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The Libertarian Party of Canada (French: Parti libertarien du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada founded in 1973.[2] The party subscribes to libertarian and classical liberal tenets; its stated mission is to reduce the size, scope, and cost of government.[4] Party policies include ending drug prohibition, ending government censorship, lowering taxes, protecting gun rights, ending laws criminalising the voluntary transfer of money for sex acts between consenting adults,[5] and non-interventionism.[6]
Libertarian Party of Canada Parti libertarien du Canada | |
|---|---|
| Active federal party | |
 | |
| Leader | Jacques Boudreau[1] |
| President | Coreen Corcoran |
| Founder | Bruce Evoy |
| Founded | 7 July 1973[2] |
| Headquarters | 409–207 Bank St. Ottawa, Ontario[3] |
| Ideology | |
| International affiliation | Interlibertarians International Alliance of Libertarian Parties |
| Colors | Yellow |
| Senate | 0 / 105 |
| House of Commons | 0 / 338 |
| Website | |
| libertarian | |
History
editThe party was founded on 7 July 1973 by Bruce Evoy (who became its first chairman) and seven others.[7] Evoy ran unsuccessfully for election to Parliament in the 1974 federal election in the Toronto riding of Rosedale.[8][9] The party achieved registered status in the 1979 federal election by running more than fifty candidates.[10]
The party described itself as Canada's "fourth party" in the 1980s,[citation needed] but it has since been displaced by new parties such as the Bloc Québécois and the Green Party of Canada. The party declined to join the Reform Party of Canada when it was formed in 1987.[citation needed] Many Libertarians were also attracted to provincial Progressive Conservative parties that moved to the right during the 1990s in Ontario under Mike Harris and in Alberta under Ralph Klein. The decline in the party's membership and resources resulted in Elections Canada removing their status as a registered party immediately before the 1997 federal election when the party failed to run the minimum fifty candidates needed to maintain its registration.[citation needed]
Jean-Serge Brisson led the party from 22 May 2000 until 18 May 2008, when he was succeeded by Dennis Young. Young defeated outgoing party president Alan Mercer for the leadership. Savannah Linklater was elected deputy leader.[11] In May 2011, Katrina Chowne was elected leader of the Libertarian Party. In May 2014, Tim Moen was elected leader of the Libertarian Party.[citation needed]
In the 2015 federal election, the party fielded 72 candidates and solidified their position as the sixth federal party in Canada, with growth over 500% from the 2011 federal election.[citation needed]
The next Federal Libertarian Party of Canada Convention took place in Ottawa from 5 July through 7 July 2018, concluding on the 45th anniversary of the party.[12]
In September 2018, Moen, who had previously offered the leadership of the Libertarian Party to Maxime Bernier, stated that he was open to the idea of a merger with Bernier's People's Party of Canada.[13] When asked by Global News, Bernier indicated he had no interest in a merger.[14]
Election results
edit| Election | Leader | Candidates | Votes | Share of popular vote | Share in ridings contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Alex Eaglesham | 60 / 282
|
16,042 | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| 1980 | Vacant | 58 / 282
|
14,656 | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| 1984 | Victor Levis | 72 / 282
|
23,514 | 0.2% | 0.7% |
| 1988 | Dennis Corrigan | 88 / 295
|
33,185 | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| 1993 | Hilliard Cox | 52 / 295
|
14,630 | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| 1997 | did not contest | ||||
| 2000 | |||||
| 2004 | Jean-Serge Brisson | 8 / 308
|
1,949 | nil% | 0.5% |
| 2006 | 10 / 308
|
3,002 | nil% | 0.6% | |
| 2008 | Dennis Young | 28 / 308
|
7,300 | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| 2011 | 23 / 308
|
6,017 | nil% | 0.5% | |
| 2015 | Tim Moen | 72 / 338
|
37,407 | 0.2% | 0.9% |
| 2019 | 24 / 338
|
8,281 | 0.1% | 0.6% | |
| 2021 | Jacques Boudreau | 13 / 338
|
4,765 | nil% | 0.7% |
The party also nominated a number of candidates to run in by-elections:
- 1980 by-election: 1
- 1981 by-election: 1
- 1982 by-election: 1
- 1990 by-election: 2
- 1995 by-election: 1
- 2008 by-election: 1
- 2010 by-election: 1
- 2012 by-election: 3
- 2013 by-election: 3
- 2014 by-election: 2
- 2016 by-election: 1
- 2017 by-election: 4
- Sources
- Libertarian Party of Canada News (July/August 1974). 4. 1979-2006. "Parliament of Canada History of the Federal Electoral Ridings since 1867".
