Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada (French: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the "Tories", 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 of Sir John A. Macdonald. The party formed the Government of Canada in 2006, and its current leader is Stephen Harper.

Background

On October 15, 2003, after secret meetings were held by the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party, Stephen Harper (then the leader of the Canadian Alliance) and Peter MacKay (then the leader of the Progressive Conservatives) announced the Conservative Party Agreement-in-Principle, thereby merging their parties to create the new Conservative Party of Canada. After several months of talks between Don Mazankowski, Bill Davis and Loyola Hearn on behalf of the PC's and Ray Speaker and Senator Gerry St. Germain on behalf of the Alliance, the deal came to be.

On December 5, the Agreement-in-Principle was ratified by the membership of the Alliance by a margin of 96% to 4% in a national referendum conducted by postal ballot. On December 6 the PC Party held a series of regional conventions, at which delegates ratified the Agreement-in-Principle by a margin of 90% to 10%. On December 7, 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 1993 federal election, 1997 federal election and the 2000 election.

The new Conservative Party is an amalgam of two contrasting views about conservatism in Canada. Historically, the Progressive Conservatives touted traditional Red Tory ideals (like state funded social programs), rejected closer ties with the United States and attempted to model Canada after centuries-old British institutions. Western Canadian conservatism, embodied in the Canadian Alliance party, was more inspired by U.S.-based conservatism; it espoused closer ties with the United States, Blue Tory conservatism, privatization, smaller government as well as reform and overhaul of political institutions (on the American/Australian model) and a decentralized federalism (a limited government in Ottawa with stronger provinces, as also advocated by Brian Mulroney). The new party generally supports a market economy approach to the economic sphere.

Since most of the MPs for the new party as well as the grassroots supporters come from the prairie provinces, its policy has significant influence from Reform Party of Canada philosophy, even though the party has shed much of Reform's social conservative image, and is more focused on economic, military, law and order and democratic reform/ethics in government issues. Unlike the old Progressive Conservatives, it more reflects a strong Blue Tory ideology. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is known as an avid fiscal conservative and a strong supporter for a strong military within the context of a joint command for the Canadian Armed Forces co-operating and co-planning with the U.S. under the umbrella of a central command, modelled after NORAD. He has embraced some social conservative positions, such as opposition to same-sex marriage.

Although 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 which became the Conservative Party in the 1880s. Like them (and the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom) it carries the nickname "Tory", and its members are known as "Tories". It is 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 merger symbolizes the latest chapter in the evolution of conservatism in Canada, as the historical Conservative Party, which was founded by United Empire Loyalists, was vehemently opposed to free trade and further integration with the United States, aiming instead to model Canadian political institutions after British ones. It moved under Brian Mulroney at the helm to market economy and a landmark historic free-trade deal with America and now espouses pro-American views, aspires to emulate American capitalism, smaller government involvement in the economy and more grassroots-oriented Jeffersonian democratic reform.

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.

Principles and policies

Being conservative both fiscally and socially, the CPC generally favours lower taxes, smaller government, more decentralization of powers to the provinces modelled after the Meech Lake Accord, a tougher stand on "law and order" issues and more spending on the military, and harmonizing standards and regulation with the United States. It is also opposed to the legalization of cannabis and has announced plans to revisit the issue of same-sex marriage by having another vote on the issue in the House, which they say will be a free vote. As a successor of the western-based Canadian Alliance, the party also supports reform of the Senate to make it "elected, equal, and effective" (the "Triple-E Senate"), as well as several other substantial reforms to reduce the present power of the Prime Minister's Office, such as establishing fixed election dates every four years and giving individual MPs more leeway in representing their constituents. 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 ^*:

