- Alternative meaning: Conservative Party of Canada (pre-1942)
Template:Infobox Canada Political Party The Conservative Party of Canada (French: Parti conservateur du Canada) is a right-of-centre political party in Canada, formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in December 2003. Through the Progressive Conservatives, it is a direct descendent of the pre-Confederation Liberal-Conservative Party. The party formed the Official Opposition in the House of Commons until Parliament was dissolved on November 29, 2005. In the January 23, 2006 federal election, the party won a plurality of seats and will thus form the government in the resulting parliament. The Honourable Stephen Harper is the current leader of the party and now Prime Minister-designate. The party's latest electoral victory means a huge power shift from Central Canada, the traditional kingmaker of past Prime Ministers to Alberta. The center of gravity moved westward, allaying Western Alienation. The West is In now.
Since the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance, the term "Tories" now refers to the Conservative Party of Canada (a name formerly belonging to the PC Party).
Background
The merger to form the new Conservative Party of Canada was announced on October 15, 2003, by the two party leaders (Stephen Harper of the Canadian Alliance and Peter MacKay of the Progressive Conservatives), and was ratified by the membership of the Alliance on December 5 by a margin of 96% to 4%, and by delegates of the PC Party on December 6 by a margin of 90% to 10%. On December 7, 2003, the new party was officially registered with Elections Canada. On March 20, 2004, Stephen Harper was elected leader.
The merger was the culmination of the Canadian "Unite the Right" movement, driven by the desire to present an effective right-wing opposition to the Liberal Party of Canada, to create a new party that would draw support from all parts of Canada and would not split the right-wing vote. The splitting of the right-wing vote contributed to Liberal victories in the 1997 federal election and the 2000 election.
Though less than three years old, the Conservative Party is political heir to a series of conservative parties that have existed in Canada, beginning with Liberal-Conservative Party founded in 1854 by Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier. Like them (and the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom) it carries the nickname "Tory", and its members are known as "Tories". It also legal heir to the older parties by virtue of assuming the assets and liabilities of the former Progressive Conservative Party. Peter MacKay and many other high-profile former PCs, including the former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney see the CPC as a natural evolution of the conservative political movement in Canada. MacKay has suggested that the CPC is a reflection of the reunification of conservative ideologies under a "big tent." MacKay has often said that fractures have been a natural part of the Canadian conservative movement's history since the 1890s and that the merger was really a reconstitution of a movement that has existed since the Union of Upper and Lower Canada.
The party is considered by some to be Canada's version of the United States Republican Party and the United Kingdom's Conservative Party due to their conservative positions. In reality, differences exist on various policies and the parties are only aligned through mutual membership in the international group of conservative parties, the International Democrat Union. Some advisors have worked for both the CPC and for the Republican Party of the United States.
Principles and policies
Being right-of-centre on the political spectrum both fiscally and socially, the CPC generally favours lower taxes, smaller government, a tougher stand on "law and order" issues and more spending on the military, while opposing same-sex marriage and legalization of cannabis. As a successor of the western-based Canadian Alliance, it also supports reform of the Senate to make it "elected, equal, and effective" (the "Triple-E Senate"), as well as several other reforms to reduce the present power of the Prime Minister's Office. In addition, in the wake of the sponsorship scandal and the resulting high-profile Gomery Inquiry the CPC has advocated government accountability and transparency reforms.
