Ever wonder how the political parties of Canada were created? And have you ever wondered why certain provinces don’t get along with the Feds?
It was recently Canada’s 43rd election and while researching who I should vote for, I realized that I didn’t know very much about Canadian politics. Or Canadian history for that matter. I didn’t know the histories of the political parties and didn’t understand certain terms or procedures. So this is why I decided to write this article. This will be a way for me to learn this stuff while also sharing my findings and newfound knowledge with you guys.
So, let’s get to it. This article will be about the political parties of Canada and their stories and what they believe in.
Conservative Party of Canada
The current Conservative Party of Canada was created through the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and the Canadian Alliance in 2003. They believe that being socially and economically conservative is what will be best for Canada. This party is also a favourite for many (well, the majority, especially after the results from this election) Albertans and people living in Saskatchewan.
The main reason why is because back in 1984, the Conservatives, under the leadership of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, decided to end a policy that made Petro Canada (at the time a government-owned oil company) private. Mulroney listened to western Canada, who believed that the government’s involvement in the oil industry made it unfair for private oil companies. They believed that it was harder for them to sell their products and thus hurt Alberta and Saskatchewan’s economy.
But this is the story of the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada. The original party (post-confederation) was formed in 1854. This party was led by Canada’s first Prime Minister, John. A. Macdonald. They took the values and traditions from the British Conservative Party and believed that upholding traditions was better than embracing change.
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada is the oldest party in the country. It was formed in 1867 and has existed ever since the Dominion of Canada. Though their name would suggest that they are left-wing, the party’s policies tend to be more centre-left.
The Liberal Party emerged in the now-provinces of Quebec and Ontario to be reformist oppositions to the more successful conservatives. The Liberals, up until 1887, were a mess of a group. They were undisciplined, lacked policy unity, and didn’t have popular free-trade policies.
But when Wilfred Laurier assumed leadership, he straightened the party out and turned it to a centrist group that was able to communicate with the majority of Canadians. He was the first French-Canadian Prime Minister and led from 1896 to 1911.
Since then, the Liberal Party had much success winning elections. However, in the 70s and 80s, they started to lose a lot of love from Western Canada (specifically, Alberta and Saskatchewan). As I mentioned earlier, the Liberals created the crown corporation Petro Canada. This allowed the federal government, led by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, to assess and control the tar sands. Alberta hated this because the energy sector was its main industry.
Additionally, Trudeau’s government also created the National Energy Program (NEP) and Alberta felt that this was a way for the feds to take control of their natural resources. The NEP was created so that the Feds can have more authority over the oil industry and to ensure that Albertans share their wealth (from oil) with the rest of Canada. This program also caused the province’s oil industry to slump as it reduced the number of oil wells that can be drilled.
The New Democratic Party of Canada
The New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) is a fairly young party as it was formed in 1967 in Ottawa, Canada. The NDP, which was founded by Tommy Douglas, was a unification of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and the Canadian Labour Congress.
Prior to leading the party from 1961 to 1971, Douglas was the Premier of Saskatchewan. During the 17 years that he held power, he was able to introduce the first universal medicare program in Canada; his administration offered government-funded health insurance for all who lived in Saskatchewan. In addition to that, Douglas was also the first socialist government to be elected in the True North.
If you hadn’t already guessed, the NDP is quite left-wing.
The party believes in environmental protection, poverty reduction, equality, and taxing the super-wealthy and big corporations.
The Green Party of Canada
In 1983, the Green Party of Canada was founded by Trevor Hancock. He was inspired by sister parties in New Zealand and Germany because of their success. He led the Greens from 1983 to 1984.
During this time, he set out six main principles that the party follows:
- Ecological Wisdom
- Social Justice
- Participatory Democracy
- Non-Violence
- Sustainability
- Respect for Diversity
Though this party has been misconstrued as a super left-wing party (well, that’s what I thought anyway) because of its environmental stance, it is actually a centrist party. Many of its members are socially progressive and environmentally green, but fiscally conservative.
The Greens have not had much success at the provincial and federal levels. Maybe it’s because of their age. However, their support has been growing.
In 2013, The Green Party of B.C. won its first seat in the legislature. Then in 2017, three of its candidates were elected to the B.C. Legislature. In 2019, the Greens won eight seats in Prince Edward Island and became the official opposition in the province. This was a first for the party.
Bloc Quebecois
The Bloc Quebecois was formed in 1991 by Quebec MPs. The party was created by Liberal and Conservative members after the Meech Lake Accord, an accord that gave provincial governments more power over certain things such as immigration and spending, failed to pass.
The party mainly fights for the province’s interests and rights, and they promote Quebec sovereignty.
So that’s a quick look into the histories and beliefs of Canada’s main political parties.
READ MORE: What is Sociology?
Something that I learned while writing this article is that a lot of the parties are young. I always thought that they were created before the 50s. Also, many of the parties are unifications of other parties or groups who wanted to join together to strengthen their ideologies and beliefs. For instance, I didn’t know that the NDP was created by multiple labour groups joining together to fight against the status quo.
These are some of the interesting things I learned. Did you learn anything new about the political parties of Canada? Share it below in the comments.
Sources:
http://www.canadafaq.ca/what+are+the+main+political+parties+in+canada/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Conservative-Party-of-Canada
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/conservative-party
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Liberal-Party-of-Canada
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/new-democratic-party
http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/eras/trudeau/Petro%20Canada.html
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/new-democratic-party
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/green-party-of-canada
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bloc-quebecois