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136-418: Key     Independent     SLFP     UNP Results of the 1st parliamentary election held between 23 August 1947 and 20 September 1947 for the district: Results of the 2nd parliamentary election held between 24 May 1952 and 30 May 1952 for the district: Results of the 3rd parliamentary election held between 5 April 1956 and 10 April 1956 for the district: Results of

272-610: A confidence vote could be scheduled. When parliament resumed on January 28, 2009, the Ignatieff Liberals agreed to support the budget as long as it included regular accountability reports, which the Conservatives accepted. This ended the possibility of the coalition government with the New Democrats. Ignatieff was formally named leader on May 2, 2009 . By the time Ignatieff was confirmed as party leader,

408-696: A Canadian welfare state . The Liberals' signature policies and legislative decisions include universal health care , the Canada Pension Plan , Canada Student Loans , the establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy , multilateralism , official bilingualism , official multiculturalism , gun control , the patriation of the Constitution of Canada and the establishment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ,

544-545: A Democrat) in the 20th century. Some officials have been elected as members of a party but became independent while in office (without being elected as such), such as Wayne Morse of Oregon, who left the Republican party to become an independent, then joined the Democratic Party two years later. Nebraska senator George W. Norris was elected for four terms as a Republican before changing to an independent after

680-462: A Democrat) received 21% of the vote. In Texas , country music singer and mystery novelist Kinky Friedman received 12.43% of the vote, and State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn received 18.13%. Strayhorn and Friedman's presence in the race resulted in a splitting of the ballot four ways between themselves and the two major parties. In 2010 , Florida governor Charlie Crist left the Republican party and became an independent. (He later became

816-469: A Democrat.) He left the Republicans because he did not want to run against former state house Speaker Marco Rubio in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate election, preferring to run in the general. Rubio won the election, though Crist came in ahead of Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek . In 2014 , former Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann ran as an independent candidate for the governorship of

952-461: A broad spectrum of voters. The Liberal Party is the longest-serving and oldest active federal political party in the country, and has dominated federal politics of Canada for much of its history, holding power for almost 70 years of the 20th century. As a result, it has sometimes been referred to as Canada's "natural governing party". The party first came into power in 1873 under Alexander Mackenzie , but were voted out five years later due to

1088-557: A central coordinating organization, the National Liberal Federation, was created in 1932 with Vincent Massey as its first president. With the Liberal return to power, the national organization languished except for occasional national committee meetings, such as in 1943 when Mackenzie King called a meeting of the federation (consisting of the national caucus and up to seven voting delegates per province) to approve

1224-403: A confidence vote on November 28, and Martin advised Governor General Michaëlle Jean to dissolve Parliament and call an election for January 2006 . The Liberal campaign was dogged from start to finish by the sponsorship scandal, which was brought up by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) criminal investigation into the leak of the income trust announcement. Numerous gaffes, contrasting with

1360-507: A divided conservative opposition for the past three elections, Liberals were seriously challenged by competition from the newly united Conservative Party led by Stephen Harper . The infighting between Martin and Chrétien's supporters also dogged the party. Nonetheless, by criticizing the Conservatives' social policies, the Liberals were able to draw progressive votes from the NDP, which made

1496-617: A handful of independent members . Examples include Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Virgil Goode of Virginia, Frazier Reams of Ohio , Victor Berger of Wisconsin , and Justin Amash and Paul Mitchell of Michigan . There have been several independents elected to the United States Senate throughout history. Notable examples include David Davis of Illinois (a former Republican ) in the 19th century, and Harry F. Byrd Jr. of Virginia (who had been elected to his first term as

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1632-484: A high approval rating and Martin was expected to make inroads into Quebec and Western Canada, two regions of Canada where the Liberals had not attracted much support since the 1980s and 1990s, respectively. The political situation changed with the revelation of the sponsorship scandal , in which advertising agencies supporting the Liberal Party received grossly inflated commissions for their services. Having faced

1768-485: A history of independent state legislators. For example, in the Alaska State House , independents have sometimes played pivotal roles in coalition governments, demonstrating their influence in closely divided chambers. These legislators often prioritize regional or policy-specific issues over strict adherence to party platforms. Judicial and Nonpartisan Offices Many state and local offices, particularly in

1904-494: A key policy for the party in the 2008 federal election , but it was not well received and was continuously attacked by both the Conservatives and NDP. On election night, the Liberal Party won 26.26 percent of the popular vote and 77 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons. At that time, their popular support was the lowest in the party's history, and weeks later Dion announced he would step down as Liberal leader once his successor

2040-694: A large impact on elections and have even won, particularly in large cities. For instance, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg served as 2002 to 2013 as a Republican but for his third term he won as an independent. Independent politicians have also led cities like Minneapolis , where Charles Stenvig served as an independent mayor throughout the 1970s. These leaders often emphasize pragmatic governance over party ideology, appealing to diverse voter bases. State Legislatures While less common than in Congress, independents occasionally serve in state legislatures. Maine and Alaska , in particular, have seen

2176-647: A lasting animosity between Chrétien and Martin. Chrétien won on the first ballot. Chrétien's Liberals campaigned in the 1993 election on the promise of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and eliminating the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Just after the writ was dropped for the election, they issued the Red Book , an integrated and coherent approach to economic, social, environmental and foreign policy. This

2312-522: A minority government and St. Laurent resigned as prime minister and Liberal leader. Lester B. Pearson was easily elected Liberal leader at the party's 1958 leadership convention . However, only months after becoming Liberal leader, Pearson led the party into the 1958 federal election that saw Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives win the largest majority government, by percentage of seats, in Canadian history. The Progressive Conservatives won 206 of

2448-468: A monopoly on the nomination of candidates for elected positions according to the Electoral Code. However, becoming an independent politician after being elected is protected by virtue of Article 25 of the Constitution of Costa Rica , which guarantees freedom of association ; therefore, any citizen cannot be forced to remain in a specific political party and can join any other political group. It