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.
Promote privatization of Crown corporations.
Amend the Constitution to add "ownership of private property" to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Support of and some reforms in the "traditional industries" including agriculture, fishing, mining and forestry.
Making participation at the Wheat Board voluntary rather than mandatory.
In light of a Quebec judge ruling of October 2004, that the CRTC's ban of viewing of U.S.-based channels contravenes the Charter of Rights - limiting the CRTC mandate and giving individual choice to subscribe to foreign and U.S.-based channels, more individual freedom.
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.
Dismantling the gun registry program, using the surplus to hire more police, to facilitate a crackdown on organized crime including white collar crime.
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 with armed border guards, port and airport security while at the same time, co-operating more closely on security issues with the U.S.
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.
Giving small businesses tax incentives, and ending subsidies for big business.
Fixing the "fiscal imbalance" between Ottawa and the provinces; shifting major taxing and decision-making powers to the provinces, with the co-operation of Jean Charest, the Liberal, federalist premier of Quebec.
An ethics and accountability bill to limit the ability of the political parties to raise money from the rich, and levelling the playing field for all parties equally, making it more grassroots. That omnibus bill would also create an independent budgetary office.
Democratic reform - Triple E Senate, fixed election dates, freer votes in the House. Shifting more powers from the PMO to cabinet and individual MPs.
Increasing defence spending beyond previous Liberal commitments, especially in the Arctic Region of Canada. This includes 3 Armed Heavy Icebreakers, additional Canadian Rangers, acquiring new Strategic Airlifters and several other programs.

Merger 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, at first, voted for and supported the ratification of the Alliance-Tory merger, crossed the floor to the Liberals ^*. Soon afterward, he was made a parliamentary secretary in Paul Martin's government, and 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.

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 Liberal Party. In the 38th Parliament (2004-2005), Martin served as parliamentary secretary to Bill Graham, Canada's minister of defence. He was reelected a second time in the 2006 general election.

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 Conservatives' 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 Conservative 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 parliament but died of cancer in July 2005.

Additionally, after the 2004 federal election, Tory Senator Jean-Claude Rivest left the Conservatives 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.

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. Jim Prentice, who had been a candidate in the 2003 PC leadership contest, entered the new party's leadership race in mid-December but dropped out in mid-January due to an inability to raise funds so soon after his first leadership bid.

General election of 2004

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 135 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.

Founding convention in Montreal: March 2005

Some political analysts such as former Progressive Conservative pollster Allan Gregg and Toronto Star columnist Chantal Hébert suggested that the next election could result in a Conservative government if the public were to perceive that the Tories as having emerged 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, more decentralization by giving the provinces more taxing powers and leeway in decision making, and limiting Ottawa's intervention in everyday lives, venturing less into individual freedom of choice. The party's law and order package was an effort to address the perception of rising homicide rates, although crime rates in Canada have been declining, according to Statistics Canada.

Departure of Belinda Stronach

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 Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament Bob Runciman made vitriolic public statements in reaction to this development, such as calling Stronach "a dipstick". These comments were decried by some as sexist and proof that the Party's moderate image was misleading. Others believed the comments were more a reaction to her decision to cross the floor, and had nothing to do with her gender.

In late August and early September 2005, the Tories released ads through 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 suggested at the time that the Tories would 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 Liberal Party and a poll from the Strategic Counsel suggested that the Conservatives were actually in the lead. ^*.

2006 federal election

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 started off the first month of the campaign by making a series of policy-per-day announcements, which included a GST reduction and a child-care allowance. This strategy was a surprise to most in the media, as they believed the party would focus on the sponsorship scandal; instead, the Conservative strategy was to let that issue ruminate with voters. The Liberals opted to hold their major announcements after the Christmas holidays; as a result, Harper dominated media coverage for the first few weeks of the campaign and was able "to define himself, rather than to let the Liberals define him". The Conservatives' announcements played to Harper's strengths as a policy wonk^*, as opposed to in the 2004 election and summer 2005 where he tried to overcome the perception that he was cool and aloof. Though his party showed only modest movement in the polls, Harper's personal numbers, which had always trailed his party's significantly, began to rise relatively rapidly.

