145-578: The Port Hope Conference was a meeting of the Conservative Party of Canada at Port Hope , Canada in 1942 to develop a new party platform . The Conservative Party's popular support had been waning (particularly in western Canada) during difficult economic times from the 1920s to 1940s, as it was seen by many in the west as an eastern establishment party which ignored the needs of the citizens of Western Canada . Westerners of multiple political convictions including small-"c" conservatives saw
290-860: A CANZUK agreement that would enable mobilization of goods, trade and people between Canada , Australia , New Zealand and the United Kingdom . The party is also supportive of Israel ; Conservative leaders Andrew Scheer and Erin O'Toole have both expressed support for moving Canada's embassy to Jerusalem . The party also supports taking a tough stance against the People's Republic of China and has pledged to prevent China from entering Canada's 5G Networks. The party also calls on Canada to encourage other Western nations to prevent Chinese government backed corporations from accessing and taking control of important media, energy, internet, defense and security related infrastructure. The party supports maintaining
435-514: A landslide , the Liberal Party , led by Jean Chrétien , won a majority government . The election was called on September 8, 1993, by the new Progressive Conservative Party (PC) leader, Prime Minister Kim Campbell , near the end of her party's five year mandate. When she succeeded longtime Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and assumed office in June, the party was deeply unpopular due to
580-494: A "hidden agenda". Ultimately, Harper's new Conservatives emerged from the election with a much larger parliamentary caucus of 99 MPs while the Liberals were reduced to a minority government of 135 MPs, twenty short of a majority. In 2005, some political analysts such as former Progressive Conservative pollster Allan Gregg and Toronto Star columnist Chantal Hébert suggested that the then-subsequent election could result in
725-724: A Conservative government if the public were to perceive the Tories as emerging from the party's founding convention (then scheduled for March 2005 in Montreal) with clearly defined, moderate policies with which to challenge the Liberals. The convention provided the public with an opportunity to see the Conservative Party in a new light, appearing to have reduced the focus on its controversial social conservative agenda. It retained its fiscal conservative appeal by espousing tax cuts, smaller government, and more decentralization by giving
870-505: A boost from them. The most memorable moment involved Lucien Bouchard continuously questioning Campbell about the real deficit in the 1993 budget and Campbell dodging the question. The French debates were held on the first night. Manning, who did not speak French, read prepared opening and closing remarks, but did not participate in the debate itself. By October, the Progressive Conservatives were considerably behind
1015-712: A cost of $ 1,000 per riding. Unlike the Socreds, however, the Rhinos would eventually reform in 2006, once the 50-candidate requirement had been dropped, and began contesting federal elections again beginning with the 2008 election . Several unrecognized parties also contested the election, including the Canadian Party for Renewal (which was closely aligned with the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist–Leninist) ). This election, like all previous Canadian elections,
1160-768: A defeat of the motion in the House of Commons stated it would not seek to reopen it. In 2016, the Conservatives amended the party constitution to recognize and support same-sex marriage. The Conservative leadership has supported changing the law to allow men who have sex with men to donate blood . The party wants to keep the "Fiscal Balance" (which it introduced in its 2007 Budget while in government) in place and eliminate national debt. It also supports more simplified tax codes, controls on government spending and reductions in both personal and business taxes. Former party leader Erin O'Toole has listed economic recovery following
1305-451: A detailed account of exactly what a Liberal government would do in power. Several years of effort had gone into the creation of the document, which was unprecedented for a Canadian party. Several days later, the Progressive Conservatives released the hastily assembled A Taxpayer's Agenda , but the Liberals had captured the reputation of being the party with ideas. The Liberals were also consistently well organized and on message, in contrast to
1450-582: A far more modest plan to reduce the deficit to 3% of GDP by the end of their first term. All opposition parties pledged to repeal the Goods and Services Tax . Once elected, however, the Liberals reneged on this pledge to much outcry, stating the Conservatives had understated the size of the deficit. Instead the GST remained. In some provinces it was Harmonized with the Provincial sales tax , while in other provinces
1595-516: A focus that was seen as coming at the expense of attention to the concerns of other regions, especially the West. Reform had little money and few resources, with its candidates and campaign staff flying economy class, staying in cheap hotels, and relying on pre-packaged lunches, all which helped endear them to money-conscious fiscal conservatives. The campaign was managed by seasoned political strategist Rick Anderson . Some Reformers had been annoyed that
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#17327797844401740-631: A letter with signatures from 35 Conservative MPs calling for a leadership review on O'Toole's leadership to the Conservative caucus chair, Scott Reid . In the letter, Benzen criticized O'Toole's reversal on repealing the Liberal government's carbon tax and assault weapons ban. On February 2, 2022, O'Toole was removed as leader by a margin of 73 to 45 votes. Then-deputy leader of the Conservative Party Candice Bergen
1885-458: A low carbon savings account. In contrast to his two predecessors as leader, O'Toole is pro-choice and supports same-sex marriage. Prime Minister Trudeau called the September 2021 federal election in the hopes of winning a majority government, though in the middle of the campaign O'Toole's Conservatives were tied with the Liberals, if not slightly ahead of the Liberals in the polls . During
2030-724: A major force in Canadian politics again. In 2003, the Progressive Conservative Party disappeared entirely when it merged with the larger Canadian Alliance (successor of the Reform Party) to create the new Conservative Party of Canada . The sovereigntist Bloc Québécois won almost half of the popular vote in Quebec and became the Official Opposition . To date, this is the only time that
2175-534: A margin of 96 percent to 4 percent in a national referendum conducted by postal ballot. On December 6, the PC Party held a series of regional conventions, at which delegates ratified the Agreement-in-Principle by a margin of 90% to 10%. On December 7, the new party was officially registered with Elections Canada . Senator John Lynch-Staunton , a PC, was named interim leader, pending the outcome of
2320-481: A moderate former Liberal and Ottawa insider had been made campaign manager, but he soon proved his political ability. Reform found itself embroiled in controversy when Toronto-area candidate John Beck made a series of anti-immigrant remarks in an interview with Excalibur, the York University student paper. York students confronted Manning with the remarks, who immediately denounced them. Within an hour, Beck
2465-630: A party committed to the political secession of a region of Canada has become the Official Opposition of Canada. The traditional third party, the New Democratic Party (NDP) , collapsed to nine seats only one election after having what was then its best performance. It remains the NDP's worst result in a federal election since its formation and the only election where the party polled fewer than one million votes. The turnover of MPs
2610-420: A relatively young party with a mixed political heritage and history, the federal Conservatives are often described as a " big tent " party in a similar manner to the federal Canadian Liberals by encompassing members and voters who hold a variety of philosophies, ideas and stances, albeit sitting within the centre-right to the right-wing of the political spectrum. Broadly, the party is defined as practicing