2584-415: A new platform for the party in anticipation of the end of World War II and prepare for a post-war election. No national convention was held, however, until 1948; the Liberal Party held only three national conventions prior to the 1950s – in 1893, 1919 and 1948. The National Liberal Federation remained largely dependent on provincial Liberal parties and was often ignored and bypassed the parliamentary party in

2720-677: A political party. Independents sometimes choose to form a party, alliance, or technical group with other independents, and may formally register that organization. Even where the word "independent" is used, such alliances can have much in common with a political party, especially if there is an organization which needs to approve the "independent" candidates. Independent politicians are not allowed to run for office in Brazil. The Constitution of 1988, in Article 14, §3rd, item V, says that "Are conditions for eligibility: V - party affiliation". However,

2856-587: A position to replace the Liberals as the natural governing party in Canada." Books such as The Big Shift by John Ibbitson and Darrell Bricker , and Peter C. Newman 's When the Gods Changed: The Death of Liberal Canada , asserted that the Liberals had become an "endangered species". On April 14, 2013, Justin Trudeau , son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was elected leader of

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2992-609: A programme and build the campaign that successfully brought the party to power in 1896, but no efforts were made to create a formal national organization outside Parliament. As a result of the party's defeats in the 1911 and 1917 federal elections, Laurier attempted to organize the party on a national level by creating three bodies: the Central Liberal Information Office, the National Liberal Advisory Committee, and

3128-651: A progressive social policy evolved into the goal of creating a " just society ". In the late 1970s, Trudeau stated that his Liberal Party adhered to the " radical centre ". The Liberal Party under Trudeau promoted official bilingualism and passed the Official Languages Act , which gave French and English languages equal status in Canada. Trudeau hoped that the promotion of bilingualism would cement Quebec's place in Confederation, and counter growing calls for an independent Quebec. The party hoped

3264-405: A single Congress since the ratification of the 17th Amendment . State and Local Independent Politicians Independent politicians have also played notable roles at the state and local levels, often finding success in contexts where party affiliation is less dominant or elections are nonpartisan. Mayors and Municipal Leaders There have been many cases where independent candidates have made

3400-454: A smoothly run Conservative campaign, put Liberals as many as ten points behind the Conservatives in opinion polling. They managed to recover some of their momentum by election night, but not enough to retain power. They won 103 seats, a net loss of 30 from when the writs were dropped, compared to 123 for the Tories. Martin resigned as Liberal leader on March 18. The ensuing leadership election

3536-419: A snap election, citing favourable internal polls. However, the party was hurt by numerous patronage appointments , many of which Turner had made supposedly in return for Trudeau retiring early. Also, they were unpopular in their traditional stronghold of Quebec because of the constitution repatriation which excluded that province. The Liberals lost power in the 1984 election , and were reduced to only 40 seats in

3672-459: A third party ( Connecticut for Lieberman Party ) after he lost the primary. After the election, Lieberman enrolled himself as an Independent Democrat until his retirement in 2013. In 2006, Sanders and Lieberman were the only two victorious independent candidates for Congress, both caucusing with the Democrats. In 2012 , Angus King was elected to the U.S. Senate as an Independent from Maine. He

3808-514: A united bloc in the legislature of the Province of Canada beginning in 1854 , but a united Liberal Party combining both English and French Canadian members was not formed until 1867. At the time of Confederation of the former British colonies of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec ), New Brunswick , and Nova Scotia , the radical Liberals were marginalized by the more pragmatic Conservative coalition assembled under Sir John A. Macdonald . In

3944-622: Is a federal political party in Canada . The party espouses the principles of liberalism , and generally sits at the centre to centre-left of the Canadian political spectrum , with their main rival, the Conservative Party , positioned to their right and the New Democratic Party positioned to their left . The party is described as " big tent ", practising "brokerage politics", attracting support from

4080-514: Is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views that do not align with the platforms of any political party and therefore choose not to affiliate with them. Some independent politicians may be associated with a party, perhaps as former members of it or else have views that align with it, but choose not to stand in its name, or are unable to do so because

4216-484: Is common in each legislative period for some deputies ( diputados , term used for legislators) of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica to become independents; this has also happened with the mayors ( alcaldes ) of the municipalities of cantons . Jaime Heliodoro Rodríguez Calderón (born in 1957), sometimes referred to by his nickname "Bronco", is a Mexican politician and former governor for

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4352-476: Is noted as having proposed amendments on at least 20% of all legislation. Several observers and those involved with the Senate itself have criticized the Trudeau government for its attempted reforms, with most accusations centering around the belief that the new appointment process is biased towards those who are ideologically supportive of the Liberal Party's objectives. Remaining Conservative senators have accused

4488-587: Is sometimes mentioned as an independent governor, though this is not technically correct; he ran as an A Connecticut Party candidate (which gave him better ballot placement than an unaffiliated candidate would receive), defeating the Democratic and Republican nominees. Another former governor who is sometimes mentioned as an independent is Jesse Ventura , who actually ran as a member of the Reform Party 's Minnesota affiliate, which later disaffiliated from

4624-713: The Civil Marriage Act in late June 2005 in a late-night, last-minute vote before Parliament closed down, the Senate passed it in July 2005, and it received Royal Assent on July 20. This made Canada the fourth country in the world to allow same-sex marriages. In November 2005, the Martin government brokered a deal between first ministers and aboriginal leaders known as the Kelowna Accord , which sought to improve

4760-462: The Clarity Act , legalizing same-sex marriage , euthanasia , and cannabis , national carbon pricing , and expanded access to abortion . The Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau since 2013, won a majority government in the 2015 federal election . In both the federal elections of 2019 and 2021 , the party was re-elected with a minority government. The Liberals are descended from

4896-472: The National Post , suggested that "maybe we've witnessed a revival of Canada's 'natural governing party'". At the 2019 federal election , Trudeau's Liberal Party lost 20 seats in the House of Commons (lowering its total from 177 to 157) from the time of dissolution, they still won the most seats of any party—enough seats to allow Trudeau to form a minority government. For the first time since 1979,