On December 27, 2005, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced it was investigating Liberal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale's office for potentially engaging in insider trading before making an important announcement on the taxation of income trusts. The relevation of the criminal investigation and Goodale's refusal to step aside dominated news coverage for the following week, and it gained further attention when the U.S. SEC announced they would also launch a probe. The income trust scandal distracted public attention from the Liberals' key policy announcements and allowed the Conservatives to refocus on their previous attacks on corruption within the Liberal party. The Tories were leading in the polls by early January, and made a major breakthrough in Quebec where they displaced the Liberals for second-place.

In response to the growing Conservative lead, the Liberals launched negative ads suggesting that Harper had a "hidden agenda", similar to the attacks made in the 2004 election. The Liberal ads did not have the same effect this time as the Conservatives had much more momentum, at one stage holding a ten-point lead. Harper's personal numbers continued to rise and polls found he was considered not only more trustworthy, but also a better potential Prime Minister than Paul Martin. Besides the Conservatives being much more disciplined, media coverage of the Conservatives was also much more positive than in 2004. By contrast, the Liberals found themselves increasingly criticized for running a poor campaign and making numerous gaffes.^*

On January 23, the Conservatives won 124 seats, compared to 103 for the Liberals. On February 6, Stephen Harper was sworn in as the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada, along with his Cabinet.

Party leaders

Senator John Lynch-Staunton (December 8, 2003 – March 20, 2004) (interim)
Stephen Harper (March 20, 2004 – present)

Electoral results (2004-2006)

Election	# of candidates nominated	# of seats won	# of total votes	% of popular vote	result
2004	308	99	3,994,682	29.6%	Lib. minority
2006	308	124	5,374,071	36.3%	minority government

Provincial parties

The Conservative Party, while officially having no provincial wings, works both formally and informally with the executives of several provincial 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 former 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.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper has attended multiple provincial Progressive Conservative party conventions as a keynote speaker and he has encouraged all federal party members to purchase memberships in their provincial conservative counterparts.

In Alberta, relations have been strained between the federal Conservative Party and Ralph Klein, the Progressive Conservative Premier over the latter's public musings on health care during the federal election and his call for a referendum on same-sex marriage. The Alberta Alliance a provincial party based on the former Canadian Alliance, also holds representation in the legislature, many federal Conservatives in Alberta support this party instead of the Progressive Conservatives. There have been calls to change the names of the provincial parties from "Progressive Conservative" to "Conservative".

The British Columbia Conservative Party exists and runs candidates, but currently has no elected representatives. A number of prominent federal Conservatives are involved in the BC Conservative Party. In the past, the Progressive Conservatives have also maintained close relations with the British Columbia Social Credit Party. British Columbia's provincial political history has generally included only two primary parties, one occupying each traditional "end" of the left-right political spectrum. At the moment, the British Columbia Liberal Party occupies the "right" end of that spectrum in the BC Legislature, and thus shares many issues-based stances with the federal Conservatives.

In Québec, the Quebec Liberal Party has no relation to any federal party, although it is 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 provincial Liberal Party. He supported the federal Tories during the 2006 Canadian election, and many of the provincial Liberal members have helped campaign for the Tories.

The Saskatchewan Party is composed of the former members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Liberal Party, now containing supporters of the federal Conservatives and federal Liberals in its ranks. 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 Saskatchewan 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 had officially withdrawn from politics for two consecutive provincial elections, and had only ran paper candidates to maintain the party's treasury. On May 27, 2006 the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan held a convention where they choose a party President, and an interim Leader.

The Yukon Party (formerly the 'Yukon Progressive Conservative Party') changed its name and cut off ties to its federal counterpart during the Mulroney years. Its current leader, Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie, is a former New Democrat who crossed the floor to become leader of the Yukon Party, and has continued to remain relatively ambiguous in regard to whom the territorial party supports federally.

The governments of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut do not contain parties.

External links

Conservative Party of Canada | International Democrat Union | 2003 establishments

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