2755-626: A result, party members were undecided on whether he should continue as leader. On October 5, the Conservative caucus voted to adopt the provisions of the Reform Act , giving caucus the power to trigger a leadership review . O'Toole denied that it represented a threat to his leadership, insisting that the caucus was united as a team and that, as a supporter of the Act, he had encouraged his caucus to adopt all of its provisions. On January 31, 2022, Conservative Calgary Heritage MP Bob Benzen submitted
2900-475: A retreat from official bilingualism . The election was held under the Election Expenses Act of 1974 . This forced parties to disclose most donations, but put few limits on who could donate and how much could be given. Individual donations up to $ 1,150 were given a tax credit , encouraging such pledges. The Conservatives had the largest budget, spending $ 10.4 million on their national campaign;
3045-505: A say in National Parole Board decisions. The party also supports the creation of a cross-federal task force to tackle organized crime, human trafficking and threats to national security. Some Conservative MPs are in favour of the death penalty. The Conservative Party has both members and MPs who favour abortion rights and members who oppose them. In the past, more Conservative members have been against abortion. However,
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#17327797844403190-402: A similar number of seats to the Liberals, and that Reform would support a continuation of her government (likely in return for some concessions on fiscal policy) over one led by Chrétien. With this in mind, Campbell asked Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn to dissolve parliament on September 8, only a few weeks before Parliament was due to expire. The election date was set for October 25. Under
3335-452: A stricter policy on illegal immigration by amending the " Safe Third Country Agreement " and the reintroduction of visa requirements for Mexico. The Conservative Party generally supports a tough law and order stance. Presently, the party argues for a national register for convicted child sexual offenders, stricter sentences against repeat offenders, ending early release for violent felons and believes that victims of violent crime should have
3480-562: A time polling indicated it could potentially have an impact. However, the party failed to make a significant impression and imploded due to internal party turmoil. Some time after the election it applied to Canada's Chief Election officer to de-register the party. Another prominent minor party was the Natural Law Party . Linked to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , it advocated yogic flying as the solution to most of Canada's ills. It ran 231 candidates, more than some major parties. Its campaign
3625-576: A year less a day after the Charlottetown referendum. These factors combined to make Mulroney the least popular leader since opinion polling began in the 1940s. The Progressive Conservative Party's popularity reached a low of just over 15% in 1991. With polls showing him facing almost certain defeat in the next election, Mulroney announced his retirement from politics in February 1993. While several senior Cabinet members had passed over contesting
3770-422: Is "non-partisan, welcoming and well-managed" that encourages merit-based immigration and enticement of skilled workers to Canada to boost the economy whilst also taking a zero tolerance stance on illegal immigration and ensuring that immigrants speak English or French. The Conservatives also want to streamline the process of granting Canadian citizenship to foreign born children adopted by Canadian nationals, speed up
3915-631: Is a social conservative; he is personally pro-life and opposes same-sex marriage, though like Harper, he stated he would not attempt to overturn the legality of both laws. The Conservative Party entered the October 2019 federal election campaign neck-in-neck with the Liberals after the SNC-Lavalin affair earlier that year involving Justin Trudeau, but the election resulted in a Liberal minority government victory. The Conservatives did, however, win
4060-555: Is also legal heir to the heritage of the historical conservative parties by virtue of assuming the assets and liabilities of the former Progressive Conservative Party upon the merger of 2003. In 1984, the Progressive Conservative Party's electoral fortunes made a massive upturn under its new leader, Brian Mulroney , who mustered a large coalition of westerners irritated over the Liberal government's National Energy Program , suburban and small-town Ontarians, and Quebec nationalists who were angered over Quebec not having distinct status in
4205-520: Is unclear what effect the ad had on the election. Prior to the controversy, the Campbell Tories were already beset by many problems; notably the recession, the unpopular GST, and their support bases moving to Reform and the Bloc. Nonetheless, the negative backlash over the television spot proved to be the final nail in the Tories' coffin. Their support plummeted into the teens, all but assuring that
4350-515: The 2003 Progressive Conservative Leadership convention , excluded any such merger. Orchard announced his opposition to the merger before negotiations with the Canadian Alliance had been completed. Over the course of the following year, Orchard led an unsuccessful legal challenge to the merger of the two parties. In October and November, during the course of the PC party's process of ratifying
4495-413: The 2015 federal election , after nearly a decade in power, the Conservatives were defeated by Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party. Harper stepped down as leader on the election day on October 19. Journalist John Ibbitson of The Globe and Mail described Harper as "the most conservative leader Canada has ever known." Following the election of the Liberals and Harper's resignation as party leader in
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4640-519: The 35th Parliament of Canada. Considered to be a major political realignment , it was one of the most eventful elections in Canada's history. Two new regionalist parties emerged, finishing second and third in seat count. Most notably, the election marked the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level and among the worst ever suffered by a governing party in the Western democratic world. In
4785-671: The Bloc Québécois led to the calling of the October 2008 federal election , in which the Conservatives won a stronger minority. Shortly after, the Conservatives fought off a vote of non-confidence by a potential governing coalition of opposition parties by proroguing parliament . In his second term, Harper's government responded to the global recession of 2007–2008 by introducing the Economic Action Plan that implemented major personal income tax cuts. However, these tax cuts, along with increases in spending to combat
4930-587: The Bloc Québécois . This party quickly gained the support of Quebec sovereigntists and access to the networks of the provincial Parti Québécois . Gilles Duceppe won a 1990 by-election, and throughout the period leading up to the election, the Bloc polled as the most popular party in Quebec. The Reform Party of Canada was a Western -based populist party led by Preston Manning , the son of former Alberta Premier Ernest Manning . Originally broadly focused on Western Canadian interests, it had quickly moved far to
5075-589: The COVID-19 pandemic as a core priority for Canada. The party also supports abolishing the Carbon Tax. At the party's March 2021 policy convention, delegates voted to reject a proposal to expand the party's existing climate change policies to include a statement that climate change is real. The Conservative Party presently supports Canada's involvement in NATO and international trade agreements, including
5220-478: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , this was the last day that the election could legally be held with the then-current enumeration still valid. In accordance with Canadian constitutional practice, Hnatyshyn granted the dissolution, beginning the seven-week campaign. At the ceremony at Rideau Hall , Campbell made the first of a series of remarks that would dog the Conservative campaign. When she