5032-409: The 1949 and 1953 federal elections, St. Laurent led the Liberal Party to two large majority governments. As prime minister he oversaw the joining of Newfoundland in Confederation as Canada's tenth province, he established equalization payments to the provinces, and continued with social reform with improvements in pensions and health insurance. In 1956, Canada played an important role in resolving

5168-499: The 1996 and 2000 elections, and "Never Trump" conservative candidate Evan McMullin in 2016 . Out of all independent candidates since Washington, Perot performed the best, gaining no votes in the Electoral College but receiving 19 percent of the popular vote and, early in the election season, leading in polls against his opponents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush . Additionally, McMullin received 21 percent of

5304-486: The 2002 elections , when the Republicans regained their majority. Jeffords retired at the end of his term in 2007. Dean Barkley of the Independence Party of Minnesota was appointed a day before the 2002 elections to fill the senate seat of Paul Wellstone who, while running for re-election, died weeks prior. Barkley refused to caucus with either party. In 2006 , independent politician Bernie Sanders won

5440-460: The 2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election , two independent candidates were elected. Current laws in Costa Rica do not permit a citizen to run directly for any elected position as an independent without the representation of a political party. Any nomination must be made through a political party, due to the framework of the current legal system, in which the political parties have

5576-581: The 2024 general election , seven independent candidates were elected to Lok Sabha , the lower house of Indian Parliament . The only independent Israeli politician elected to the Knesset was Shmuel Flatto-Sharon . Independents have rarely been elected to the Dewan Rakyat and state legislative assemblies. In Malaysian elections, many independent candidates lose their election deposit because they had failed to secure at least 12.5% or one-eighth of

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5712-630: The 4th parliamentary election held on 19 March 1960 for the district: Results of the 5th parliamentary election held on 20 July 1960 for the district: Results of the 6th parliamentary election held on 22 March 1965 for the district: Results of the 7th parliamentary election held on 27 May 1970 for the district: Results of the 8th parliamentary election held on 21 July 1977 for the district: 7°06′43″N 80°07′58″E  /  7.1119°N 80.1328°E  / 7.1119; 80.1328 Independent (politician) An independent , non-partisan politician , or non-affiliated politician

5848-493: The Conservatives ' alienation of French Canada by offering the Liberals as a credible alternative. Laurier was able to overcome the party's reputation for anti-clericalism that offended the still-powerful Quebec Roman Catholic Church . In English-speaking Canada, the Liberal Party's support for reciprocity made it popular among farmers, and helped cement the party's hold in the growing prairie provinces . Laurier led

5984-547: The Democratic Party and briefly sought election in 1844 as a Tyler Democrat , but withdrew over fear he would split the Democratic vote and give the election to Whig candidate Henry Clay . Since 1900, notable candidates running as independents for U.S. president have included congressman John Anderson in 1980 , billionaire entrepreneur Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996 (in 1996 under the newly founded Reform Party ), former Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in

6120-629: The Democratic-Republican faction, centered around Thomas Jefferson and James Madison . Washington feared that partisanship would eventually destroy the country, and famously warned against "the baneful effects of the spirit of party" in his 1796 Farewell Address . John Tyler was expelled from the Whig Party in September 1841, and effectively remained an independent for the remainder of his presidency. He later returned to

6256-459: The Leaders' debates when Layton criticized Ignatieff for having a poor attendance record for Commons votes: "You know, most Canadians, if they don't show up for work, they don't get a promotion." Ignatieff failed to defend himself against these charges, and the debates were said to be a turning point in the campaign. On election day, the Liberals took the biggest loss in their history. The result

6392-534: The National Assembly , such as Aytən Mustafayeva . Around half of Hong Kong 's Legislative Council is made up of independents, or members whose political groups are represented by one sole member in the legislature. They are common in functional constituencies , and are not rare among geographical constituencies . Independent candidates can contest elections on the basis of their personal appeal or to promote an ideology different from any party. In

6528-599: The Northwest Territories and Nunavut are consensus governments with no political parties. All members sit as independents. There are a few independent members of the other provincial and territorial legislatures, which are similar in principle to the federal House of Commons; for example, in the 2009 British Columbia general election , independent candidate Vicki Huntington narrowly defeated incumbent Attorney General Wally Oppal in Delta South . In

6664-511: The Ontario electoral district , or riding, of Spadina—Fort York . Vuong had originally campaigned as a member of the Liberal Party during the 2021 federal election but was ejected from the party two days prior to the end of the vote due to controversy surrounding past allegations of sexual assault. Despite his removal from the Liberal Party, Vuong won the election for his riding and chose to take his seat as an independent, though this decision

6800-652: The Pacific Scandal . Mackenzie subsequently won the 1874 election and served as prime minister for an additional four years. During the five years the Liberal government brought in many reforms, including the replacement of open voting by secret ballot , confining elections to one day and the creation of the Supreme Court of Canada , the Royal Military College of Canada , and the Office of

6936-499: The Senate Liberal Caucus until 2019. By the time the 2015 federal election was called, the Liberals had fallen back to third place. Trudeau and his advisors mounted a campaign based on economic stimulus in the hopes of regaining the mantle of being the party that best represented change from the New Democrats. The campaign was successful, and the Liberals won the election in a dramatic fashion: with 39.5 percent of

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7072-644: The Suez Crisis , and contributed to the United Nations force in the Korean War . Canada enjoyed economic prosperity during St. Laurent's premiership and wartime debts were paid off. The Pipeline Debate proved the Liberal Party's undoing. Their attempt to pass legislation to build a natural gas pipeline from Alberta to central Canada was met with fierce disagreement in the House of Commons. In 1957, John Diefenbaker 's Progressive Conservatives won