During the 2006 election, the party also campaigned on [1]:
- Cutting the Goods and Services Tax from 7% to 6% immediately after election and to 5% later on
- Tax incentives for people to learn skilled trades (such as welding and baking) and for businesses to hire new apprentices
- Support of and some reforms in the "traditional industries" including agriculture, fishing, mining and forestry
- Mandatory minimum prison sentences for various serious crimes, including drug trafficking, weapons-related and violent offences, as well as ending the practice of house arrest in some cases
- Creation of a mandatory DNA databank for sex offenders; raising the age of consent from 14 to 16 years; tougher stance on child pornography
- Strengthening of border, port and airport security
- Ending the gun registry and using the resulting surplus to hire more police
- Giving every parent $100 per month for each child under the age of 6, as part of the national child care program
- Adding pension income-tax deductions for seniors
- Reducing waiting times in hospitals
- Investing in transportation infrastructure and introducing tax credits for monthly transit passes
- Defending the local industries against foreign trade challenges, including the softwood lumber dispute with the United States
- Better relations with the United States
Leadership election
Stephen Harper was chosen as leader of the new party on March 20, 2004, defeating former Ontario provincial Tory Cabinet minister Tony Clement and former Magna International CEO Belinda Stronach on the first ballot.
Some Conservative activists had hoped to recruit former Ontario Premier Mike Harris for the leadership but he declined, 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 of the new party as did former Democratic Representative Caucus leader and Canadian Alliance Member of Parliament (MP) Chuck Strahl. 2003 PC leadership contest runner-up Jim Prentice, who entered the new race in mid-December, dropped out in mid-January due to an inability to raise funds so soon after his first unsuccessful leadership bid.
Controversy
The merger process was controversial. David Orchard had a written agreement from Peter MacKay at the 2003 Progressive Conservative Leadership convention excluding any such merger and led an unsuccessful legal challenge to it. Orchard (under the PC party leadership election rules) is still owed at least $70,000 by the newly merged Conservative Party. This debt has been recognized as legitimate by the Conservative Party lawyers; however, its reimbursement is on hold pending the outcome of legal matters between the party and Orchard.
At the time of the merger four sitting Progressive Conservative Members of Parliament — André Bachand, John Herron, former Tory leadership candidate Scott Brison, and former Prime Minister Joe Clark — decided not to join the new Conservative Party caucus as did retiring PC Party President Bruck Easton. Brison crossed the floor to the Liberals. Soon afterward, he was made a parliamentary secretary in Paul Martin's government, and he became a full cabinet minister after the 2004 federal election. Herron also ran as a Liberal candidate in the election but did not join the Liberal caucus prior to the election, and he lost his seat to the new Conservative Party's candidate Rob Moore. Bachand and Clark both left Parliament at the end of the session. Considerable controversy erupted when during the 2004 election, Joe Clark gave a lukewarm endorsement to Paul Martin over Stephen Harper, saying that Canadians should "trust the devil we know". Clark also endorsed many candidates of different political stripes such as Ed Broadbent, Anne McLellan and Jim Prentice.
One former Alliance MP, former CA leadership candidate Keith Martin, also left the party on January 14. He ran as a Liberal in the election and retained his seat for the Liberals. Martin is now parliamentary secretary to Bill Graham, Canada's minister of defence.
Additionally, three Senators, the late William Doody, Norman Atkins, and Lowell Murray, declined to join the new party and continue to sit in the upper house as a rump caucus of Progressive Conservatives. The Martin Liberals exacerbated the Tory split in the Senate by appointing in February 2005, provincial Progressive Conservatives Nancy Ruth and Elaine McCoy as Senators and additional members of the rump PC Senate caucus. In the early months of the CPC's existence two Conservative MPs also became publicly disgruntled with the leadership, policy, and procedures of the new party. Former Progressive Conservative MP Rick Borotsik became openly critical of the new party's leadership during its initial months of existence and officially retired from politics at the end of the parliamentary session of spring 2004.
Former Canadian Alliance MP Chuck Cadman rejected the new party's riding nomination procedures in March after losing his local riding's CPC nomination to an outside challenger. His membership in the Conservative party was revoked in late May. Cadman ran as an independent candidate in the federal election of June 2004. He was re-elected as the only independent in the new minority parliament, until Carolyn Parrish was ejected from the Liberal caucus in November 2004. He passed away in July of 2005.
Additionally, after the 2004 federal election, Tory Senator Jean-Claude Rivest left the CPC to sit as an independent member of Senate, citing his concerns that the new party was too right-wing and insensitive to Quebec needs and interests.