5365-935: The Christian Heritage Party , which was mainly dedicated to opposing abortion . The election saw three minor parties focused on radical reform to the monetary system: the Canada Party , the Abolitionist Party , and the Party for the Commonwealth of Canada , which was formed by supporters of U.S. fringe politician Lyndon LaRouche . This election was also the last time that the Social Credit Party attempted to run candidates in an election. The party had been in headlong decline since losing its last Member of Parliament in 1980, and
5510-597: The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation ) had been the traditional Western protest party for most of the last 40 years, but since the 1990s, they had attempted to make inroads in Quebec and had joined the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals in supporting the Charlottetown Accord. Despite sharp ideological differences, Reform's populism struck a responsive chord in disaffected NDP supporters. An election had to be called in
5655-507: The Constitution of Canada signed in 1982. This led to a huge landslide victory for the Progressive Conservative Party. In the late 1980s and 1990s, federal conservative politics became split by the creation of a new western-based protest party, the populist and social conservative Reform Party of Canada created by Preston Manning , the son of an Alberta Social Credit premier, Ernest Manning . Westerners reportedly felt betrayed by
5800-671: The Liberal-Conservative Party . The party became known simply as the Conservative Party after 1873, and the Progressive Conservative Party after 1942. Like its historical predecessors and conservative parties in some other Commonwealth nations (such as the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom ), members of the present-day Conservative Party of Canada are sometimes referred to as "Tories". The modern Conservative Party of Canada
5945-519: The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , and Mayor of Brampton Patrick Brown , former Conservative MP Leona Alleslev , former BC MLA and Conservative MP Marc Dalton , and former Huntsville mayor and Conservative MP Scott Aitchison announced their candidacies for the leadership. On May 2, 2022, the Party announced that the six verified candidates for the leadership would be Aitchison, Baber, Brown, Charest, Lewis, Poilievre. On July 6, 2022,
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6090-524: The Québécois nation motion which would "recognize Quebec as a nation within a united Canada." Despite its social conservative past in the Canadian Alliance, the government did not attempt to reverse the same-sex marriage law implemented by the Martin government nor did it attempt to make changes to abortion laws . Deadlock between the Conservatives and the Liberals, the New Democratic Party , and
6235-788: The Tories or simply the Conservatives , is a federal political party in Canada . It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) and the Canadian Alliance , the latter being the successor of the Western Canadian –based Reform Party . The party sits at the centre-right to the right of the Canadian political spectrum , with their federal rival,
6380-501: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Under its first leader, Stephen Harper , the party governed with two minority governments after the federal elections of 2006 and 2008 . It then won a majority government in the 2011 federal election before being defeated in the 2015 federal election by a majority Liberal government led by Justin Trudeau . Despite winning a plurality of the vote in each election,
6525-718: The Universal Child Care Benefit . In social policy, the government eliminated the long-gun registry , introduced mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes, raised the age of consent to 16 years of age, permitted the construction of several pipelines , and withdrew Canada from the Kyoto Protocol . The government also supported the State of Israel , negotiated the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and negotiated
6670-657: The long-gun registry . In foreign policy, the government passed the Anti-terrorism Act , launched Operation Impact to combat ISIL , negotiated the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union , and negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The Conservatives also gained controversy surrounding the Canadian Senate expenses scandal and the Robocall scandal ;
6815-621: The senate to make it a fully elected chamber. While the party platform states it is open to debate over electoral reform, it also claims it will not support changing the current electoral system. The party calls for a "restoration of a constitutional balance between the federal and provincial and territorial governments" in regards to Canadian federalism. The Conservative Party also advocates offering tax incentives, increased business investment and more political autonomy to assist and integrate Indigenous Canadian communities over state affirmative action . Historically, Conservative MPs were divided on
6960-770: The 2006 election. The government's first budget produced a nearly $ 14 billion surplus, a number slightly greater than the Martin government. The budget also drastically increased military spending and scrapped funding for the Kyoto Protocol and the Kelowna Accord . Later, the government introduced the tax-free savings account (TFSA). The government passed the Veterans' Bill of Rights , which guaranteed benefits for veterans from Veterans Affairs Canada , in addition to guaranteeing equality of veterans and referring to them as "special citizens". The government also passed
7105-494: The 2015 election, it was announced that an interim leader would be selected to serve until a new leader could be chosen. That was completed at the caucus meeting of November 5, 2015 where Rona Ambrose , MP for Sturgeon River—Parkland and a former cabinet minister, was elected by a vote of MPs and Senators. Some members of the party's national council were calling for a leadership convention as early as May 2016 according to Maclean's magazine. However, some other MPs wanted
7250-452: The Bloc would represent Quebec's interests at the federal level, with the party running candidates exclusively in Quebec while endorsing and supporting Quebec sovereignty (political independence from Canada). The Reform Party developed an extensive grassroots network in much of western Canada and Ontario. Reform's support for populist policies, such as a democratically elected and regionally equal Senate and more plebiscites and referendums in
7395-422: The Canadian model of conservatism and fiscal conservatism. Some political observers have noted the two most dominant wings of the party traditionally represented Red Tory and Blue Tory ideologies, whereas others have argued that the party has become less internally defined by these labels and that the terms tend to be used by outsiders. Other smaller but visible factional beliefs espoused by individuals within
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#17327797844407540-438: The Canadian people mostly felt that the free trade debate was over. When in office, the Liberals signed on to NAFTA with little opposition. Similarly, while constitutional issues had dominated the national debate for several years, two failed reform proposals led most to support giving the issue a rest. Chrétien promised not to reopen the constitution, and that under the Liberals any change would be incremental in nature. In Quebec
7685-479: The Conservatives less time to consolidate their merger. During the first half of the campaign, polls showed a rise in support for the new party, leading some pollsters to predict the election of a minority Conservative government. Momentum stalled after several Conservative candidates made controversial remarks about homosexuality , official bilingualism and abortion , allowing the Liberal Party to warn of
7830-796: The GST and the Provincial Sales Tax remained separate. The 1988 election had been almost wholly focused on the issue of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, and similarly, the 1993 election was preceded by the agreement on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Liberals opposed NAFTA and promised to try to renegotiate the FTA, but this was not a central campaign theme. The NDP did focus on opposition to NAFTA, but
7975-507: The Liberal war room under Roméo LeBlanc immediately contacted media outlets. This generated a severe backlash from all sides of the spectrum, including some PC candidates, and Campbell ordered them off the air. Chrétien turned the situation to his advantage, comparing his opponents to the children who teased him when he was a boy. "When I was a kid people were laughing at me. But I accepted that because God gave me other qualities and I'm grateful." Chrétien's approval ratings shot up, nullifying
8120-491: The Liberals from winning a majority, Gregg and Tory decided to launch a series of commercials attacking Chrétien . While the ad's creators claim they had meant for the line "I would be very embarrassed if he became Prime Minister of Canada" to refer to Chrétien's policies and ethics, the intercutting with images of his face and its facial deformity (caused by Bell's palsy ) were interpreted by many as an attack on Chrétien's appearance. The ad quickly received widespread attention as
8265-457: The Liberals in the polls, and it was obvious that they would not be reelected. The consensus was that the Liberals were on their way to at least a minority government , and would probably win a majority without dramatic measures. Despite this, Campbell was still far more personally popular than Chrétien. Polling found that a considerable number of potential Liberal voters held negative opinions about Chrétien. Believing they had no other way to keep
8410-430: The Liberals spent $ 9.9 million, while the NDP spent $ 7.4 million. The Bloc and Reform both spent less than $ 2 million on their national campaigns. Actual election spending is far larger than these numbers indicate: each candidate raised substantial amounts of money independently of the national campaign. In this era there were also large expenses, such as polling and fundraising costs, that did not need to be disclosed. In
8555-479: The Liberals would win a majority government. The most important issue of the 1993 election was the economy. The nation was mired in the early 1990s recession , and unemployment was especially high. The federal deficit was also extremely high, and both the Reform and Progressive Conservatives focused on cutting it as the path to economic health. Reform proposed deep cuts to federal programs in order to do this, while
8700-530: The Liberals' disappointing showing in the 1988 election, Turner stayed on for a couple of years before resigning. The party then selected veteran politician Jean Chrétien over Paul Martin as party leader after a divisive battle , but Chrétien was unpopular, especially in his native Quebec, after declaring his opposition to the Meech Lake Accord, being rocked by caucus defections. The federal Liberals were disorganized, near bankruptcy, and dropped in
8845-628: The Mulroney government's deficit spending and tax increases. The popularity of Preston Manning , and profound Western discontent with the PCs, led the Reform Party to replace the PCs as the major right-wing party in the Commons, although it won only one seat east of Manitoba . Though the Progressive Conservatives recovered slightly in the 1997 election , they lost seats in 2000 and would never be
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#17327797844408990-481: The NDP was only truly competitive in Saskatchewan - even there, they finished third place in the popular vote although it was still enough to tie the Liberals for a plurality of seats at five (one more than the Reform Party). The PC campaign was headed by chair John Tory and chief strategist Allan Gregg , both experienced Mulroney loyalists. It was the best-funded campaign, but it quickly ran into organizational problems. The party failed to get literature distributed to
9135-598: The New Democrats were elected in British Columbia . Within a few years, however, the NDP provincial ministries in both Ontario and British Columbia became deeply unpopular, and support for the federal NDP also began to fall. In a deviation from their traditional position as staunch federalists , the NDP chose to align itself with the Liberals and PCs on the "yes" side of the 1992 Charlottetown Accord . As well, new leader Audrey McLaughlin made efforts to expand party support into Quebec instead of focusing on Western alienation , having defeated Dave Barrett , who had campaigned for
9280-401: The Official Languages Act ensuring that English and French have equality of status in Canada. It also calls for the protection of Canada's history, culture and heritage. It also supports the re-establishment of the Office of Religious Freedom. The Conservative Party constitution also supports maintaining the constitutional Monarchy of Canada . The party has called for an immigration system that
9425-470: The PC campaign, which the Globe and Mail on September 25 stated was "shaping up to be the most incompetent campaign in modern political history." The Bloc Québécois benefited from a surge in support for Quebec nationalism after the failure of the Meech Lake Accord in 1990, which resulted in a number of Liberal and Progressive Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) organizing the Bloc. The Bloc's leader, Lucien Bouchard , campaigned on promising that
9570-412: The PCs for imposing the Goods and Services Tax and failing to reduce Canada's growing deficit and national debt. There was also the PC government's failure to deliver a democratically elected Senate as it had promised (while appointing unelected Senators in 1990, as it was obligated to do), its socially progressive policies, and its repeated failed attempts to officially bring Quebec into the Constitution,
9715-490: The Party announced that Patrick Brown had been disqualified "due to 'serious allegations of wrongdoing' that 'appear' to violate Canadian election law." In response, Brown hired lawyer Marie Henein , who requested the Party's dispute resolution appeal committee be convened. On September 10, 2022, Pierre Poilievre won the leadership on the first ballot in a landslide, winning over 68% of the points. On September 12, Poilievre gave his first speech to his caucus as leader. As
9860-403: The Port Hopefuls, developed a program including many Conservative dogmas such as support for free enterprise and conscription. Yet the charter also included more "radical" goals, such as full-employment, low-cost housing , trade union rights, as well as a whole range of social security measures, including a government financed medicare system. Although many Conservatives rejected the charter,
10005-565: The Progressive Conservatives suffered the most lopsided defeat for a Canadian governing party at the federal level, which was also the worst ever suffered by a governing party in the Western democratic world, losing all but 2 of their 156 seats and more than half of their vote from 1988 . The Progressive Conservatives also launched a controversial attack ad during the campaign. The Western-based Reform Party won over many traditional PC voters, particularly social conservatives , alienated Western Canadians, and fiscal conservatives who opposed
10150-408: The Progressive Conservatives to a majority government with the most seats in Canadian history, winning a majority of the seats in every province. The Liberals lost 95 seats in the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level at the time. The PCs made a strong showing in Quebec, a province where they had held few seats for much of the century. Between 1896 and 1984, they had only managed to win
10295-427: The Progressive Conservatives were less specific. The Liberals also promised cuts, focusing on the unpopular and expensive plan to buy new military helicopters to replace the aging Sea Kings . They also promised new programs such as a limited public works programme and a national child care program. The Reform Party called for a "Zero in Three" plan that would reduce the deficit to zero in three years. The Liberals had