7208-552: The 12th General Elections. As of May 2018 , three independent MPs were elected in GE14 , but later joining Pakatan Harapan ( PKR ), thus causing no representation for independent MP for that time. However, as of June 2018 and December 2018, the number increased to 13 independent Members of Parliament that now currently sit in the Dewan Rakyat as of December 2018. Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada ( LPC ; Quebec French : Parti libéral du Canada , PLC )

7344-498: The 1986 review. The 1988 election was notable for Turner's strong opposition to the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement negotiated by Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Although most Canadians voted for parties opposed to free trade , the Tories were returned with a majority government, and implemented the deal. The Liberals recovered from their near-meltdown of 1984, however, winning 83 seats and ending much of

7480-434: The 265 seats in the House of Commons, while the Liberals were reduced to just 48 seats. Pearson remained Liberal leader during this time and in the 1962 election managed to reduce Diefenbaker to a minority government. In the 1963 election Pearson led the Liberal Party back to victory, forming a minority government. Pearson served as prime minister for five years, winning a second election in 1965 . While Pearson's leadership

7616-544: The 29 years after Confederation, the Liberals were consigned to opposition, with the exception of one stint in government. Alexander Mackenzie was the de facto leader of the Official Opposition after Confederation and finally agreed to become the first official leader of the Liberal Party in 1873. He was able to lead the party to power for the first time in 1873, after the Macdonald government resigned over

7752-559: The Auditor General ; however, the party was only able to build a solid support base in Ontario and in 1878 lost the government to Macdonald. The Liberals would spend the next 18 years in opposition. In their early history, the Liberals were the party of continentalism and opposition to imperialism . The Liberals also became identified with the aspirations of Quebecers as a result of the growing hostility of French Canadians to

7888-609: The Chrétien Liberals campaigned from the left, their time in power is most marked by the cuts made to many social programs, including health transfers, in order to balance the federal budget. Although Chrétien had supported the Charlottetown Accord while in opposition, in government he opposed major concessions to Quebec and other provincialist factions. In contrast to their promises during the 1993 campaign, they implemented only minor changes to NAFTA, embraced

8024-486: The Conservative government survived. The attempt to force an election, just a year after the previous one, was viewed as a miscalculation, as polls showed that most Canadians did not want another election. Afterwards, popularity for Ignatieff and his party continued to fall. Over the next year and a half, with the exception of a brief period in early 2010, support for the Liberals remained below 30 percent, and behind

8160-746: The Conservatives. Shortly after the Harper government was found to be in Contempt of Parliament over the Canadian Afghan detainee issue , Ignatieff successfully introduced a motion of no confidence against the government, beginning the 2011 election . The Liberals had considerable momentum when the writ was dropped, and Ignatieff successfully squeezed NDP leader Jack Layton out of media attention by issuing challenges to Harper for one-on-one debates. However, opponents frequently criticized Ignatieff's perceived political opportunism, particularly during

8296-494: The Conservatives. The Conservatives lost the support of French Canadians because of the role of Conservative governments in the execution of Louis Riel and their role in the Conscription Crisis of 1917 , and especially their opposition to French schools in provinces besides Quebec. It was not until Wilfrid Laurier became leader that the Liberal Party emerged as a modern party. Laurier was able to capitalize on

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8432-513: The House of Commons. The Progressive Conservatives won a majority of the seats in every province, including Quebec. The 95-seat loss was the worst defeat in the party's history, and the worst defeat at the time for a governing party at the federal level. What was more, the New Democratic Party , successor to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation , won only ten fewer seats than the Liberals, and some thought that

8568-704: The Independent Senators Group in particular as being "too quick to endorse bills from the Liberal government". Supporting this claim, a 2021 study found that members of the Independent Senators Group voted in favor of legislation proposed by the incumbent Liberal government more consistently than any other group within the Senate, including those still formally aligned to the Liberal Party. This was, however, among an overall trend in which all senators demonstrated lower levels of party loyalty, and as such its full implications are still unknown. The report also concluded that partisanship in Senate appointments

8704-449: The Liberal Party caucus. In announcing this, Trudeau said the purpose of the unelected upper chamber is to act as a check on the power of the prime minister, but the party structure interferes with that purpose. Following this move, Liberal senators chose to keep the designation "Liberal" and sit together as a caucus, albeit not one supported by the Liberal Party of Canada. This independent group continued to refer to itself in publications as

8840-427: The Liberal Party had a comfortable lead over the governing Conservatives. Support fell over the summer as Ignatieff was characterized of "missing in action", and Ignatieff announced on August 31, 2009, that the Liberals would not support the minority Conservative government when Parliament resumed. A month later, on October 1, the Liberals put forth a non-confidence motion; however, the NDP abstained from voting and

8976-430: The Liberal Party on the first ballot, winning 80% of the vote. Following his win, support for the Liberal Party increased considerably, and the party moved into first place in public opinion polls. In response, the Conservatives ran a series of ads attempting to "[paint] him as a silly dilettante unfit for public office" and the surge levelled off in the following year. In 2014, Trudeau removed all Liberal senators from

9112-669: The Liberals argued that the Governor General of Canada should no longer be appointed on the recommendation of the British government. The decisions of the Imperial Conferences were formalized in the Statute of Westminster , which was actually passed in 1931, the year after the Liberals lost power. The Liberals also promoted the idea of Canada being responsible for its own foreign and defence policy. Initially, it

9248-616: The Liberals promoted Canadian sovereignty and greater independence within the British Commonwealth . In Imperial Conferences held throughout the 1920s, Canadian Liberal governments often took the lead in arguing that the United Kingdom and the dominions should have equal status, and against proposals for an 'imperial parliament' that would have subsumed Canadian independence. After the King–Byng Affair of 1926,

9384-478: The Liberals to power in the 1896 election (in which he became the first Francophone Prime Minister) and oversaw a government that increased immigration to settle Western Canada . Laurier's government created the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta out of the North-West Territories and promoted the development of Canadian industry. Until the early part of the century, the Liberal Party

