I'm not sure if this is as true in Canada as it is in the US, but "values voters" are often far less concerned with a person's actual actions than they are with the general sense of belonging.
This is a deeply subconscious, essentially tribal response: it is the sense that someone is part of your group, regardless of their actual actions. Once some people have decided you are "their kind of people," they will defend your actions aggressively in virtually all cases. It's very much like family in this regard, to a slightly lesser extreme; a daughter's accidental pregnancy is a slip up from a generally good girl, while other 17 year old girls who get pregnant are irresponsible and stupid.
Everyone suffers from this to some extent, but some more than others.
