Conservative Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canad, Parti conservateur du Canada), is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum. The party received 37.6% of the popular vote in the 2008 federal election, before winning its first majority government during the election on 2 May 2011. The current party leader is Stephen Harper, who has been the Prime Minister of Canada since 2006.


The historical Conservative Party was founded by United Empire Loyalists, and was vehemently opposed to free trade and further integration with the United States, aiming instead to model Canadian political institutions after British ones. Then under the leadership of Brian Mulroney, the party emphasized market forces in the economy and reached a landmark free-trade deal with the United States. Some critics such as Simon Houpt of the Globe and Mail point out the similarities between Conservative Party marketing in Canada and the marketing of the Tea Party in the U.S.

The Conservative Party generally favours lower taxes, smaller government, more decentralization of federal government powers to the provinces modeled after the Meech Lake Accord and a tougher stand on "law and order" issues.



The Conservatives have promised to re-introduce Internet surveillance legislation that they were not able to pass, and bundle it with the rest of their crime bills. They said they plan to fast track the legislation within 100 days after taking office.

Deportations of Iraq War resisters
"Conscientious objectors" to "wars not sanctioned by the United Nations" should not be given a special "program" to "remain in Canada", according to all 110 Conservative Party MPs, who voted on this issue in the Parliament of Canada on 3 June 2008. On 13 September 2008, this refusal to set up a “special program” was reiterated by a Conservative party spokeswoman after the first such conscientious objector (Robin Long) had been deported and sentenced to 15 months in jail.

The appointment of Dr. Henry Morgentaler, an abortion rights activist, to the prestigious Order of Canada, was deplored by some Conservative MPs. The Conservative government distanced itself from the award.

The Conservative government excluded the funding of abortions in Canada's G8 health plan. Harper argued that he wanted to focus on non-divisive policies. This stance was opposed by the Liberals, NDP and international health and women's groups. The Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada, Marc Ouellet, praised this decision, but urged Harper to do more "in defence of the unborn.  In May 2010, 18 Conservative MPs addressed thousands of students at the pro-life 13th annual March for Life rally on Parliament Hill.

Party leader Stephen Harper does not oppose same-sex civil unions, but does oppose same-sex marriage. In 2005, Harper spoke at an anti-same-sex marriage rally, and declared "we can win this fight.

The party had a free vote on whether the House wanted to reopen the issue of same-sex marriage, which was defeated. In March 2011, just ahead of the expected Canadian election, the Conservatives added one line about gay rights to the "Discover Canada" booklet for new immigrants which they had published in 2009. The Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, had removed all mention of gay rights from the booklet published in 2009.
Provincial parties


The Conservative Party, while officially having no current provincial wings, largely works with the former federal Progressive Conservative Party's provincial affiliates. There have been calls to change the names of the provincial parties from "Progressive Conservative" to "Conservative". However, there are other small "c" conservative parties with which the federal Conservative Party has close ties, such as the Saskatchewan Party, the Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ), and the British Columbia Liberal Party (not related to the federal Liberal Party of Canada). The federal Conservative party has the support of many of the provincial Conservative leaders. In Ontario, successive provincial PC Party leaders John Tory, Bob Runciman and Tim Hudak have expressed open support for Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada, with former Mike Harris cabinet members Jim Flaherty, 

Tony Clement, and John Baird now ministers in Harper's government.
Support between federal and provincial Conservatives is more tenuous in some other provinces. In Alberta, relations have been strained between the federal Conservative Party and the Progressive Conservatives. Part of the federal Tories' loss in the 2004 election was often blamed on then Premier Klein's public musings on health care late in the campaign. Klein had also called for a referendum on same-sex marriage. 

With the impending 2006 election, Klein predicted another Liberal minority, though this time the federal Conservatives won a minority government. Klein's successor Ed Stelmach has generally tried to avoid causing similar controversies, however Harper's surprise pledge to restrict bitumen exports drew a sharp rebuke from the Albertan government, who warned such restrictions would violate both the Constitution of Canada and the North American Free Trade Agreement. After the 2007 budget was announced the two conservative governments in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador accused the federal Conservatives of breaching the terms of the Atlantic Accord.

As a result relations have worsened between the two provincial governments, leading Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams to publicly denounce the federal Conservatives, which has given rise to his ABC (Anything But Conservative) campaign in the 2008 election. While officially separate, federal Conservative Party documents, such as membership applications, can be picked up from most provincial Progressive Conservative Party offices. Several of the provincial parties also contain open links to the federal Conservative website on their respective websites.

The Conservative Party is political heir to a series of right-of-centre parties that have existed in Canada, beginning with the Liberal-Conservative Party founded in 1854 by Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier. The party later became known simply as the Conservative Party after 1873. 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 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.


The Conservative Party's popular support waned (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 the party as being 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. As a result of western alienation both the dominant Conservative and Liberal parties were challenged in the west by the rise of a number of protest parties including the Progressive Party of Canada, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), the Reconstruction Party of Canada and the Social Credit Party of Canada. 

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, son of Alberta Social Credit Premier Ernest Manning. It advocated deep decentralization of government power, abolition of official bilingualism and multiculturalism, democratization of the Canadian Senate, and suggested a potential return to capital punishment, and advocated significant privatization of public services.[citation needed] Westerners reportedly felt betrayed by the federal 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 MP, Deborah Grey, was elected in a by-election in Alberta, which was a shock to the PCs which had almost complete electoral dominance over the province for years. Another defining event for western conservatives 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.


With the right-wing vote split, the Liberal Party won three successive majority governments. This led the Reform Party, and subsequently the Canadian Alliance, as well as elements of the Progressive Conservative Party, to advocate "uniting the right.

Opposition to the merger/Defections
The merger process was opposed by some elements in either party. 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. The opponents of the merger were not internally united as a single internal opposition movement, and they did not announce their opposition at the same moment. The reasons for dissent varied. David Orchard argued that his written agreement with Peter MacKay, which had been signed a few months earlier at 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 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 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 due to 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 20 March 2004. A total of 97,397 ballots were cast. Harper won on the first ballot with a commanding 68.9% of the vote (67,143 votes). Stronach received 22.9% (22,286 votes), and Clement received 8.2% (7,968 votes)
Founding convention: March 2005
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 a Conservative government if the public were to perceive the Tories as emerging from the party's founding convention (then scheduled for March 2005) 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 (although most Conservatives continue to oppose same-sex marriage). It retained its populist appeal by espousing tax cuts, smaller government, a grassroots-oriented democratic reform, and more decentralization by giving 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 the perception of rising homicide rates, which had gone up 12% in 2004.

The Federal Accountability Act in response to the sponsorship scandal, President of the Treasury Board, the Honourable John Baird introduced the bill to the Canadian House of Commons on 11 April 2006. The bill was passed in the House of Commons on 22 June 2006, and was granted royal assent on 13 December 2006.

The 2006 Canadian federal budget was presented to the House of Commons by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on May 2, 2006. The government announced that the Goods and Services Tax would be lowered from 7% to 6% (and eventually to 5%); income tax cuts for middle-income earners, and $1,200-per-child childcare payment (the "Universal Child Care Benefit") for Canadian parents. On 6 June 2006, the budget was introduced for third reading in the House of Commons and was declared passed by unanimous consent as the result of procedural confusion. (The Bloc Québécois had previously indicated that it would support the budget, and its passage was never in doubt.)
On 31 October 2006, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that the government would begin taxing income trusts in 2011, which went against one of their campaign promises, causing much consternation among supporters. On 22 November 2006, Harper introduced his own motion to recognize the Québécois as forming a "nation within a united Canada". Five days later, Harper's motion passed, with a margin of 266–16; all federalist parties, as well as the Bloc Québécois, were formally behind it.

Prime Minister Harper filled five vacancies in the Senate of Canada with appointments of new Conservative senators on 29 January 2010. The appointments filled vacancies in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick, and two vacancies in Ontario. The new senators were Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu of Quebec, Bob Runciman of Ontario, Vim Kochhar of Ontario, Elizabeth Marshall of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Rose-May Poirier of New Brunswick. Throughout his time as Prime Minister, Harper has appointed a total of 38 Senators, all of which exclusively represent The Conservative Party of Canada.

This changed the party standings in the Senate, which had been dominated by Liberals, to 51 Conservatives, 49 Liberals, and five others. A Globe and Mail article has suggested Harper may invoke Section 26 of the Constitution, as his predecessor Brian Mulroney did during the GST debate, to have an extra eight senators appointed, for a total of 113, thus granting Tories an absolute majority in the Red Chamber. With the 29 November 2010 retirement of former Liberal Senator Peter Stollery, Harper was in a position to appoint another Conservative Senator, bringing the Conservatives an absolute Senate majority with 53 of 105 seats. By the end of 2011 an additional four Liberals, a Progressive Conservative (not aligned with the Conservative Government), and one Conservative will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75.
Conservatives found in contempt of Parliament 2011
The Conservative government was defeated in a non-confidence vote on 25 March 2011, after being found in contempt of parliament, thus triggering a general election. This was the first occurrence in Commonwealth history of a government in the Westminster parliamentary tradition losing the confidence of the House of Commons on the grounds of contempt of Parliament. The non-confidence motion was carried with a vote of 156 in favour of the motion, and 145 against.

Peggy Nash

(States Twitter)-Peggy A. Nash (born June 28, 1951) is a Canadian labour official and politician. She was a New Democratic Party Member of Parliament from 2006 to 2008, representing the Parkdale—High Park riding in the House of Commons. She was elected President of the NDP on August 16, 2009 in the party's convention in Halifax. She was the NDP's candidate in Parkdale—High Park for the 2011 federal election and defeated Gerard Kennedy, to regain her seat.
Member of Parliament
Nash unsuccessfully first ran in the Parkdale–High Park riding in the 2004 Canadian federal election. She lost a close contest to the incumbent Liberal Member of Parliament Sarmite Bulte. Nash ran again in the 2006 federal election, in a rematch of the 2004 campaign. Bulte came under heavy criticism as she received campaign donations from entertainment companies, which was considered a conflict of interest given she supported stricter copyright laws. Nash narrowly won the election by a 4.6% margin or 2301 votes.
Awards


She has been involved with many organizations advancing women's equality. She was a founding member of Equal Voice, an all-party organization which advocates for the election of more women in Canada,and was a recipient of a Certificate of Honour from the City of Toronto for her contribution to women’s equality.
In 2006, Now named Nash the Best MP in Toronto.Before she served in the House of Commons, she was active in foreign-affairs matters including being a Canadian election monitor in the first post-apartheid elections in South Africa in 1994; and, an election monitor in both the 2004 and 2007 Ukrainian elections. She was the recipient of two environmental awards from the Sierra Club of Canada and she helped create the NDP Green Car Strategy with Greenpeace and the Canadian Auto Workers.
In February 2009, in recognition for her work as a trailblazer who opened doors for women in the labour movement, and making childcare issues a public priority, Nash became the recipient of the 2009 YWCA Toronto Woman of Distinction award, in the Labour category. The YWCA also recognized her contributions for advancing the women's causes in politics, through her involvement with the founding of Equal Voice and becoming an elected member of the House of Commons. She was presented with the award at the 29th Annual YWCA Women of Distinction Awards Dinner, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Wednesday May 13. 2009.


Life prior to politics


Nash was born in Toronto, and holds an Honours B.A. in French language and literature from the University of Toronto and is fluent in English, French and Spanish. Nash has lived in the Parkdale—High Park electoral district for over twenty years, where she is married with three sons. In the years before she ran for parliament, Nash worked as a ticket agent and union activist with the Canadian Airline Employees Association. When that union merged with the Canadian Auto Workers in 1985, she became an assistant to national president Bob White. When he stepped down, she continued in that same capacity with his successor Basil "Buzz" Hargrove. She worked as a labour negotiator in the transportation, service and manufacturing sectors and was the first labour woman responsible for major auto negotiations in North America, when she negotiated the 2005 Ford Canada contract.

Jack Layton

Kohn Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC, MP (born July 18, 1950) is a Canadian social democratic politician and the next leader of the opposition, who has been the leader of the New Democratic Party since 2003. He previously served on Toronto City Council, also serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of Toronto, Ontario. On June 28, 2004, he was elected Member of Parliament for the constituency of Toronto—Danforth. He is married to fellow MP Olivia Chow.
The son of a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, Layton was raised in Hudson, Quebec. He rose to prominence in Toronto municipal politics where he was one of the most prominent left-wing voices on city and metro council, and was also a Board member for the Toronto Port Authority. In 1991 he ran for mayor, but lost to June Rowlands

Remaining on council he rose to become head of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. In 2003 he was elected head of the NDP on the first ballot of the convention.
Under his leadership, the NDP considerably increased their support, almost doubling the party's popular vote in the 2004 election, though vote splitting with the Liberals limited their gain in seats. Layton's NDP held balance of power in Paul Martin's minority government, where in May 2005 the NDP supported the Liberal budget in exchange for major amendments, in what was promoted as Canada's "First NDP budget" In November of that year, Layton worked with other opposition parties in bringing down the Liberal government over the findings of the Gomery Commission. The NDP saw further gains in the 2006 and 2008 elections, in which the party won more seats than it had since its 1980s peak. The NDP's tally of thirty-seven MPs under Layton in the 2008 election is just six seats short of the party's all-time high under Ed Broadbent. In the 2011 election Layton led the NDP to a historic total of 102 seats and to form the official opposition.




At York and Ryerson, Layton developed close links with a number of Toronto figures including John Sewell and David Crombie. He was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1982, in a surprise upset against incumbent Gordon Chong. He quickly became one of the most outspoken members of council, and a leader of the left wing. He was one of the most vocal opponents of the massive SkyDome project, and an early advocate for rights for AIDS patients. In 1984, he was fined for trespassing when he handed out leaflets at the Eaton Centre during a strike by Eaton's staff, but the charge was later thrown out on freedom of speech grounds. Layton was also one of the few opponents to Toronto's bid for the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 1985, he moved to the Metropolitan Toronto council, in the first direct elections for members of that body. In the 1988 municipal elections, Layton traded places with City Council ally Dale Martin, with Martin going to Metro and Layton returning to Toronto City Council. Layton was easily elected in a contest with former high school teacher Lois MacMillan-Walker. The election was a major victory for Layton as the reformist coalition of which he was the de facto head gained control of City Council, the first time in city history a coalition of New Democrats and independents controlled council.



Layton was elected leader of the NDP at the party's leadership convention in Toronto, on January 25, 2003. Layton won on the first ballot with 53.5% of the vote, defeating Bill Blaikie, Lorne Nystrom, Joe Comartin and Pierre Ducasse. His campaign was focused on the need to reinvigorate the party, and was prominently endorsed by former NDP leader Ed Broadbent.


During the 2004 Canadian federal election, controversy erupted over Layton's accusation that Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin was responsible for the deaths of homeless people because he failed to provide funding for affordable housing. While rates of homelessness and homeless deaths increased during the eleven years of Liberal government, the link to Martin's decisions was indirect as affordable housing is a mainly provincial jurisdiction. Layton's charge was defended by some, including the Ottawa Citizen, but most attacked it as inaccurate and negative campaigning. Moreover the controversy consumed the campaign, overshadowing policy announcements over the next week.

With the ruling Liberal Party being reduced to a minority government, revelations of the sponsorship scandal damaging its popularity to the point where both the Conservative Party and the Bloc Québécois were pressing their advantage for a snap election, the Prime Minister approached the NDP for its support. Layton demanded the cancellation of proposed corporate tax cuts and called for an increase in social spending. The ensuing compromise in the NDP's favour was protested by the other opposition parties who used it as a pretext to force a non-confidence vote. On May 19, two such votes were defeated and Layton's amendments went on to be passed on its final reading vote on June 23. As a result of this political coup and his apparent civil behavior in a spitefully raucous parliament, many political analysts have noted that Layton has gained increased credibility as an effective leader of an important party, becoming the major second choice leader in many political polls - for example, polling second in Quebec after Gilles Duceppe, despite the low polls for his party as a whole in the province.

On March 26, 2011, Duceppe stated that Harper had tried to form a coalition government with the Bloc and NDP in response to Harper's allegations that the Liberals may form a coalition with the Bloc and the NDP.Stephen Harper privately met with Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe and New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton in a Montreal hotel. The meeting took place between the three party leaders happened 2 months after the federal election. On September 9, 2004, the three signed a letter addressed to then-Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, stating,
We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation. We believe that, should a request for dissolution arise, this should give you cause, as constitutional practice has determined, to consult the opposition leaders and consider all of your options before exercising your constitutional authority.
Conservative minority government
The NDP had the balance of power in the 39th Parliament. 

The Speaker votes only in a tie, so that reduces the Liberal caucus by one, enabling the Conservatives to pass legislature with the cooperation of the NDP (125 + 29 = 154 versus 100 + 51 + 2 = 153). The Conservatives were able to pass legislation with either Liberal or Bloc Québécois support.

At the NDP's 22nd Convention, held on September 10, 2006, in Quebec City, Layton received a 92-per-cent approval rating in a leadership vote, tying former Reform Party leader Preston Manning's record for this kind of voting. At the same convention, the NDP passed a motion calling for the return of Canadian Forces from Afghanistan. On September 24, 2006, he met with Afghan president Hamid Karzai to discuss the NDP position. After the meeting Layton stated that Canada's role should be focused on traditional peacekeeping and reconstruction rather than in a front line combat role currently taking place.

Layton started off the 2008 federal election campaign with a speech similar to that of US presidential nominee Barack Obama. Layton denied that he was consciously trying to draw comparisons with Obama, saying "I mean, I am a lot shorter than he is. He is a brilliant orator. I'm never going to claim to be that. But what I have noticed is that the key issues faced by the American middle class, the working people of the U.S. and their concerns about their families' futures, are awfully similar to the issues that I hear in Canada." Layton said that he has also written to Obama and Hillary Clinton saying that the North American Free Trade Agreement had hurt working people in both countries "and those stories have to be told.

The 40th session of parliament began on November 27, 2008, with a fiscal update by the Conservatives that outlined their agenda for the upcoming term. This included a temporary suspension of Federal employees' right to strike and a removal of monetary subsidies for political parties. All three opposition parties including the NDP stated that they could not support this position. Layton along with Liberal leader Stéphane Dion and Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe began negotiations to form a coalition that would replace the Conservatives as the government. The three opposition parties planned to table a motion of non-confidence in the House of Commons, and counted on the likelihood that the Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, would invite the coalition to govern instead of dissolving parliament and calling an election so soon after the last election. It has often been suggested that had Layton planned the coalition prior to the fiscal update and then persuaded Dion to sign on.