9520-539: The NDP under Ed Broadbent would push the Liberals to third-party status. The party began a long process of reconstruction. A small group of young Liberal MPs, known as the Rat Pack , gained fame by criticizing the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney at every turn. Also, despite public and backroom attempts to remove Turner as leader, he managed to consolidate his leadership at

9656-547: The National Liberal Organization Committee. However, the advisory committee became dominated by members of Parliament and all three bodies were underfunded and competed with both local and provincial Liberal associations and the national caucus for authority. The party did organize the national party's second convention in 1919 to elect William Lyon Mackenzie King as Laurier's successor (Canada's first leadership convention ), yet following

9792-794: The People" parties in several states for the same purpose, even though he is Independent. Several other candidates for federal races, including Joe Lieberman (who created Connecticut for Lieberman ), have pursued a similar strategy. Illinois , Maine , Oregon , Rhode Island , Texas , Alaska , and North Dakota have elected formally independent candidates as governor: Illinois's first two governors, Shadrach Bond and Edward Coles ; James B. Longley in 1974 as well as Angus King in 1994 and 1998 from Maine; Lincoln Chafee in 2010 from Rhode Island; Julius Meier in 1930 from Oregon; Sam Houston in 1859 from Texas; and Bill Walker in 2014 from Alaska. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. of Connecticut

9928-559: The Proposal Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) no. 6/2015, authored by independent senator José Reguffe , would allow the independent candidacy of individuals who have the support of at least 1% of the electors able to vote in the region (city, state or country, depending on the election) in which the candidate is running. Currently, members of the legislature can leave their respective parties after being elected, as in

10064-536: The Republicans and Democrats (with a Republican Vice President, Dick Cheney , who would presumably break all ties in favor of the Republicans), to 49 Republicans, 50 Democrats, and one Independent. Jeffords agreed to vote for Democratic control of the Senate in exchange for being appointed chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee , and the Democrats held control of the Senate until

10200-482: The Republicans lost their majority in Congress in 1930. Norris won re-election as an independent in 1936, but later lost his final re-election attempt to Republican Kenneth S. Wherry in 1942. Vermont senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party to become an independent in 2001. Jeffords's change of party status was especially significant because it shifted the Senate composition from 50 to 50 between

10336-603: The Senate and pledged to end the practice of partisan appointments for senators and transition to a new system of merit-based appointments if elected Prime Minister. Following the election of a Liberal majority government in 2015, the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments was established with the goal of filling Senate vacancies through a selection process based on political knowledge, merit, and perceived ability to act independently of partisan affiliation. This push to remove partisan ties from

10472-515: The Senate resulted in the creation of the Independent Senators Group , a coalition of both newly appointed independent senators and formally partisan senators who had relinquished their formal party ties, alongside the also independent Canadian Senators Group and Progressive Senate Group . By 2018, the majority of Canadian Senators were officially independent, though some Liberal senators continued to remain affiliated with

10608-529: The Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Jim Jeffords as an independent, subsequently reelected in 2012 , 2018 and 2024 . He was an independent member of the United States House of Representatives for Vermont-at-large from 1991 to 2007. Sanders is the longest-serving independent member of Congress in American history. Also in 2006 , Joe Lieberman was a former Democrat and ran under

10744-495: The State of Hawaii after previously campaigning in the state's Democratic primary. As a result, Democratic candidate David Ige was elected as governor with a plurality of 49%. Also in 2014, former mayor of Valdez , Bill Walker won the gubernatorial election. Walker retired before the 2018 election but ran again in the 2022 . He didn't win but received 20% of the vote. The United States House of Representatives has also seen

10880-466: The Tories' Ontario support largely moved to the Liberals. With a divided opposition, the Liberals were able to reap large majorities—especially in Ontario, where the party won all but one seat in 1993, all but two in 1997 and all but three in 2000. However, there was some disappointment as Liberals were not able to recover their traditional dominant position in Quebec, despite being led by a Quebecer. While

11016-539: The Western-based Reform Party , which replaced the PCs as the largest right-wing party in Canada; however, the party was unable to overcome perceptions of extremism and that it was merely a Western protest party , and was virtually non-existent east of Manitoba. Meanwhile, the Quebec nationalists who had once supported the Tories largely switched their support to the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois , while

11152-511: The appointment of senators through the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, there has been a noted increase in the number of amendments the Senate has proposed for legislation from the House of Commons. During the 42nd Parliament (2015–2019), the Senate attempted to amend 13 government bills, whereas during the 41st Parliament (2011–2015), it had attempted to amend only one government bill. The reformed Senate

11288-546: The case of senator Reguffe, who left the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) in 2016. Jair Bolsonaro was independent between 2019 and 2021. In Canadian federal politics, members of both the House of Commons and the Senate are permitted to hold office without being members of a political party. Candidates in federal elections who are not affiliated with a party have two options: independent or no affiliation. In

11424-484: The causes and motivations for MPs to act independently. Many observers of the Canadian House of Commons in the 21st century have noted its incredibly high party discipline. Few MPs choose to vote against their party's official stance on any given piece of legislation. Between 2011 and 2013—the first two years of the 41st Canadian Parliament , following the 2011 Canadian federal election —the elected members of

11560-426: The concept of a strong, central government, and fought Quebec separatism , other forms of Quebec nationalism , and the granting of " distinct society " status to Quebec; however, such actions served as rallying cries for sovereigntists, and alienated many Francophone Quebeckers. The other primary legacy of the Trudeau years has been financial. Net federal debt in fiscal 1968, just before Trudeau became prime minister,

11696-460: The creation of Canada's social safety net . Bowing to popular pressure, he introduced the mother's allowance, a monthly payment to all mothers with young children. He also reluctantly introduced old age pensions when J. S. Woodsworth required it in exchange for his Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party's support of King's minority government . Louis St. Laurent succeeded King as Liberal leader and prime minister on November 15, 1948. In