Aftermath
Two months after Harper's election as national Tory leader, Liberal Party of Canada leader and Prime Minister Paul Martin called a general election for June 28, 2004. However, in the interim between the formation of the new party and the selection of its new leader, factional infighting and investigations into the Sponsorship Scandal reduced the popularity of the governing Liberal Party. This allowed the Conservatives to be more prepared for the race, unlike the 2000 federal election where few predicted the early October election call. For the first time since the 1993 federal election, a Liberal government would have to deal with a united conservative front.
The Conservatives did better than expected during the election campaign with polls showing a rise in support for the new Conservative Party, leading some pollsters to predict the election of a minority Conservative government. But even at the peak of its popularity, the new party still had less support than its two predecessor parties combined had in the last election. Off the cuff comments from social conservative elements in the new CPC also hindered Harper's efforts at portraying the new party as a reasonable, responsible and moderate alternative to the governing Liberals.
Several particularly notable controversial comments were made by CPC MPs during the campaign. Early on in the campaign, Ontario MP Scott Reid indicated his feelings as Tory language critic that the policy of official bilingualism was unrealistic and needed to be reformed. Alberta MP Rob Merrifield suggested as Tory health critic that women ought to have mandatory family counseling before they choose to have an abortion. BC MP Randy White indicated his willingness near the end of the campaign to use the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Constitution to override the Charter of Rights on the issue of same-sex marriage, and Cheryl Gallant, another Ontario MP, compared abortion to terrorism.
Harper's new Conservatives emerged from the election with a larger parliamentary caucus of 99 MPs while the Liberals were reduced to a minority government of 133 MPs, requiring the Liberals to obtain support from at least twenty-three opposition MPs in order to guarantee the passage of legislation. The CPC's popular vote, however, was actually lower than the combined Alliance and PC popular vote in the previous federal election. Some political analysts such as former Progressive Conservative pollster Allan Gregg and Toronto Star columnist Chantal Hébert have suggested that the next election could result in a Conservative government if the public perceives that the Tories have emerged from their March 2005 policy convention with clearly defined, moderate policies with which to challenge the Liberals. After the convention, some in the media suggested that the Conservative Party had shifted towards the centre of the political spectrum.
On May 17, 2005, MP Belinda Stronach, surprised many when she crossed the floor from the Conservative Party to join the Liberal Party. Some believed Stronach's departure would damage the Conservative Party's chances to attract socially liberal voters, particularly in Ontario. Others have raised suspicions about the timing and opportunism of Stronach's decision, noting that she became a cabinet minister immediately after crossing the floor, and that the departure came mere days before a crucial non-confidence vote in the house. In addition, numerous Conservatives, such as Ontario Tory MPP Bob Runciman made vitriolic public statements in reaction to this development — such as calling Stronach "a dipstick" — which were decried by some as sexist and proof that the Party's moderate image was misleading, though others believed the comments were more a reaction to the nature of her defection, having nothing whatsoever to do with her gender.
In late August and early September (2005), the Tories released ads across Ontario's major television broadcasters that highlighted their policies towards health care, education and child support. The ads each featured Stephen Harper discussing policy with prominent members of his Shadow Cabinet. Many analysts have suggested that the Tories will use similar ads in the 2006 federal election, instead of focusing their attacks on allegations of corruption in the Liberal government as they did in spring 2005.
An Ipsos-Reid Poll conducted after the fallout from the first report of the Gomery Commission showed the Tories practically tied for public support with the ruling Liberals [2], and a poll from the Strategic Counsel suggested that the Conservatives were actually in the lead. [3] However, polling two days later showed the liberals had regained an 8-point lead [4].
On November 24, 2005, Opposition leader Stephen Harper introduced a motion of no confidence which was passed on November 28, 2005. With the confirmed backing of the other two opposition parties, this resulted in an election on January 23, 2006, following a campaign spanning the Christmas season. The Conservatives won the most seats in election, and as a result Stephen Harper is slated to become the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada, likely in early Feburary.