10440-609: The Reform Party) and Progressive Conservative parties agreed to merge into the present-day Conservative Party. On October 15, 2003, after closed-door meetings were held by the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party, Stephen Harper (then the leader of the Canadian Alliance) and Peter MacKay (then the leader of the Progressive Conservatives) announced the "'Conservative Party Agreement-in-Principle", thereby merging their parties to create
10585-598: The SNC-Lavalin affair and for his wearing of brownface and blackface ; the latter incident was made public during the election campaign. Scheer announced his pending resignation on December 12, 2019, after the CBC reported that the Conservative party had been paying part of his children's private school tuition. He remained party leader, until his successor was chosen in August 2020. A leadership election to replace Scheer
10730-488: The Senate. In March 2006, Nancy Ruth joined the new Conservative Party. In the immediate aftermath of the merger announcement, some Conservative activists hoped to recruit former Ontario premier Mike Harris for the leadership. Harris declined the invitation, as did New Brunswick premier Bernard Lord and Alberta premier Ralph Klein . Outgoing Progressive Conservative leader Peter MacKay also announced he would not seek
10875-514: The Tories. In early 1989, Deborah Grey won a by-election in an Edmonton -area riding to become the first Reform MP. This came as a considerable shock to the Tories, who had dominated Alberta's federal politics for a quarter-century, and as Grey had finished a distant fourth in the general election held a few months earlier. As Conservative support collapsed over the next four years, Reform party support increased. Reform also picked up support from many longtime NDP voters. The NDP (and its predecessor,
11020-463: The West , fiscal conservatives from Atlantic Canada and Ontario , and Quebec nationalists . This coalition helped him win reelection in 1988 (an election almost wholly focused on the proposed Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement ) with a considerably smaller mandate. Over the next five years, the popularity of Mulroney and his party collapsed. The late 1980s recession badly harmed the Canadian economy, as unemployment increased dramatically and
11165-450: The accord for it to become law. The Charlottetown Accord was defeated by the Canadian people in an October 1992 referendum. In the case of the Charlottetown Accord, the majority of Canada's population voted against an agreement endorsed by every First Minister and most other political groups. This stinging rebuke against the "political class" in Canada was a preview of things to come, as the upcoming election would be held on October 25, 1993,
11310-419: The balance of power in the event of neither the Progressive Conservatives nor Liberals winning a majority, as the NDP were polling even worse than Reform, while the Bloc were considered unlikely to enter into a confidence and supply agreement with either of the two largest parties. Campbell was therefore seen as having a good chance of remaining in power if the Progressive Conservatives could at least finish with
11455-412: The campaign, O'Toole stated he would balance the budget within the next 10 years and reversed his support for repealing the Liberal government's "assault-style" weapons ban . In a similar manner to the 2019 election, the Conservatives again won the popular vote but fell short of gaining the largest amount of seats, enabling the Liberal Party under Justin Trudeau to form another minority government. As
11600-466: The campaign, however, Campbell repeatedly made statements that caused problems for the party. At the Rideau Hall event, she told reporters that it was unlikely that the deficit or unemployment would be much reduced before the "end of the century". Later in the campaign, a reporter claimed she stated "an election is no time to discuss serious issues." Campbell denied the report and declared her sentence
11745-446: The campaign, were some $ 7.5 million in debt by the end of the election, and it took years to clear this burden. The heavy debt load would hamper the party's ability to campaign in subsequent elections, and this would lead to its eventual merger with Reform's successor, the Canadian Alliance . Fourteen registered political parties contested the election, a Canadian record. Jackson and Jackson, in their book Politics in Canada , argue that
11890-420: The centre-left Liberal Party of Canada , positioned to their left . The Conservatives are defined as a " big tent " party, practising "brokerage politics" and welcoming a broad variety of members, including " Red Tories " and " Blue Tories ". From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the original Conservative Party of Canada formed numerous governments and had multiple names. However, by 1942,
12035-665: The charter still influenced party decisions. Delegates at the December 1942 party convention drafted Liberal-Progressive Manitoba Premier John Bracken , who was not even a member of the party, to be the new leader. Bracken supported the Port Hope Charter and insisted the party register this policy shift by changing its name to the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada . Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada ( CPC ; French : Parti conservateur du Canada , PCC ), colloquially known as
12180-433: The constitutional status quo in favour of increasing provincial autonomy; this was one of the most important reasons for his party's support in Quebec. He attempted to amend the constitution twice, but both reform proposals failed. The Meech Lake Accord collapsed in 1990 when the provincial legislatures of Newfoundland and Manitoba adjourned without bringing the issue to a vote; all 10 provincial legislatures had to ratify
12325-427: The dominant conservative party in Canada. The problem of the split on the right was accentuated by Canada's single member plurality electoral system, which resulted in numerous seats being won by the Liberal Party, even when the total number of votes cast for PC and Reform Party candidates was substantially in excess of the total number of votes cast for the Liberal candidate. In 2003, the Canadian Alliance (formerly
12470-469: The election was seen as a prelude to the next Quebec election and the referendum on secession that was sure to follow. The Reform Party advanced proposals in a number of areas that challenged the status quo. It proposed extensive reform to Canada's parliamentary system, including more free votes , recall elections , and change to the Senate . The party also advocated a reduction in immigration levels and
12615-473: The eponym of "Campbellmania", just as Pierre Trudeau had been the subject of late-1960s Trudeaumania . Campbell campaigned extensively during the summer, touring the nation and attending barbecues and other events. The other traditional parties were also not faring well. While John Turner and the Liberal leadership supported the Meech Lake Accord, there was significant internal disagreement, with Trudeau returning from retirement to speak out against it. After
12760-464: The failure of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords, the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax , and the early 1990s recession . The PCs were further weakened by the emergence of new parties that were competing for its core supporters. Campbell's initial efforts helped the party recover somewhat in pre-election polls before the writs were issued . However, this momentum did not last, and
12905-497: The fall of 1993, since Parliament's term would expire some time in September. By the end of the summer, Campbell's personal popularity was far ahead of that of Chrétien. Support for the Progressive Conservative Party had also increased after Campbell won the leadership, and their polling numbers were roughly equal to the Liberals, while Reform had been reduced to single digits. It was nevertheless thought likely that Reform would hold
13050-480: The federal Progressive Conservative Party, seeing it as catering to Quebec and urban Ontario interests over theirs. In 1989, Reform made headlines in the political scene when its first member of Parliament (MP), Deborah Grey , was elected in a by-election in Alberta, which was a shock to the PCs, who had almost complete electoral dominance over the province for years. Another defining event for western conservatives