Leaders
edit
| No. | Leader | Years in office |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. Bruce Evoy | 1973–1974 |
| 2 | Charles "Chuck" Lyall | 1974–1976 |
| 3 | Ron Bailey | 1976–1978 |
| 4 | Alex Eaglesham | 1978–1979 |
| 5 | Linda Cain | 1980–1982 |
| 6 | Neil Reynolds | May 1982 – 1983 |
| 7 | Victor Levis | 1983–1987 |
| 8 | Dennis Corrigan | 1987–1990 |
| 9 | Stanisław Tymiński | 1990–1991 |
| 10 | George Dance | 1991–1993 |
| 11 | Hilliard Cox | May 1993 – 1995 |
| (10) | George Dance | 1995–1996 |
| 12 | Vincent Pouliot | 12 May 1996 – 5 April 1997 |
| 13 | Robert Morse | 1997–1999 |
| 14 | Jean-Serge Brisson | 1999 – 18 May 2008 |
| 15 | Dennis Young | 18 May 2008 – May 2011 |
| 16 | Katrina Chowne | May 2011 – May 2014 |
| 17 | Tim Moen | May 2014 – 2021 |
| 18 | Jacques Boudreau | 15 August 2021 – present |
See also
edit
- Libertarian Party of Canada candidates in the 1988 Canadian federal election
- Libertarian Party of Canada candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election
- Libertarian Party of Canada candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election
- Libertarian Party of Canada candidates in the 2008 Canadian federal election
- Libertarian Party of Canada candidates in the 2011 Canadian federal election
- Libertarian Party of Canada candidates in the 2015 Canadian federal election
References
edit- ^ @moen_tim (15 August 2021). "Meet the new Leader of the @LibertarianCDN party! He beat out 4 other quality candidates. Congrats Jacques Boudreau!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Libertarian Party of Canada – Leadership Roles". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017.
- ^ "Elections Canada". Elections.ca. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ "Mission". Libertarian Party of Canada. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017.
- ^ "Statement of Policy". libertarian.ca. Libertarian Party of Canada. July 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ Gunn, Andrea (6 June 2015). "Canada's own Rand Paul? Libertarian Party amps up for election". iPolitics. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "Profile". Parlinfo. Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
- ^ Grigsby, Wayne (February 3, 1980). "For Libertarians, less is more". CBC Digital Archives. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ "Libertarian Party of Canada". Student Vote Canada. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ Sikora, Adam (1988-11-16). "Libertarians support free trade, oppose 'big government'" (PDF). Whitby Free Press. p. 19. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2022-10-05 – via OurOntario.ca.
- ^ "Western Standard". Westernstandard.blogs.com. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
- ^ "Libertarian Party of Canada Convention". Libertarian.ca. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "Libertarian Party considering a merger with Bernier's People's Party". CBC.
Libertarian leader Tim Moen had offered to step aside for Bernier following the results of the 2017 Conservative leadership race and adopted Bernier's platform.
- ^ "'I am not a communist': Maxime Bernier doubles down on People's Party name amid criticism". Global News. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
External links
edit- Official website (in English).
- Libertarian Party of Canada – Canadian Political Parties and Political Interest Groups. Web archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries.