rove has extensive expertise on democratic organization and mobilization and on world affairs to share. His leadership in 75 election campaigns, including helping George Bush become President, makes Mr. Rove a man I look forward to learning from him on how to impact democracy.”

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