Canadian Political Parties Essay Research Paper Through

Canadian Political Parties Essay, Research Paper

Through Canada’s one hundred thirty years as a nation, it has developed and

changed. These developments and changes have been influenced through the main

political parties of Canada. The two main political parties of Canada throughout the

years have been the Progressive Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. The Reform

Party, the New Democratic Party, and the Bloc Quebecois, form the minority parties of

this country. Each one of these parties have their own views and policies that distinguish

their party from the other.

The Progressive Conservative Party is one of Canada’s two main political parties. *

The party originated as a coalition of conservative and liberal minded politicians in 1854,

although the present name was not taken until 1942. The party normally occupies the

right of center position in the political spectrum , and has usually had close ties with

Britain , but it lacks a distinct ideology like its political rival , the Liberal Party.

Under the leadership of John A. Macdonald , the Progressive Conservative Party

fashioned Canadian nationalism and economic development, and therefore was the

dominant party in the late 19th century throughout the nation. One problem of the party

in the early and middle stages of the 20th century was the party’s inability to win support

among the French Canadians in Quebec. This usually kept the Conservatives from power

on the national level , although they often won office in the English speaking provinces.

As Lower (1991) describes , “One of the major problems of the federal Conservatives has

been their inability to discover an inspiring leader who could conciliate and unite the

fractions of the party.” (pg. 186-187). The party controlled the government during World

* Rutherford, Paul, Microsoft Encarta, “Progressive Conservative Party”

War I, where by instituting conscription angered the French Canadians . During the

Depression , when the party failed to ameliorate the Depression along with its reputation

as a friend to big business also led to a major loss of support among English speaking

Canadians.

After the fall of the Conservatives, ” The Conservatives existed as a weak

alternative to successive Liberal governments, serving as advocates of the English

speaking community and the moderate right. “Rutherford, Paul, (1993), Progressive

Conservative Party. For brief periods during this time the Conservatives were in Office

under Prime Ministers John Diefendbaker (1958 – 1963) and Joe Clarke (1979 – 1980).

In 1984 , the Conservatives started at ten year reign, under Brian Mulroney. During this

time several unpopular decisions took place the Free Trade Agreement with the United

States, and the formation of the federal sales tax, caused the Conservative popularity to

decline. Mulroney resigned in1993, Kim Campbell finished off his existing term , then

later lost in the federal election to the Liberals . Today the Progressive Conservatives hold

only two seats in the House of Commons.

The Liberal Party, is another of Canada’s leading political parties. * The party was

formed soon after confederation out of a coalition of Ontario Reformers, Quebec Rouges

and Antiunionists from the Maritime Provinces. The Liberal Party first held power under

Alexander Mackenzie briefly, from (1873-78).

Early on the Liberal Party favored increased Canadian antonomy, freer trade with

the United States, various moral reforms, and a decentralized federalism. According to

the * Rutherford, Paul, Microsoft Encarta, “Liberal Party (Canada)”.

Liberal Party of Canada, “They are committed to the view that the dignity of each

individual man and women is the cardinal principle of democratic society and the primary

purpose of all political organizations and activity in such a society”. (Liberal Party of

Canada, 1997, pg. #1) Before the 20th century its success was based on efforts to satisfy

the disparate aims of French and English Canadians. Over time the Liberals formed a

strong federal government. According to Rutherford, the Liberals, led by Trudeau,

worked to preserve the power of the Central Government to limit U.S. economic power in

Canada, and to fashion a bilingual and bicultural nation, an effort climaxed by the defeat of

separation in a 1980 Quebec referendum. (Rutherford, 1993, “Progressive

Conservative”).

The popularityof the Liberal Party decreased in the 1980’s, however, because of

their opposition to the free-trade treaty of 1988 with the U.S and its support for the

Meech Lake Accord, the Liberal Party began to regain some of their popularity among

both the French and English speaking Canadians.

The Liberal Party of Canada, that is now in power is dedicated to the following

principles, individual freedom, responsibility and human dignity in society and political

freedom of meaningful participation amongst all people. <

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