The day after the successful passing of the motion, Layton started the NDP election campaign, first with a speech in Ottawa followed later in the day by an event in Edmonton, Alberta. Questions about Layton's health due to a recent hip surgery have often been directed to him during the campaign, with Layton insisting that he is healthy enough to lead. On March 29, 2011 the New Democrats presented their first real campaign promise, a proposal to cap credit card rates in order to reduce credit card debt. Unlike the previous election, Layton stated he was in favour of Green Party leader Elizabeth May speaking at the leaders debates, despite the fact that she was once again being discouraged by the Canadian media networks. The NDP also embarked upon the largest advertising campaign in its history, focusing on the Government's health care record. He also dedicated the federal election campaign to former Saskatchewan Premier Allan Blakeney, who passed away about halfway through the campaign.

Jack Layton was born in Montreal and reared in nearby Hudson, Quebec, a comfortable and largely anglophone community.His parents were Robert Layton and Doris Elizabeth Steeves. He was elected student council president of his high school, Hudson High School, and his yearbook predicted that he would become a politician. He studied political science at McGill University, where he became a Brother of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. In 1969, at age 19, he married his high school sweetheart Sally Halford, with whom he had two children, Mike (who is currently a Toronto City Councillor), and Sarah. Layton and Halford's marriage ultimately ended in 1983 after 14 years. In 1969 and 1970 he was the Prime Minister of the Quebec Youth Parliament.

In 1970, the family moved to Toronto where Layton went to York University to obtain his Ph.D. in political science. Layton then became a professor at Ryerson University. He also became a prominent activist for a variety of causes. He has written several books, including Homelessness: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis and, more recently, a book on general public policy, Speaking Out.
Layton comes from a long line of politicians. His great-granduncle, William Steeves, was a Father of Confederation. His great-grandfather Philip Layton was a blind activist who founded the Montreal Association for the Blind in 1908 and led a campaign for disability pensions in the 1930s. Philip Layton was the senior partner in the family business, Layton Bros. Pianos. Layton Pianos had been made in London, England since 1837, and Philip Layton had emigrated to Montreal at age 19. Jack Layton's grandfather, Gilbert Layton, was a cabinet minister in the Union Nationale government of Maurice Duplessis in Quebec, and resigned due to the provincial government's lack of support for Canadian participation in World War II. His father, Robert Layton, was a Liberal Party activist in the 1960s and 1970s, and served as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet minister in the 1980s.

New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party (French: Nouveau Parti démocratique), commonly referred to as the NDP, is a social-democratic federal political party in Canada. The party is regarded as falling on the left in the Canadian political spectrum. The leader of the federal NDP is Jack Layton. The provincial NDP parties in Manitoba and Nova Scotia currently form the government in those provinces. Provincial parties have previously formed governments in British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, and the territorial party formed the government in Yukon. In May 2011, the NDP gained the title of Official Opposition of the Canadian Federal Government due to the party's runner-up finish in the 2011 Canadian Federal Election.


20th century
Origins and early history
In 1956, after the birth of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) by a merger of two previous labour congresses, negotiations began between the CLC and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) to bring about an alliance between organized labour and the political left in Canada. In 1958 a joint CCF-CLC committee, the National Committee for the New Party (NCNP), was formed to create a "new" social-democratic political party, with ten members from each group. The NCNP spent the next three years laying down the foundations of the New Party. During this process, a large number of New Party Clubs were established to allow like-minded Canadians to join in its founding, and six representatives from New Party Clubs were added to the National Committee. In 1961, at the end of a five-day long Founding Convention which established its principles, policies and structures, the New Democratic Party was born and Tommy Douglas, the long-time CCF Premier of Saskatchewan, was elected its first leader. In 1960, before the NDP was founded, one candidate, Walter Pitman, won a by-election under the New Party banner.


Trudeau minority
At the 1971 leadership convention, an activist group called The Waffle tried to take control of the party, but were defeated by David Lewis with the help of trade union members. The following year, most of The Waffle split from the NDP and formed their own party. The NDP itself supported the minority government formed by the Pierre Trudeau-led Liberals from 1972 to 1974, although the two parties never entered into a coalition. Together they succeeded in passing several socially progressive initiatives into law such as pension indexing and the creation of the crown corporation Petro-Canada.
In 1974, the NDP worked with the Progressive Conservatives to pass a motion of non-confidence, forcing an election. However, it backfired as Trudeau's Liberals regained a majority government, mostly at the expense of the NDP, which lost half its seats. Lewis lost his own riding and resigned as leader the following year.
Rising popularity
Under the leadership of Ed Broadbent (1975–1989), the NDP played a critical role during Joe Clark's minority government of 1979-1980, moving the non-confidence motion on John Crosbie's budget that brought down the Progressive Conservative (PC) government, and forced the election that brought Trudeau's Liberal Party back to power.
In the 1984 election, which saw the Progressive Conservatives win the most seats in Canadian history, the NDP won 30 seats, only one behind the 31 it won in 1972. The governing Liberals were decimated, falling to 40 seats in what was at the time the worst defeat of a sitting government at the federal level. The NDP fared far better than expected, considering the PC party had won the biggest majority government in Canadian history. Third parties historically do not do well in landslide election contests. More importantly, they were only 10 seats behind the Liberals — the closest the party and its predecessors had ever got (up to that point) to one of the two major parties, and the best performance for a third party in almost 60 years. This led to some talk that Canada was headed for a UK-style Tory-versus-Labour division,[citation needed] with the NDP pushing the Liberals into oblivion. Afterwards, Broadbent himself consistently out-polled Liberal leader John Turner and even Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.


Decline
At the party's leadership convention, former B.C. Premier Dave Barrett and Audrey McLaughlin were the main contenders for the leadership. During the campaign, Barrett argued that the party should be concerned with western alienation, rather than focusing its attention on Quebec. The Quebec wing of the NDP strongly opposed Barrett's candidacy, with Phil Edmonston, the party's main spokesman in Quebec, threatening to resign from the party if Barrett won. Barrett's campaign was also hurt when his back-room negotiations with leadership rival Simon De Jong were inadvertently recorded by the latter's CBC microphone. In these discussions, De Jong apparently agreed to support Barrett in exchange for being named House Leader, but he changed his mind at the last minute and supported McLaughlin instead, announcing his endorsement of her before the vote. In the course of his discussion with Barrett, De Jong explained "It's a head and heart thing," i.e., that his head told him to go with Dave while his heart told him to go with Audrey. McLaughlin won the leadership on the fourth ballot, becoming the first woman in Canada to lead a political party.