11832-557: The culmination of a decades-long shift in Liberal immigration policy, a reversal of pre-war racial attitudes that spurred discriminatory policies such as the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 and the MS St. Louis incident . The most lasting effect of the Trudeau years has been the patriation of the Constitution of Canada and the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . Trudeau's Liberals supported

11968-435: The difference in several close races. In the 2004 election , the Liberals retained enough support to continue as the government, though they were reduced to a minority. In the midst of various court rulings in 2003 and 2004 that allowed for the legalization of same-sex marriage in seven provinces and one territory, the Martin government proposed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage across Canada . The House of Commons passed

12104-413: The economic conditions at the time. They would not come back to office until 1896; Wilfrid Laurier was prime minister from that year until the party's defeat in 1911 and his tenure was marked by several compromises between English and French Canada. From the early 1920s until the mid-1950s, the Liberal Party under Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent gradually built

12240-457: The education, skills training, housing and health care of aboriginal peoples by providing $ 5 billion in funding over five years. Following the release of the first Gomery Report , the Liberals dropped in polls. Nonetheless, Martin turned down the NDP's conditions for continued support, as well as rejecting an opposition proposal which would schedule a February 2006 election in return for passing several pieces of legislation. The Liberals thus lost

12376-402: The eliminated Kennedy to leapfrog both Rae and Ignatieff, eliminating Rae. On the fourth and final ballot, Dion defeated Ignatieff to become leader of the Liberal Party. Dion campaigned on environmental sustainability during the leadership race, which later evolved into the "Green Shift": a proposal for a national carbon tax that would be offset by reductions to income tax rates. The plan was

12512-488: The failed Meech Lake and Charlottetown Constitutional Accords , which would have recognized Quebec as a "distinct society" and would have increased the powers of the provinces to the detriment of the federal government. Trudeau stepped down as prime minister and party leader in 1984, as the Liberals were slipping in polls. At that year's leadership convention, Turner defeated Chrétien on the second ballot to become prime minister. Immediately, upon taking office, Turner called

12648-559: The first Canadian ambassador to Washington in 1926, marking the Liberal government's insistence on having direct relations with the United States, rather than having Britain act on Canada's behalf. In the period just before and after the Second World War , the party became a champion of 'progressive social policy'. As prime minister for most of the time between 1921 and 1948, King introduced several measures that led to

12784-501: The former case, they appear on the ballot with "Independent" following their name; in the second case, they appear with their name only. The two options are otherwise equivalent. During the earliest Canadian Parliaments, a lack of coherent political identity among both the Liberal and Conservative parties is known to have led to Members of Parliament (MPs) occasionally demonstrating independence from their party by voting in line with

12920-608: The free trade concept and—with the exception of the replacement of the GST with the Harmonized Sales Tax in some Atlantic provinces—broke their promise to replace the GST. After a proposal for Quebec independence was narrowly defeated in the 1995 Quebec referendum , the Liberals passed the " Clarity Act ", which outlines the federal government's preconditions for negotiating provincial independence. In Chrétien's final term, he supported same-sex marriage , decriminalizing

13056-683: The frontrunners. A key moment in that race took place at an all-candidates debate in Montreal, where the discussion quickly turned to the Meech Lake Accord. Martin, favouring Meech, attempted to force Chrétien to abandon his nuanced position on the deal and declare for or against it. When Chrétien refused to endorse the deal, young Liberal delegates crowding the hall began to chant "vendu" ("sellout" in French) and "Judas" at Chrétien. The incident damaged Chrétien's reputation in Quebec, and lead to

13192-501: The governing Conservative Party voted as a unified group on 76% of all votes, while members of the Liberal Party did so on 90% of all votes, and members of the New Democratic Party (NDP) did so on 100% of votes. This unity further increased in subsequent years, as in the 42nd Parliament , following the 2015 election , the governing Liberal MPs voted identically on 99.6% of all votes, Conservative MPs on 99.5% of votes, and NDP MPs on 99.8% of votes. (Conservatives, Liberals, and NDP were

13328-535: The government's decision to not enter the United States-led invasion, with 27 percent expressing disapproval. In Chrétien's final weeks as prime minister, he introduced legislation to reduce the maximum allowable donation to a political party or candidate to $ 5,000. The move came as a surprise even to Liberal supporters, as Chrétien had not done anything about election financing at any other point in his ten years in office. Political observers suggested that

13464-419: The government-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation / Radio-Canada ) are available in both languages throughout the country. The Trudeau Liberals are also credited with support for state multiculturalism as a means of integrating immigrants into Canadian society without forcing them to shed their culture, leading the party to build a base of support among recent immigrants and their children. This marked

13600-456: The judiciary, are officially nonpartisan, providing opportunities for independents to succeed. For example, state superintendents of schools or city council members are normally politicians who identify as independent or with no party at all. This system allows voters to focus on the candidate's qualifications rather than party affiliation since this should not be stressed for these positions. In Azerbaijan , there are many independent members of

13736-737: The mid-19th century Reformers who advocated for responsible government throughout British North America . These included George Brown , Alexander Mackenzie , Robert Baldwin , William Lyon Mackenzie and the Clear Grits in Upper Canada , Joseph Howe in Nova Scotia, and the Patriotes and Rouges in Lower Canada led by figures such as Louis-Joseph Papineau . The Clear Grits and Parti rouge sometimes functioned as

13872-443: The move allowed Chrétien to retire on a positive note while saddling Martin, his longstanding rival and successor, with the burden of having to fight an election under the strict new rules. Martin succeeded Chrétien as party leader and prime minister in 2003. Despite the personal rivalry between the two, Martin was Minister of Finance during the 1990s and was the architect of the Liberals' economic policies. Chrétien left office with

14008-537: The northern state of Nuevo León and holds no political party affiliation. As of June 7, 2015 , he was elected Governor of Nuevo León, making history as the first independent candidate to win in the country. George Washington is the only U.S. president elected as an independent to date. Washington opposed the development of political parties , which had begun to solidify as the Federalist faction, centered around John Adams and Alexander Hamilton , and

14144-491: The official opposition. Ignatieff was defeated in his own riding, and announced his resignation as Liberal leader shortly after. Bob Rae was chosen as the interim leader on May 25, 2011. Pundits widely viewed the 2011 election as a political realignment and questioned the Liberal Party's viability. The Economist said, "the election represents the biggest realignment of Canadian politics since 1993"; Maclean's writer Andrew Coyne wrote that "the Conservatives are now in

14280-474: The one they had handed the Liberals nine years earlier. The Liberals were re-elected with a considerably reduced majority in 1997 , but nearly tied their 1993 total in 2000 . For the next decade, the Liberals dominated Canadian politics in a fashion not seen since the early years of Confederation. This was because of the splintering of the Progressive Conservative's electoral coalition. The PCs' Western support, for all practical purposes, transferred en masse to

14416-452: The only three parties with enough MPs to qualify for official party status in the 41st and 42nd parliaments.) Thanks to this strong party discipline, it is uncommon to see politicians who are otherwise affiliated with any of the main political parties act independently of their party. Though it is acceptable and accepted for politicians to serve as independent MPs, those who attempt to run as such often struggle to be elected without access to

14552-477: The only two parties to ever form government in Canada, only the Liberal and Conservative parties had been able to appoint new senators. Because Canadian senators are appointed by the Governor General of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister rather than being elected, senators were often accused of being appointed as a "reward" for service to the party in power, and once appointed, of simply repeating

14688-436: The opposition. Commonly, the issues which caused these MPs to act independently were religious in nature. These tensions began to disperse over the course of the first ten Canadian parliaments as the major political parties began to form consistent identities and MPs began affiliating themselves with the parties they knew more closely shared their core values. This in turn increased cohesion between parties and MPs, and minimized

14824-442: The organization of election campaigns and the development of policy. With the defeat of the Liberals in the 1957 federal election and in particular 1958 , reformers argued for the strengthening of the national party organization so it would not be dependent on provincial Liberal parties and patronage. A national executive and Council of presidents, consisting of the presidents of each Liberal riding association, were developed to give

14960-720: The party and reverted to its original name, the Independence Party of Minnesota .North Dakota elected William Langer Governor in 1933 as a member of the Republican/Nonpartisan League. He was later elected Governor in 1937 as an Independent. In 1971 , State Senator Henry Howell of Virginia , a former Democrat, was elected lieutenant governor as an independent. Two years later , he campaigned for governor as an independent, but lost by 15,000 votes. There were several unsuccessful independent gubernatorial candidates in 2006 who impacted their electoral races. In Maine , state legislator Barbara Merrill (formerly

15096-441: The party in question has selected another candidate. Others may belong to or support a political party at the national level but believe they should not formally represent it (and thus be subject to its policies) at another level. In some cases, a politician may be a member of an unregistered party and therefore officially recognised as an independent. Office-holders may become independents after losing or repudiating affiliation with

15232-463: The party more co-ordination and national party conventions were regularly held in biennially where previously they had been held infrequently. Over time, provincial Liberal parties in most provinces were separated from provincial wings of the federal party and in a number of cases disaffiliated. By the 1980s, the National Liberal Federation was officially known as the Liberal Party of Canada. Under Laurier, and his successor William Lyon Mackenzie King ,

15368-420: The party that garnered the largest share of the national popular vote did not win the most seats; the Liberals under Trudeau had 33.1 per cent of the popular vote, while the Conservatives under Andrew Scheer had 34.4 per cent. It was also the first time a government took power with less than 35 per cent of the national popular vote since the Conservatives of John A. Macdonald , in 1867, who had 34.8 per cent of

15504-471: The party's return to power in the 1921 federal election the nascent national party organizations were eclipsed by powerful ministers and local party organizations largely driven by patronage . As a result of both the party's defeat in the 1930 federal election and the Beauharnois scandal , which highlighted the need for distance between the Liberal Party's parliamentary wing and campaign fundraising,

15640-463: The points and positions of their counterparts in the House of Commons rather than acting as a means of truly independent policy review. In 2014, as a response to growing public disapproval of the Senate and the perceived problems brought about by senator partisanship, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau made the decision to expel all Liberal senators from the Liberal Party caucus. Trudeau would go on to call for an overall elimination of partisanship in

15776-501: The policy would transform Canada into a country where English and French Canadians could live together, and allow Canadians to move to any part of the country without having to lose their language. Although this vision has yet to fully materialize, official bilingualism has helped to halt the decline of the French language outside of Quebec, and to ensure that all federal government services (including radio and television services provided by

15912-560: The political party despite no longer being permitted within the party caucus. Additionally, the Conservative Party elected not to remove its senators from the party caucus, and many Conservative Party senators kept their official partisan affiliations in public. During the 2019 federal election campaign, in response to reporters' questions, Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer said that if his party were elected to form government and he became prime minister, he would reinstate

16048-431: The popular vote and 184 seats, it was the first time a party had won a parliamentary majority after placing third in a previous general election. Chantal Hébert deemed the result "a Liberal comeback that is headed straight for the history books", while Bloomberg 's Josh Wingrove and Theophilos Argitis similarly described it as "capping the biggest political comeback in the country’s history." Spencer McKay, writing for

16184-667: The popular vote in his home state of Utah but received little support from the remainder of the country. Independent senator Bernie Sanders ran in the 2016 and 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries , but ultimately did not appear on the ballot in either the 2016 nor 2020 presidential elections, though he did receive more than 5% of the popular vote as a write-in candidate in his home state of Vermont . In 2008 , Nader formed Independent Parties in New Mexico , Delaware , and elsewhere to gain ballot access in several states. In 2024 , Robert F. Kennedy Jr. created "We