13195-405: The federal budget deficit grew. Despite the government's pledges to reduce the federal deficit, it grew from $ 34.5 billion in 1984, when Mulroney took power, to more than $ 40 billion by the time Mulroney stepped down in 1993. The federal debt had also grown to $ 500 billion. Mulroney had brought in the highly unpopular Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 1991. Mulroney had also promised to change
13340-459: The financial crisis, grew the deficit to $ 55.6 billion – Canada's largest federal deficit up to that time. A March 2011 non-confidence vote that found the Harper government to be in contempt of Parliament dissolved Parliament and triggered an election . In this election, the Conservatives won a majority government . The Harper government withdrew Canada from the Kyoto Protocol and repealed
13485-471: The first ballot with 56.2% of the vote; Stronach received 34.5%, and Clement received 9.4%. Two months after Harper's election as leader, Prime Minister Paul Martin called a general election for June 28, 2004 . For the first time since the 1993 election, a Liberal government would have to deal with an opposition party that was generally seen as being able to form government. The Liberals attempted to counter this with an early election call, as this would give
13630-524: The first month of the campaign by making a series of policy-per-day announcements, which included a Goods and Services Tax reduction and a child-care allowance. These announcements played to Harper's strengths as a policy wonk, as opposed to the 2004 election and summer 2005 where he tried to overcome the perception that he was cool and aloof. Though his party showed only modest movement in the polls, Harper's personal approval numbers, which had always trailed his party's significantly, began to rise. In addition,
13775-534: The former federal Progressive Conservative Party's provincial affiliates as well as other small "c" conservative and centre-right provincial parties, such as the Saskatchewan Party . 1993 Canadian federal election Kim Campbell Progressive Conservative Jean Chrétien Liberal The 1993 Canadian federal election was held on October 25, 1993, to elect members to the House of Commons of
13920-452: The immigration policies of Justin Trudeau 's Liberal government and supports significantly restricting numbers of temporary residents and asylum seekers coming into Canada. Poilievre instead argues that immigration intake should be linked to housing supply and that the Conservatives will introduce a cap on the number of foreign workers and further border control and background screening measures of immigrants. The Conservatives also support
14065-474: The institutions of Parliament and Canada's democratic process, support for strong national defence, law and order, and Canada's history and traditions, and equal treatment for all Canadians. In recent years, the Conservative Party has repeatedly campaigned on the following policies: In its current platform, the Conservative Party states that its core objectives are to protect the lives and property of ordinary citizens, promote democratic accountability and reform
14210-407: The issue of same-sex marriage in Canada, with individuals in the party arguing for and against. During debates on Bill C-38 in 2004 which would redefine the legal definition of marriage in Canada, a majority of Conservative MPs voted against when then leader Stephen Harper allowed a free vote . Under Harper's premiership, the party proposed reopening the debate into same-sex marriage but following
14355-576: The largest share of the popular vote, and gained 26 seats. Notably, they won every single seat in Saskatchewan and all but one in Alberta . While the Conservative Party has historically been highly successful in Alberta and Saskatchewan, some point to a growing sense of Western alienation to explain the results. Following the election, Scheer faced criticism from within the party for failing to defeat Trudeau, who gained criticism for his handling of
14500-432: The latter involved robocalls and real-person calls that were designed to result in voter suppression in the 2011 election. In economic policy, the government launched Canada's Global Markets Action Plan to generate employment opportunities for Canadians by expanding Canadian businesses and investment in other countries, and balanced the budget in the 2014 federal budget , producing a minor deficit of $ 550 million. In
14645-637: The leaders of seven of the minor parties on October 5, which was broadcast on CBC Newsworld and CPAC . The National Party did not attend. Few of these parties were expected to win a seat. One exception was the National Party. Founded by Mel Hurtig, a prominent nationalist , it campaigned on a strongly economically nationalist , broadly centre-left platform focusing on opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The party ran 171 candidates, and for
14790-468: The leadership, Minister of Justice Kim Campbell quickly emerged as the leading candidate to replace Mulroney as party leader and prime minister. Despite a vigorous challenge from Environment Minister Jean Charest , Campbell emerged victorious in the June leadership election and became Canada's first female prime minister . Campbell enjoyed a brief period of high popularity upon being sworn in, becoming
14935-682: The leadership, as did former Democratic Representative Caucus leader Chuck Strahl . Jim Prentice , who had been a candidate in the 2003 PC leadership contest , entered the Conservative leadership race in mid-December but dropped out in mid-January because of an inability to raise funds so soon after his earlier leadership bid. In the end, there were three candidates in the party's first leadership election : former Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper , former Magna International CEO Belinda Stronach , and former Ontario provincial PC Cabinet minister Tony Clement . Voting took place on March 20, 2004. A total of 97,397 ballots were cast. Harper won on
15080-440: The local campaigns, forcing all the PC candidates to print their own material and thus preventing the party from putting forth a unified message. The Progressive Conservative campaign was focused on three issues: job creation, deficit reduction, and improving quality of life; the party, however, had little credibility on the first two, as over their time in office both unemployment and the deficit had increased dramatically. The party
15225-430: The main right-wing Canadian force became known as the Progressive Conservative Party. In the 1993 federal election , the PC Party's Western Canadian support transferred to the Reform Party. When it became clear that neither the PC Party nor the Reform Party or Canadian Alliance (the latter being the successor to the Reform Party) could beat the incumbent Liberals that had governed since the 1993 election, an effort to unite
15370-404: The majority of seats in that province once, in their 1958 landslide —the only other time besides 1984 that a party won more than 200 seats in an election. After winning only one seat in Quebec (out of 75) in 1980 , the Tories won 58 seats in 1984, leaving the Liberals with almost no seats outside of Montreal . Mulroney's government was based on a coalition of socially conservative populists from
15515-453: The merger, three sitting Progressive Conservative MPs — André Bachand , John Herron and former prime minister Joe Clark — announced they would not join the new Conservative Party caucus. In the months following the merger, Rick Borotsik , who had been elected as Manitoba's only PC, became openly critical of the new party's leadership, while former leadership candidate Scott Brison and former Alliance leadership candidate Keith Martin left
15660-478: The minor parties did, these deposits would be forfeit. Parties that nominated 50 candidates qualified as official parties and, most importantly, received government subsidies for advertising. The smaller parties were not invited to the main leaders debate, something Mel Hurtig of the National Party complained vehemently about. The Green Party of Canada Chief Agent Greg Vezina organized a debate between
15805-401: The most donors, with over 65,000, but the average donation was only $ 80. By contrast the 45,000 Conservative donors gave more than $ 200 on average. The NDP and Conservatives had more problems after the vote. The NDP found itself deeply in debt, but recouped some of it by selling their Ottawa headquarters to the new Ukrainian Embassy . The Conservatives, despite cutting back on spending late in