Party leaders
- Senator John Lynch-Staunton (December 8, 2003 – March 20, 2004) (interim)
- Stephen Harper (March 20, 2004 – present)
Provincial parties
The Conservative Party, while officially having no provincial wings, works formally with the executives of several provincial conservative parties.
The federal Conservatives have the support of many provincial Tory members. Several Tory premiers, such as Ralph Klein of Alberta, Pat Binns of Prince Edward Island, Danny Williams of Newfoundland and Labrador, John Hamm of Nova Scotia and Bernard Lord of New Brunswick have expressed general support for the new party. In Ontario, provincial PC Party leader John Tory and former interim provincial opposition leader Bob Runciman have also expressed open support for Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada, as has Stuart Murray, opposition and Tory leader in Manitoba.
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.
CPC leader Stephen Harper has attended multiple provincial PC party conventions as a keynote speaker and he has encouraged all federal party members to purchase memberships in their provincial conservative counterparts.
| Provincial party | Alignment | Province |
|---|---|---|
| Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario | Former provincial wing, PC Party | Ontario |
| Alberta Progressive Conservatives | Former provincial wing, PC Party | Alberta |
| Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba | Former provincial wing, PC Party | Manitoba |
| Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia | Former provincial wing, PC Party | Nova Scotia |
| Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick | Former provincial wing, PC Party | New Brunswick |
| Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador | Former provincial wing, PC Party | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Prince Edward Island Progressive Conservative Party | Former provincial wing, PC Party | P.E.I. |
The Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) and Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) have no relation to any federal party, although the Liberals are led by former federal Tory leader Jean Charest. Since becoming Liberal leader, Charest has brought many former supporters of the Mulroney Tories into leadership positions in the PLQ. He has come out and supported the federal Tories during the 2006 Canadian election, and many of the PLQ members have helped campaign for the Tories.
The ADQ, in turn, is the most conservative of the three provincial parties in Quebec. On January 12, 2006 ADQ leader Mario Dumont said he will be voting Conservative during this election. [5]
The Saskatchewan Party was an unofficial merger of the members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan and members of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and now contains supporters of the federal Conservatives and federal Liberals in its ranks. The provincial Liberals still run candidates. After the collapse of the Progressive Conservatives following the scandal-plagued government of Grant Devine in the 1980s, the Progressive Conservatives have officially withdrawn from politics, although they retain a nominal organization and run paper candidates to maintain the party's treasury. The Saskatchewan Party is officially neutral when it comes to federal politics though its first leader Elwin Hermanson had direct ties to the Reform Party and Canadian Alliance.
The British Columbia Liberal Party was once a provincial wing of the federal Liberal Party of Canada, but under Gordon Campbell has moved to the right and now contains supporters of the federal Conservatives and federal Liberals in its ranks. The BC Liberal Party is officially neutral when it comes to federal politics.
The British Columbia Conservative Party still exists and runs candidates, but currently has no elected representatives. A number of prominent federal Conservatives are involved in the BC Conservative Party. Former Reform BC Leader Wilf Hanni is its current Leader. In the past, the Progressive Conservatives have also maintained close relations with the British Columbia Social Credit Party.
The Yukon Party (formerly the "Yukon Progressive Conservative Party") changed its name and cut off all ties to the federal Progressive Conservatives during the Mulroney years. Its current leader, Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie, a former New Democrat who crossed the floor to become leader of the Yukon Party, has continued to remain relatively ambiguous in regard to whom the territorial party supports federally.
Some of the above parties may affiliate or endorse the new federal Conservative Party or its regional candidates. Relations have been strained, however, between the Conservative Party and Ralph Klein, the Progressive Conservative Premier of Alberta over the latter's public musings on health care during the federal election and his call for a referendum on same-sex marriage. Adding to the situation in Alberta, support in the Conservative Party is divided between the hard-right Alberta Alliance Party and the centre-right Progressive Conservatives.