Into the 21st century
Recovery
The party recovered somewhat under new leader Alexa McDonough, electing 21 New Democrats in the 1997 election. The NDP made a breakthrough in Atlantic Canada, unseating Liberal ministers David Dingwall and Doug Young. The party was able to harness the discontent of Maritime voters, who were upset over cuts to employment insurance and other social programs.
Afterwards, McDonough was widely perceived as trying to move the party toward the centre of the political spectrum, in the Third Way mould of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Union leaders were lukewarm in their support, often threatening to break away from the NDP, while Canadian Auto Workers head Buzz Hargrove called for her resignation. MPs Rick Laliberté and Angela Vautour crossed the floor to other parties during this term, to the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives respectively, reducing the NDP caucus to 19 seats.
Jack Layton elected leader
McDonough announced her resignation as party leader for family reasons in June 2002, and was succeeded by Jack Layton. A Toronto city councillor and recent President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Layton was elected at the party's leadership election in Toronto on January 5, 2003, defeating his nearest rival, longtime Winnipeg-area MP Bill Blaikie, on the first ballot with 53.5% of the vote.
2004 election
The 2004 election produced mixed results for the NDP. It increased its total vote by more than a million votes; however, despite Layton's optimistic predictions of reaching 40 seats, the NDP only gained five seats in the election, for a total of 19. The party was disappointed to see its two Saskatchewan incumbents defeated in close races  by the new Conservative Party (formerly Canadian Alliance), perhaps due to the unpopularity of the NDP provincial government. Those losses caused the federal NDP to be shut out in Saskatchewan for the first time since the 1965 election, despite obtaining 23% of the vote in the province.
2006 election
On 9 November 2005, after the findings of the Gomery Inquiry were released, Layton notified the Liberal government that continued NDP support would require a ban on private healthcare. When the Liberals refused, Layton announced that he would introduce a motion on 24 November that would ask Martin to call a federal election in February to allow for several pieces of legislation to be passed. The Liberals turned down this offer. On 28 November 2005, Conservative leader Stephen Harper's motion of no confidence was seconded by Layton and it was passed by all three opposition parties, forcing an election. Columnist Andrew Coyne has suggested that the NDP was unlikely to receive much credit for continuing to further prop up the Liberals, so they ended their support for the Martin government.
Conservative minority
The Conservative Party won a minority government in the 2006 election, and initially the NDP was the only party that would not be able to pass legislation with the Conservatives. However, following a series of floor crossings, the NDP also came to hold the balance of power.
There have been four confidence votes in the 39th parliament, and the NDP is the only party to have voted against the Conservatives on all of them. These were votes on the United States-Canada softwood lumber dispute, extending the mission to Afghanistan, the 2006 Canadian federal budget and 2007 federal budget. On other issues the NDP has worked with the Conservatives. After forcing the Conservatives to agree to certain revisions, the NDP helped pass the Accountability Act. After the NDP fiercely criticized the initial Conservative attempt at a Clean Air Act, the Conservatives agreed to work with the NDP and other parties to revise the legislation.
2011 election: Official Opposition
In the 2011 federal election the NDP won a record 102 seats, becoming the Official Opposition for the first time in the party's history.
The party had a historic breakthrough in Quebec, where they won 58 out of 75 seats. This meant that a majority of the NDP's MPs now came from a province where they had previously only ever elected two candidates (Thomas Mulcair and Phil Edmonston) in the party's history. The NDP's success in Quebec was mirrored by the collapse of the Bloc Québécois, which lost all but 4 of its 47 seats.
The NDP was, however, shut out of Saskatchewan and won only one seat (Edmonton—Strathcona) in Alberta. They also did not win any seats in Prince Edward Island.
Principles and policies


The NDP evolved from a merger of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). The CCF grew from populist, agrarian and democratic socialist roots into a modern social-democratic party. Although the CCF was part of the Christian left and the Social Gospel movement, the NDP is secular and pluralistic. It has broadened to include concerns of the New Left, and advocates issues such as gay rights, international peace, and environmental stewardship.
New Democrats today advocate, among other things:
Gender equality and equal rights for LGBT residents
Improving environmental protection through government regulations
National water safety standards
Increasing corporate taxes
Reducing poverty in Canada
Aggressive human rights protection
Expanding funding for public transportation
Expanding public health care, including dental and prescription drug coverage
Social assistance policies that reflects citizens' needs and assist their re-entry to the work force
Abolishing the unelected Senate of Canada and ensuring more proportional representation
Workers' rights including raising the minimum wage to pace the cost of living
Aboriginal peoples' treaty, land, and constitutional rights
A foreign policy that emphasizes diplomacy, peacekeeping, and humanitarian aid instead of offensive military action
Renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
One wing is focused on ending the Canadian War on Drugs and legalizing recreational drugs


Electoral achievements


The NDP has never formed the federal government, but has at times wielded influence during federal minority governments, such as in the recent 40th Parliament as well as the preceding 39th and (particularly) the 38th Parliaments of 2004-2008. The NDP also enjoyed considerable influence during the earlier minority Liberal governments of Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau, due to being a large enough group to decide outcomes when the others are split. Provincial New Democratic Parties, technically sections of the federal party, have governed in half the provinces and a territory. They currently govern the provinces of Manitoba and Nova Scotia, form the Official Opposition in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and have sitting members in every provincial legislature except those of Quebec (where there is no provincial NDP), New Brunswick (although the New Brunswick NDP had an elected member until 2006) and Prince Edward Island. They have previously formed governments in the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, and in the Yukon Territory. The NDP also formed the official opposition in Alberta during the 1980s.
The New Democrats are also active municipally, and have been elected mayors, councillors, and school and service board members — Toronto mayor David Miller was a leading example, although he did not renew his membership in 2007. Similarly, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson began his political career as the NDP MLA for Vancouver-Fairview. Most municipal office-holders in Canada are usually elected as independents or with autonomous municipal parties.
Current members of Parliament


The 2008 federal election gave the NDP 37 seats. Twelve of its MPs are women; after the general election this represented 32% of its seats (down from 41% in 2006 where it had the highest proportion of women that has ever existed in a Canadian parliamentary caucus with official party status.) For a list of NDP MPs and their critic portfolios, see New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet.
Senator Lillian Dyck initially chose to associate herself with the NDP upon her appointment to the Senate in 2005. However the party did not allow her to be part of the parliamentary caucus, as the NDP favours the abolition of the Canadian Senate. Dyck sat in the Senate as an Independent New Democrat from 24 March 2005 until 15 January 2009, when she joined the Liberal Party of Canada caucus.
Two MPs who were re-elected in 2008, Dawn Black and Judy Wasylycia-Leis, have since retired from the House of Commons. The party retained Black's seat in the resulting by-election; however the party failed to retain Wasylicia-Leis' seat, losing the by-election to the Liberal Party.

Alfred Apps

William Alfred Apps is a Canadian lawyer, businessman and prominent activist in both the Liberal Party of Canada and the Ontario Liberal Party. He is currently counsel to  a Canadian law firm, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin, based in its Toronto office. Apps is associated with a number of philanthropic and charitable causes. He has five daughters.


Alfred Apps was born in Brantford, Ontario in 1957, the son of Arthur Carlyle Apps (b. 1933) and Margaret Imogene (Gracey) Apps (1932–2005), the eldest of seven children. He spent his formative years in Woodstock, Ontario and attended high school at Woodstock Collegiate Institute.



Apps joined Fasken Martineau as an associate in 1989 and was named partner in 1991. In 1993, he withdrew from the partnership on being named CEO of The Lehndorff Group (an international commercial real estate firm with assets in Canada, the United States and Europe), where he led a 47-lender $1 billion debt restructuring and oversaw the creation of one of Canada's first Real Estate Investment Trusts.

In 1998 he led a business combination between Lehndorff and Dundee Realty Corporation and, following a short period as President and COO of the successor corporation, was appointed CEO of Newstar Technologies Inc. In 2001, upon completing a merger of Newstar with three of its principal U.S. competitors together with a US$140 million first-round equity financing, he rejoined the partnership at Fasken Martineau, where he continues to practice corporate/commercial law specializing in corporate mergers, acquisitions and financings.

Over his career, Apps has led companies and raised capital in Canada, the United States and Europe. He has also served on the Board of Directors of a number of other public and private companies.



Apps has long been recognized as a leading counsel in the area of restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, private equity investment and infrastructure finance. He has been ranked by Lexpert  and UK-based Practical Law Company [3] as one of Canada's leading lawyers in these fields. In 2009, he acted as debtor counsel in the $32BN restructuring of the Canadian third party (i.e. non-bank) asset-backed commercial paper market, the largest debt restructuring in Canadian history.



Although involved politically from the age of 15, Apps first came to prominence within the Liberal party in 1979 when, at age 22, he was elected Executive Vice-President of the Ontario Liberal Party. As a young Liberal, he also was involved in launching the reform movement of the Liberal Party at the national biennial convention of 1982, which culminated in the National Reform Convention of the Liberal Party, held in Halifax in 1985. His activities as a 'reformer' earned him the label of 'bete noir' from Senator Keith Davey, the Liberals' campaign director under Prime Ministers Pearson, Trudeau and Turner.

In 1984, he was appointed chief Ontario organizer for the successful John Turner leadership campaign. While studying law, he was a speechwriter for David Peterson, then Leader of the Opposition in Ontario, as well as for several cabinet ministers in the last Canadian government led by Pierre Trudeau.
Other affiliations and activities


In addition to being a longtime member of the Huron University College Corporation, Apps served as Chair of the Foundation Board for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in 2006-2007. He was President of the Empire Club of Canada for the 2009 - 2010 year and has been active in a number of arts and youth-oriented charities. An active Anglican, he serves on committees of the Provincial Synod Executive Council of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario.

Michael Ignatieff

(States Twitter)-Michael Grant Ignatieff P.C. MP (pronounced /ɪɡˈnæti.ɛf/; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian politician who has been the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition in Canada since 2009. Known for his work as a historian, author, university professor and diplomat, Ignatieff held senior academic posts at the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, Harvard University and the University of Toronto before entering politics in 2006.
In the 2006 federal election, Ignatieff was elected to the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Etobicoke—Lakeshore. That same year, he ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party, ultimately losing to Stéphane Dion on the fourth and final ballot. He served as the party's deputy leader under Dion, and held his seat in the 2008 federal election.
On November 14, 2008, Ignatieff announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Party to succeed Dion. On December 10, he was formally declared the interim leader in a caucus meeting; his succession as leader was ratified at the party's May 2009 convention.
On May 2, 2011, Ignatieff lost his seat in Parliament while the Liberal Party lost 46 seats, placing a distant third behind the Conservatives and NDP. The following day he resigned as leader of the party.


Family


Ignatieff numbers many prominent Canadian and Russian historical figures from both sides of his family among his ancestors.[citation needed] His paternal grandfather was Count Pavel Ignatieff, the Russian Minister of Education during the First World War and son of Count Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev, an important Russian statesman and diplomat. His mother's grandfathers were George Monro Grant and Sir George Robert Parkin, and her younger brother was the Canadian Conservative political philosopher George Grant (1918–1988), author of Lament for a Nation.
His great-aunt Alice Parkin Massey was the wife of Canada's first home-grown Governor General, Vincent Massey. He is also a descendant of William Lawson, the first President of the Bank of Nova Scotia.


Early life and education


Ignatieff was born on May 12, 1947 in Toronto, the elder son of Russian-born Canadian diplomat George Ignatieff and his Canadian-born wife, Jessie Alison (née Grant). Ignatieff's family moved abroad regularly in his early childhood as his father rose in the diplomatic ranks. George Ignatieff was a diplomat and chief of staff to the prime minister under Lester Bowles Pearson. He also worked for Pearson's leadership campaigns.
At the age of 11, Ignatieff was sent back to Toronto to attend Upper Canada College as a boarder in 1959. At UCC, Ignatieff was elected a school prefect as Head of Wedd's House, was the captain of the varsity soccer team, and served as editor-in-chief of the school's yearbook. As well, Ignatieff volunteered for the Liberal Party during the 1965 federal election by canvassing the York South riding. He resumed his work for the Liberal Party in 1968, as a national youth organizer and party delegate for the Pierre Elliott Trudeau party leadership campaign..


Human rights policy
In 2000, Ignatieff accepted a position as the director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Ignatieff's influence on policy continued to grow, helping to prepare the report The Responsibility to Protect for the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. This report examined the role of international involvement in Kosovo and Rwanda, and advocated a framework for 'humanitarian' intervention in future humanitarian crises. He delivered the Massey Lectures in 2000, entitled The Rights Revolution, which was released in print later that year. Would eventually become a participant and panel leader at the World Economic Forum in Geneva.


Writings
Michael Ignatieff is a historian, a fiction writer and public intellectual who has written several books on international relations and nation building. He has written seventeen books, and has been described by the British Arts Council as "an extraordinarily versatile writer," in both the style and the subjects he writes about. He has contributed articles to newspapers such as The Globe and Mail and The New York Times Magazine. Maclean's named him among the "Top 10 Canadian Who's Who" in 1997 and one of the "50 Most Influential Canadians Shaping Society" in 2002. In 2003, Maclean's named him Canada's "Sexiest Cerebral Man.
Fictional works
His fictional works, Asya, Scar Tissue, and Charlie Johnson in the Flames cover, respectively, the life and travels of a Russian girl, the disintegration of one's mother due to neurological disease, and the haunting memories of a journalist in Kosovo. In all three works, however, one sees elements of the author's own life coming through. For instance, Ignatieff travelled to the Balkans and Kurdistan while working as a journalist, witnessing first hand the consequences of modern ethnic warfare.


Canadian studies
In The Rights Revolution, Ignatieff identifies three aspects of Canada's approach to human rights that give the country its distinctive culture: 1) On moral issues, Canadian law is secular and liberal, approximating European standards more closely than American ones; 2) Canadian political culture is socially democratic, and Canadians take it for granted that citizens have the right to free health care and public assistance; 3) Canadians place a particular emphasis on group rights, expressed in Quebec's language laws and in treaty agreements that recognize collective aboriginal rights. "Apart from New Zealand, no other country has given such recognition to the idea of group rights," he writes.


Political career


In 2004, three Liberal organizers, former Liberal candidate Alfred Apps, Ian Davey (son of Senator Keith Davey) and lawyer Daniel Brock, travelled to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to convince Ignatieff to move back to Canada and run for the Canadian House of Commons, and to consider a possible bid for the Liberal leadership should Paul Martin retire. Rocco Rossi, who was at that time a key Liberal Party organizer, had previously mentioned to Davey that Davey's father had said that Ignatieff had "the makings of a prime minister. In January 2005, as a result of the efforts of Apps, Brock and Davey, press speculation that Ignatieff could be a star candidate for the Liberals in the next election, and possibly a candidate to eventually succeed Prime Minister Paul Martin, the leader of the governing Liberal Party of Canada.


Leadership bid
After the Liberal government was defeated in the January 2006 federal election, Paul Martin resigned the party leadership in March that same year. On April 7, 2006, Ignatieff announced his candidacy in the upcoming Liberal leadership race, joining several others who had already declared their candidacy.
Ignatieff received several high profile endorsements of his candidacy. His campaign was headed by Senator David Smith, who had been a Chrétien organizer, along with Ian Davey, Daniel Brock, Alfred Apps and Paul Lalonde, a Toronto lawyer and son of Marc Lalonde.
Deputy leadership
On December 18, 2006, new Liberal leader Stéphane Dion named Ignatieff his deputy leader, in line with Dion's plan to give high-ranking positions to each of his former leadership rivals.
During three by-elections held on September 18, 2007, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald reported that unidentified Dion supporters were accusing Ignatieff's supporters of undermining by-election efforts, with the goal of showing that Dion could not hold on to the party's Quebec base. Susan Delacourt of the Toronto Star described this as a recurring issue in the party with the leadership runner-up. The National Post referred to the affair as, "Discreet signs of a mutiny. Although Ignatieff called Dion to deny the allegations, the Globe and Mail cited the NDP's widening lead after the article's release, suggested that the report had a negative impact on the Liberals' morale. The Liberals were defeated in their former stronghold of Outremont. Since then, Ignatieff has urged the Liberals to put aside their differences, saying "united we win, divided we lose.


Interim leadership of the Liberal Party
Dion announced that he would schedule his departure as Liberal leader for the next party convention, after the Liberals lost seats and support in the 2008 federal election. Ignatieff held a news conference on November 13, 2008, to once again announce his candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada
Leadership
On May 2, 2009, Ignatieff was officially endorsed as the leader of the Liberal Party by 97% of delegates at the party convention in Vancouver. The vote was mostly a formality as the other candidates had stepped down.
On August 31, 2009, Ignatieff announced that the Liberal Party would withdraw support for the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. However, the NDP under Jack Layton abstained and the Conservatives survived the confidence motion. Ignatieff's attempt to force a September 2009 election was reported as a miscalculation, as polls showed that most Canadians did not want another election. Ignatieff's popularity as well as that of the Liberals dropped off considerably immediately afterwards.


International affairs
In October 2006, Ignatieff indicated that he personally would not support ballistic missile defence nor the weaponization of space. He referred to the likelihood of America developing a Missile Defense System in his book Virtual War, but did not voice support for Canadian participation in such a scheme.
On June 3, 2008, and on March 30, 2009, Michael Ignatieff voted in support of non-binding motions in the House of Commons calling on the government to "allow conscientious objectors...to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations..including Iraq war resisters)...to...remain in Canada. However on September 29, 2010, when those motions were proposed as a binding private member's bill from Liberal MP Gerard Kennedy, CTV News reported that Ignatieff "walked out during the vote. The bill then failed to pass this second reading vote by seven votes.
Climate change policy
During the Liberal leadership race in 2006, Ignatieff advocated strong measures, including measures to address climate change.
Following the 2008 election, he shifted his approach. In a speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce in February 2009, he said: "You've got to work with the grain of Canadians and not against them. I think we learned a lesson in the last election.
Forming of a potential coalition government
During the Spring 2011 federal election, Ignatieff clearly ruled out the formation of a coalition government with the NDP and Bloc parties. Contrary to the suggestion from the Conservative party that he was planning to form a government with the other opposition parties, Ignatieff issued a statement on March 26, 2011, stating that "the party that wins the most seats on election day will form the government".
Honorary degrees