15950-461: The new Conservative Party of Canada. The parties reached a deal after several months of talks between two teams of emissaries, consisting of Don Mazankowski , Bill Davis and Loyola Hearn on behalf of the PCs, and Ray Speaker , Senator Gerry St. Germain and Scott Reid on behalf of the Alliance. On December 5, 2003, the agreement-in-principle was ratified by the membership of the Alliance by
16095-537: The next year. In the following few years, their support continued to grow, at one point leading in the opinion polls. This helped the NDP win a series of victories at the provincial level. In a surprise victory in 1990, Bob Rae led the party to office in Ontario –the first time the NDP had formed a provincial government east of Manitoba . That same year, the NDP won a by-election in Quebec to take its first-ever seat in that province. The next year, under Mike Harcourt ,
16240-441: The only advantage the Progressive Conservatives still had over him. The Tories also pointed out that Chrétien himself had used his half-paralyzed face in the campaign, with Liberal signs in Quebec that translated as "Strange-looking face, but reflect on what's inside." Furthermore, most newspapers and magazines had used similar photos that highlighted Chrétien's facial deformity. Aside from raising Chrétien's personal popularity, it
16385-523: The opposite policies. These positions gained the NDP little headway in Quebec and hurt the party's standing as the traditional voice of Western protest. The greatest difference from 1988 was the rise of two new parties that cut into the Progressive Conservatives' support and caused Mulroney's "grand coalition" to implode. After the failure of the Meech Lake Accord , Lucien Bouchard led a group of Progressive Conservative and Liberal MPs to form
16530-508: The party also received more newspaper endorsements than in 2004. On January 23, 2006, the Conservatives won 124 seats, compared to 103 for the Liberals. The results made the Conservatives the largest party in the 308-member House of Commons, enabling them to form a minority government . On February 6, 2006, Harper and his Cabinet were sworn in. The Conservative Party confronted the In and Out scandal , regarding improper election spending during
16675-451: The party as being largely uninterested in the economically unstable Prairie regions of the west at the time and instead holding close ties with the business elite of Ontario and Quebec. This resulted in R.B. Bennett 's government suffering a landslide defeat in the 1935 election , and then an even worse result under the leadership of Robert Manion in 1940 . The party was thus left without a coherent power base, not being able to compete with
16820-408: The party have been described by media commentators as liberal conservative , social conservative , right-wing populist and libertarian conservative . In an effort to create a cohesive platform following its creation, the Conservative Party declared its founding core philosophies and principles to be fiscal accountability, upholding individual rights and freedom, belief in constitutional monarchy,
16965-413: The party including former leader Erin O'Toole called on the Canadian government to grant asylum to fleeing Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters facing extradition orders to China. The party also proposes eliminating birthright citizenship unless one of the parents of a child born in Canada has permanent residency or Canadian citizenship. Incumbent Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has vocally criticized
17110-547: The party remained in opposition after losing the 2019 and 2021 elections under its second and third leaders, Andrew Scheer and Erin O'Toole respectively. Pierre Poilievre was elected leader in the 2022 leadership election . The Conservative Party is political heir to a series of right-of-centre parties that have existed in Canada, beginning with the Upper Canada Tories of the nineteenth century. John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier later founded
17255-414: The party's inaugural leadership election. The merger process was opposed by some elements in both parties. In the PCs in particular, the merger process resulted in organized opposition, and in a substantial number of prominent members refusing to join the new party. Former leadership candidate David Orchard argued that his written agreement with Peter MacKay , which had been signed a few months earlier at
17400-698: The party's policy book states that the party "will not support any legislation to regulate abortion" while in government, and the party's current leader, Pierre Poilievre, has stated that "no laws or rules will be passed that restrict women's reproductive choices" if he becomes prime minister. The party states that it supports responsible gun ownership and will "not deprive Canadian Citizens of legally owned firearms" but also calls for cost-effective gun control programs including screening all individuals wishing to purchase firearms and increased enforcement against arms trafficking. The Conservative Party does not have any provincial wings. However, it often works closely with
17545-528: The party. Brison, Herron and Martin ran for the Liberal Party in the next election, while Clark, Bachand and Borotsik retired. Three senators — William Doody , Norman Atkins , and Lowell Murray — declined to join the new party and continued to sit in the upper house as a rump caucus of Progressive Conservatives, and a fourth ( Jean-Claude Rivest ) soon left to sit as an independent. In February 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed two anti-merger Progressive Conservatives, Nancy Ruth and Elaine McCoy , to
17690-576: The political process, was very popular in Western Canada. In addition, Reform's backing of smaller government, lower taxes, the North American Free Trade Agreement , and social conservative policies as well as its opposition to the Goods and Services Tax won over many conservatives in the West and Ontario. Small-"c" conservatives in the West and Ontario who traditionally supported the Progressive Conservatives were drawn to Reform for several reasons. These conservative voters were disenchanted with
17835-449: The polls from 50 to 32 per cent, so Chrétien appointed Jean Pelletier as chief of staff to reinvigorate his leadership and reorganize his office. As the ruling Tories suffered the most backlash from the unsuccessful constitutional amendments in 1990 and 1992, the Liberals rapidly picked up support and surged to a wide lead in opinion polling. The New Democratic Party (NDP) had won a record 43 seats in 1988 under Ed Broadbent , who retired
17980-406: The proliferation of minor parties was an outgrowth of the single-issue political movements that had come to prominence in Canada in the 1980s. For instance, the environmentalist, anti-abortion, and anti-free trade movements all had closely associated parties. Each candidate required a $ 1000 deposit, an increase from $ 200 in the last election. If the candidate did not win 15% of the vote, which none of
18125-467: The provinces more taxing powers and decision-making authority in joint federal-provincial programs. The party's law and order package was an effort to address rising homicide rates, which had gone up 12% in 2004. On November 24, 2005, Harper introduced a motion of no confidence which, with the backing of the other two opposition parties, passed on November 28, 2005. This resulted in an election scheduled for January 23, 2006 . The Conservatives started off
18270-492: The right after its formation. It originally campaigned under the slogan " the West wants in ". Reform had nominated candidates in the 1988 election, but had failed to win any seats, and garnered only 2.5 per cent of the popular vote. Many Western voters had never forgiven the Liberals for the National Energy Program in the 1980s, and Mulroney's attempt to pacify Quebec caused them to rethink their support for
18415-401: The right-of-centre parties emerged. In 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the PCs merged, forming the Conservative Party of Canada. During the Conservative Party's governance of Canada from 2006 to 2015, its economic policies included reducing sales tax , reducing income taxes , reducing business taxes, balancing the national budget , creating the tax-free savings account (TFSA), and creating
