The Libertarian Party of Canada adheres to the philosophy of libertarianism, and has been particularly influenced by the ideas of Ayn Rand. It was founded in the early 1970s by Bruce Evoy . Evoy ran for election to Parliament in the 1974 federal election in the Toronto riding of Rosedale.
The party described itself as Canada's "fourth party" in the 1980s, but it has since been displaced by new parties such as the Bloc Québécois and the Green Party of Canada. The party declined when the Reform Party of Canada was formed, which attracted many libertarians who saw it as a better vehicle to put forward their philosophy. 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 Libertarians failed to run the minimum fifty candidates needed to maintain their registration.
The party successfully re-registered with Elections Canada on June 2, 2004, in time for the 2004 election. Its eight candidates won 1,964 votes.
Jean-Serge Brisson has formally led the party since May 22, 2000.
Election results
|
| Election |
# of candidates |
# of votes |
% of popular vote |
| 1979 |
60 |
16,042 |
0.14% |
| 1980 |
58 |
14,656 |
0.13% |
| 1984 |
72 |
23,514 |
0.19% |
| 1988 |
88 |
33,135 |
0.25% |
| 1993 |
52 |
15,079 |
0.11% |
| 1997 |
* |
* |
* |
| 2000 |
* |
* |
* |
| 2004 |
8 |
1,964 |
0.01% |
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
Source: Parliament of Canada History of the Federal Electoral Ridings since 1867
Libertarian Party governance
Board of Directors
- Drew Dorweiler
- Adriana Civardi
-
George Dance
- Wayne Chapeskie
- Valerie Chivner
- Richard Darwin
Officers
-
George J. Dance, President
- Drew Dorweiler , Chief Financial Officer
- Adriana Civardi , Secretary
Ethics Committee
- Barbara Darwin , Chairman
- Robert Cristel
- Jim McIntosh
- Jack Shimek
- Maureen Dance
Leaders
(Note: This list is incomplete.)
(Note: Brisson led the party on an interim basis prior to being elected at a delegated convention in 2000.)
Related articles
External links
Last updated: 08-24-2005 05:55:07