Michael Ignatieff as of June 2009 has received 11 Honorary Doctorates.
Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec in 1995
University of Stirling in Stirling, Scotland (D.Univ) on June 28, 1996
Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario (LL.D) on October 25, 2001
University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario (D.Litt) on October 26, 2001
University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick (D.Litt) in 2001
McGill University in Montreal, Quebec (D.Litt) on June 17, 2002
University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan (LL.D) on May 28, 2003
Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington (LL.D) in 2004
Niagara University in Lewiston, New York, USA (DHL) May 21, 2006

Liberal Party of Canada

Liberal Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. The Liberal Party has dominated federal politics for much of Canada's history, holding power for almost 69 years in the 20th century, more than any other party in a developed country.
Michael Ignatieff was the leader of the Liberal Party since being elected at the May 2009 Liberal leadership convention. As of May 3rd, following the Liberal Party's heavy defeat, he has resigned as leader.


History
The Liberals are descended from the mid-19th century Reformers who agitated for responsible government throughout British North America. These included George Brown, 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 a united bloc in the legislature of the Province of Canada beginning in 1854, and a united Liberal Party combining both English and French Canadian members was formed in 1861.


Confederation
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 the 29 years after Canadian confederation, the Liberals were consigned to opposition, with the exception of one stint in government. Alexander Mackenzie was able to lead the party to power in 1873 after the Macdonald government lost a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons because of the Pacific Scandal. Mackenzie subsequently won the 1874 election, but lost the government to Macdonald in 1878. The Liberals spent the next 18 years in opposition.


Laurier era
In their early history, the Liberals were the party of continentalism (free trade with the United States), 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 the Conservatives. The Conservatives lost the support of Quebecers because of the perceived role of Conservative governments in the execution of Louis Riel and their role in the Conscription crisis of 1917.
It was not until Wilfrid Laurier became leader that the Liberal Party emerged as a modern party. Laurier was able to capitalize on the Tories' apparent 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 free trade made it popular among farmers, and helped cement the party's hold in the growing prairie provinces.


Trudeau era
Under Pierre Trudeau, the mission of a progressive social policy evolved into the goal of creating a "just society".
The Trudeau Liberals became the champions of official bilingualism, passing the Official Languages Act, which gave the 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. This policy aimed to transform Canada into a country where English and French-Canadians could live together in comfort, and could move to any part of the country without having to lose their language. While this has not occurred, official bilingualism has helped to halt the decline of the French language outside of Quebec, and has also ensured that all federal government services (as well as radio and television services provided by the government-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada) are available in both languages throughout the country.
The party under Chrétien


Turner resigned in 1990 due to growing discontent within the party with his leadership, and was replaced by bitter rival Jean Chrétien, who had served in every Liberal cabinet since 1965. 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, a detailed statement of exactly what the Liberals would do in office if they won power. This 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 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.


Party systems model
According to recent scholarship there have been four party systems in Canada at the federal level since Confederation, each with its own distinctive pattern of social support, patronage relationships, leadership styles, and electoral strategies. Steve Patten identifies four party systems in Canada's political history
The first party system emerged from pre-Confederation colonial politics, had its "heyday" from 1896 to 1911 and lasted until the Conscription Crisis of 1917, and was characterized by local patronage administered by the two largest parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives.
The second system emerged following the First World War, and had its heyday from 1935 and 1957, was characterized by regionalism and saw the emergence of several protest parties, such as the Progressives, the Social Credit Party, and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.
The third system emerged in 1963 and had its heyday from 1968 to 1983 and began to unravel thereafter. The two largest parties were challenged by a strong third party, the New Democratic Party. Campaigns during this era became more national in scope due to electronic media, and involved a greater focus on leadership. The dominant policy of the era was Keynesian economics.
The fourth party system has involved the rise of the Reform Party, the Bloc Québécois, and the merger of the Canadian Alliance with the Progressive Conservatives. It saw most parties move to one-member-one-vote leadership contests, and a major reform to campaign finance laws in 2004. The fourth party system has been characterized by market-oriented policies that abandoned Keynesian policies, but maintained the welfare state.
Clarkson (2005) shows how the Liberal Party has dominated all the party systems, using different approaches. It began with a "clientelistic approach" under Laurier, which evolved into a "brokerage" system of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s under Mackenzie King. The 1950s saw the emergence of a "pan-Canadian system", which lasted until the 1990s. The 1993 election — categorized by Clarkson as an electoral "earthquake" which "fragmented" the party system, saw the emergence of regional politics within a four party-system, whereby various groups championed regional issues and concerns. Clarkson concludes that the inherent bias built into the first-past-the-post system, has chiefly benefited the Liberals.
Regional Liberal parties


Each province and one territory in Canada has its own Liberal Party, although those of Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec and Saskatchewan have severed ties with the federal Liberals.
Current governments and premiers:
Ontario Liberal Party, Dalton McGuinty, MPP
Prince Edward Island Liberal Party, Robert Ghiz, MLA
Current official oppositions and leaders:
New Brunswick Liberal Association, Shawn Graham, MLA
Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, Yvonne Jones, MHA
Nova Scotia Liberal Party, Stephen McNeil, MLA
Yukon Liberal Party, Arthur Mitchell, MLA
Third party status and leaders:
Manitoba Liberal Party, Jon Gerrard, MLA


Principles and policies


In the present times, the Liberal party has favoured a variety of policies from both right and left of the political spectrum. When it formed the government from 1993 to 2006, it was a strong champion of balanced budgets, and eliminated the budget deficit completely from the federal budget in 1995 by reducing spending on social programs or delegating them to the provinces, and promised to replace the Goods and Services Tax in the party's famous Red Book. It also legalized same-sex marriage and the use of cannabis for medical purposes, and had proposed complete decriminalization of possession of small amounts of it. The party generally holds liberal views on various other social issues like abortion.
Current policies
During the 2011 election the Liberal party's policies included:
Introduction of a family care plan for Canadians supporting ill family members
Pension plan reform
Additional investment in higher education
Deficit reduction and spending restraint
Maintain corporate tax rates at 2010 levels
Restoration of the long-form census
Quadruple renewable energy production, including wind, solar and biomass energy sources
Introduce a national food policy to support Canadian farmers