16320-562: The possession of small quantities of marijuana, and ratified the Kyoto Protocol . On March 17, 2003, Chrétien announced that Canada would not support the invasion of Iraq , which caused friction with the United States. However, a poll conducted by EKOS for the Toronto Star and La Presse shortly afterwards showed widespread approval of Chrétien's decision by the Canadian public: 71 percent of those questioned approved of

16456-465: The practice of partisan appointments to the Senate. The efforts to increase senatorial independence have led some to argue the Senate has developed an increase of importance and power in the legislative process. As of 2021, it was found that Canadian senators were facing increasing pressure from lobbying groups on a variety of issues, suggesting the more independent Senate has a greater perceived influence over legislative issues. Additionally, following

16592-458: The resources of the major parties. As a result, there are seldom more than one or two independent MPs within modern Canadian Parliaments, with many who do sit as such being initially elected as a part of a major party before either leaving voluntarily or being removed. In the first year of the 44th Canadian Parliament , the House of Commons featured one sitting independent member: Kevin Vuong , from

16728-481: The seven that have been formed since the 2004 federal election ) with independent MPs sometimes sharing in the balance of power . While traditionally framed as an "independent body of sober second thought", appointments to the Senate of Canada prior to 2016 were commonly seen as highly partisan, with the majority of Canadian senators identifying themselves as members of either the Liberal or Conservative parties and serving within their party's caucus. As these have been

16864-508: The talk of being eclipsed by the NDP, who won 43 seats. Turner announced that he would resign as leader of the Liberal Party on May 3, 1989. The Liberal Party set a leadership convention for June 23, 1990 , in Calgary . Five candidates contested the leadership of the party, with former Deputy Prime Minister Jean Chrétien , who had served in every Liberal cabinet since 1965, and Paul Martin , MP and former CEO of Canada Steamship Lines , as

17000-607: The total votes cast. Independent Senators are quite rare. In 2010, a group of independent MPs who were sacked from the People's Justice Party formed a political block called Konsensus Bebas . The members were Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (Bayan Baru), Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju), Zulkifli Noordin (Kulim-Bandar Bharu), Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) and Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri (Bagan Serai). It did not last beyond

17136-495: Was Britain which determined external affairs for the dominion. In 1905, Laurier created the Department of External Affairs , and in 1909 he advised Governor General Earl Grey to appoint the first Secretary of State for External Affairs to Cabinet . It was also Laurier who first proposed the creation of a Canadian Navy in 1910. Mackenzie King recommended the appointment by Governor General Lord Byng of Vincent Massey as

17272-407: Was a loose coalition of local, provincial, and regional bodies with a strong national party leader and caucus, but with an informal and regionalized extra-parliamentary organizational structure. There was no national membership of the party. An individual became a member by joining a provincial Liberal party. Laurier called the party's first national convention in 1893 to unite Liberal supporters behind

17408-507: Was a third-place finish, with only 19 percent of the vote and returning 34 seats in the House of Commons. Notably, their support in Toronto and Montreal, their power bases for the last two decades, all but vanished. The Conservatives won 40 percent of the vote and formed a majority government, while the NDP won 31 percent of the vote and formed the Official Opposition. It marked the first time the Liberals were unable to form either government or

17544-408: Was about $ 18 billion CAD , or 26 percent of gross domestic product; by his final year in office, it had ballooned to over 200 billion—at 46 percent of GDP, nearly twice as large relative to the economy. After Trudeau's retirement in 1984, many Liberals, such as Jean Chrétien and Clyde Wells , continued to adhere to Trudeau's concept of federalism. Others, such as John Turner , supported

17680-443: Was chosen. However, the 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute made Dion's continued leadership untenable: an agreement to form a coalition government between the with NDP faced public opposition if it meant Dion was to be become prime minister, even if only until the leadership election. Dion thus resigned as leader on December 8, with caucus selecting Ignatieff as interim leader. However, Harper prorogued Parliament before

17816-610: Was considered poor and the Liberal Party never held a majority of the seats in parliament during his premiership, he left office in 1968 with an impressive legacy. Pearson's government introduced Medicare , a new immigration act, the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Student Loans, the Canada Assistance Plan , and adopted the Maple Leaf as Canada's national flag. Under Pierre Trudeau , the mission of

17952-620: Was met with controversy because many voters had not known that the Liberals had expelled him before casting their votes. In 2022, Alain Rayes , MP for the Quebec riding of Richmond—Arthabaska , resigned from the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent, becoming the second independent MP of the 44th Parliament. Independent politicians have on occasion held considerable sway in the House of Commons of Canada in recent years, as Canada has been governed by successive minority governments (five of

18088-422: Was reelected in 2018 and is running again in 2024 . During the presidency of Joe Biden , former members of Democratic Party Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin joined Sanders and King and became Independent Democrats . They are viewed as moderate Democrats and cited increasing partisanship to explain their decisions. After they changed their affiliations, the Senate had the highest number of independents in

18224-480: Was set for December 2, 2006, in Montreal . Eight candidates entered the contest, but only Michael Ignatieff , Bob Rae , Stéphane Dion and Gerard Kennedy were considered to be the capable of garnering enough support to be able to win the leadership, with Ignatieff and Rae being considered the front-runners . Although Ignatieff lead on the first two ballots, on the third ballot Dion picked up enough support from

18360-424: Was undeniably down when compared to the Senate prior to the reforms. It is generally thought that it will only be possible to judge the success of the attempted reforms accurately when a non-Liberal government is elected to the House of Commons, at which point it can be observed if the noted trend in voting represents simple loyalty to the government, or loyalty to the Liberal Party. The territorial legislatures of

18496-406: Was unprecedented for a Canadian party. Taking full advantage of the inability of Mulroney's successor, Kim Campbell , to overcome a large amount of antipathy toward Mulroney, they won a strong majority government with 177 seats—the third-best performance in party history, and their best since 1949. The Progressive Conservatives were cut down to only two seats, suffering a defeat even more severe than

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