18560-479: The ruling Liberal Party in the east, or the newly-formed Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and Social Credit Party in the west. After party leader Arthur Meighen failed to win a seat in the 1942 York South byelection, a group of younger Conservatives decide to meet in Port Hope to develop a new Conservative policy they hoped would bring them out of the political "wilderness". The participants, known as
18705-409: The sharp ideological differences between the two parties (as the centre-left NDP and right-wing Reform were on completely opposite sides of the political spectrum), and some went to the Liberals as well. Nationally, frustration with the PC party was also so high that some traditional NDP voters moved to the Liberals as a strategic vote . Although McLaughlin was returned in her own seat (Yukon), elsewhere
18850-416: The validation of refugee claims and give help to persecuted religious and sexual minorities whilst ensuring those who do not meet refugee status are escorted out of the country. Some MPs within the party have proposed a Canadian values test for prospective immigrants and long-term visitors, although this has not been adopted as a policy as a whole. Following the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests , several members of
18995-427: The vote through 13 rounds. Bernier would leave the Conservatives in 2018 to form the People's Party of Canada , which campaigned on right-wing populist positions in subsequent elections but failed to win a seat. Under Scheer, the Conservatives prioritized repealing the Liberal government's carbon tax , pipeline construction, and balancing the budget within five years had they formed government in 2019. Scheer
19140-464: The vote to be delayed until the spring of 2017. On January 19, 2016, the party announced that a permanent leader will be chosen on May 27, 2017. On September 28, 2016, former Speaker of the House of Commons Andrew Scheer announced his bid for the leadership of the party . On May 27, 2017, Scheer was elected as the second permanent leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, beating runner-up MP Maxime Bernier and more than 12 others with 50.95% of
19285-504: The year of the election, two traditional parties, the Liberals and Conservatives, each received about 60% of their funding from corporations and the rest from individuals. For the NDP half of the funding came from individuals, and a third came from trade unions . The Reform Party relied almost wholly on individual donations, with only some 12% coming from corporations. The Bloc relied almost solely on individual donations, as its party charter barred donations from corporations. The NDP had by far
19430-553: Was also accompanied by several million dollars of advertising, and it was successful in attracting media attention. Some accused its efforts of actually being government-subsidized marketing for yogic flying centres, which are non-profit, non-religious meditation centres. Other minor parties included the Green Party of Canada which ran 79 candidates, Libertarian Party of Canada , the Marxist–Leninist Party of Canada and
19575-445: Was also reluctant to propose new fiscal or social programs, as in Quebec they had to appeal to nationalists who opposed federal government intervention, and in the West had to appeal to Reform supporters who opposed government intervention in general. In addition, what remained of the initial euphoria over Campbell quickly wore off as the campaign progressed. Her style was initially seen as frank and honest, but as her numbers dropped she
19720-422: Was conducted under a single-member plurality (or first past the post) system in which the country was carved into 295 electoral districts, or ridings, with each one electing one representative to the House of Commons. Those eligible to vote cast their ballot for a candidate in their electoral district and the candidate with the most votes in that district became that riding's Member of Parliament. The party that has
19865-463: Was distorted; her actual quote meant that 47 days were not enough to discuss the overhaul in social policy that she thought Canada needed. The Liberals had long prepared for the campaign. They had amassed a substantial campaign war chest, almost as large as that of the Tories. On September 19, the Liberals released their entire platform, which the media quickly named the Red Book . This document gave
20010-526: Was elected interim leader the same day O'Toole was ousted, and a leadership election was subsequently scheduled for September 10, 2022. Conservative MP and former cabinet minister Pierre Poilievre , Conservative MP and former leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis , Independent (formerly Progressive Conservative) Member of Ontario Provincial Parliament Roman Baber , former leader of the now-defunct Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and former Premier of Quebec Jean Charest , former MP, former leader of
20155-467: Was forced to withdraw his candidacy. The New Democratic Party suffered badly in the election. With the rising unpopularity of the Ontario NDP government of Bob Rae , many traditional NDP voters were disenchanted and moved to the Liberal Party. In Western Canada , a portion of the NDP vote was attracted to the right-wing Reform party as a protest vote, as that party's populism struck a chord despite
20300-471: Was held in 2020, which was won by former Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole on August 24, 2020. Though running for the leadership on a "true blue" platform, O'Toole started to nudge the Conservative Party to the political centre as leader. Despite campaigning against the Liberal government's carbon tax during his leadership campaign, O'Toole reversed his position in April 2021, instead advocating for
20445-483: Was now led by fundamentalist Christian preacher Ken Campbell . Campbell briefly changed the party's name to the "Christian Freedom Party" in an attempt to appeal to social conservatives. However, the party failed to nominate the minimum 50 candidates and was deregistered by Elections Canada. The satirical Rhinoceros Party was likewise deregistered after they declined to contest the election, in protest of new electoral laws that required parties to run 50 candidates at
20590-419: Was running for the party leadership, Campbell's frank honesty was seen as an important asset and a sharp contrast from Mulroney's highly polished style (Mulroney was criticized for waiting until the last year of his mandate before resigning, leaving office only 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 months before the Tories' five-year term ended, as well as for his international farewell tour devoid of any official business). During
20735-571: Was seen as condescending and pretentious. The Tories also continued to be dogged by the long shadow of the unpopular Mulroney. Following their devastating defeat, Campbell joked "Gee, I'm glad I didn't sell my car" during her concession speech. She resigned as party leader in December. Over the course of the campaign, Progressive Conservative support steadily bled away to the other parties. The leaders debates were held October 3 and 4, and were generally regarded as inconclusive, with no party gaining
20880-526: Was stark and unprecedented for Canadian politics, with 132 MPs losing their seats . In total, 194 out of 295 ridings changed hands. The Liberal Party had dominated Canadian politics for much of the 20th century. The party had been in office for all but 22 years between 1896 and 1984 , with the Conservatives/Progressive Conservatives only forming government six times during this period. In 1984, Brian Mulroney led
21025-428: Was when Mulroney accepted the results of an unofficial Senate election held in Alberta, which resulted in the appointment of a Reformer, Stanley Waters , to the Senate. In the 1993 election , support for the Progressive Conservative Party collapsed, and the party's representation in the House of Commons dropped from an absolute majority of seats to only two. Meanwhile, the Reform Party took Western Canada and became
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