The Four Political Parties Of Canada

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The Four Political Parties of Canada

In a country as vast and as culturally diverse as Canada, many different

political opinions can be found stretched across the country. From the affluent

neighbourhoods of West Vancouver to the small fishing towns located on the east

coast of Newfoundland, political opinions and affiliations range from the left

wing to the right wing. To represent these varying political views, Canada has

four official national political parties to choose from: the Liberals (who are

currently in power), the Progressive Conservatives, the New Democrats, and the

Reform Party. What is particularly interesting is that none of the latter three

parties compose Her Majesty's Official Opposition in the House of Commons. The

Bloc Quebecois, a Quebec separatist party who only ran candidates in the

province of Quebec in the last federal election in 1993, won 54 seats in that

province, and claimed the title of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition over the

Reform Party, who garnered only 52 seats. Because the Bloc ran candidates only

in Quebec, it would be difficult to think of them being a national political

party, even though they hold a significant number of seats in the national

legislature. This paper will examine the significant early history of Canada's

four main national political parties, and then will analyse their current state,

referring to recent major political victories/disasters, and the comparison of

major economic policy standpoints, which will ultimately lead to a prediction of

which party will win the next federal election in Canada.

Starting on the far left, there is the New Democratic Party of Canada.

Today's modern New Democratic Party was originally called the Co-operative

Commonwealth Federation (CCF), and was founded in 1932. Originally led by a man

by the name of James Shaver Woodsworth, the CCF was formed by several radical

farming groups who found out that they had more similarities with each other

than just their destitution. The 1920's had been a dark period for radicals and

unions within Canada; poverty and significantly lower wages for workers were

prevalent, and apathy regarding these issues was rampant. When the depression

wove its destructive web across Canada in the 1930s, proponents of capitalism

were staggered, but their left-wing opponents were too busy coming to the aid o...

... middle of paper ...

... into the 21st century, however, will be made in the soon-to-be-

called Canadian federal election. Democracy will speak out once again.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(1996) A Fresh Start for Canadians [Online]. Available:

http://www.reform.ca/FreshStart/summary.html [1997, Feb.25].

Guy, John J. People, Politics and Government. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1995.

Harrison, Trevor. Of Passionate Intensity. Toronto: University of Toronto

Press, 1995.

(1996) Liberal Party of Canada [Online]. Available:

http://www.liberal.ca/english2/policy/red_book/chapter1.html [1997, Feb.25].

Macquarrie, Heath. The Conservative Party. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart

Limited, 1965.

McMenemy, John, Winn, Conrad. Political Parties in Canada. Montreal: McGraw-

Hill Ryerson, 1976.

Morton, Desmond. The New Democrats, 1961-1986. Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman Ltd.,

1986.

(1996) New Democrats of Canada [Online]. Available:

http://www.fed.ndp.ca/fndp/fairtaxnow.html [1997, Feb.25].

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Designing a Blueprint for Canadians.

Ottawa, 1997.

(1996) Progressive Conservative Youth [Online]. Available:

http://www.openface.ca/PCU/library4.html [1997, Feb.25].

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