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Until the early part of the century, the Liberal Party was a loose coalition of local, provincial, and regional bodies with a strong national party leader and caucus, but with an informal and regionalized extra-parliamentary organizational structure. There was no national membership of the party.
- Origins of The Liberal Party
- Mackenzie and Laurier
- King, St-Laurent and Pearson
- Trudeau and Turner
- Chrétien and Martin
- Crushing Defeats
- Justin Trudeau
- Internal Disputes
- Financial Support
- Politics of Pragmatism
The Liberal Party of Canada has its roots in opposition parties that formed in the colonies of British North America, when representative assemblies were established in Nova Scotia (1758), Prince Edward Island (1773), New Brunswick (1784) and Upper and Lower Canada (1791). The parties developed in opposition to the oligarchies (small groups of elit...
After Confederation, the Liberals of Ontario, the Rouges of Quebec and the Reformers in the Maritimes formed a party under the Liberal name. They had little success against the political wiles of Conservative Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald and his federal coalition. Later, however, the Liberals developed successful provincial organizations. F...
William Lyon Mackenzie King assumed the Liberal leadership in 1919 and went on to become the longest-serving prime minister in Canadian history (1921-48 except for two periods in opposition, in 1926 and 1930-35). King’s Liberals led the country into the Great Depression and later, through the Second World War. King’s political longevity has been as...
Pierre Trudeau succeeded Lester Pearson in a hotly contested leadership campaign in 1968. Under Trudeau, French Canadians achieved a greater place within the party and the government of Canada than ever before. Trudeau’s dedication to federalism and his preoccupation with combating the separatist forces of Quebec nationalism, as well as his persona...
When Jean Chrétien won the leadership in 1990, he inherited a party that was disorganized and almost bankrupt. His support of the Conservatives’ Charlottetown Accord cost the Liberals in Quebec, but by concentrating on policy development and organization, the Chrétien Liberals were well prepared for the election of October 1993. They emphasized job...
In December 2006, Liberals chose former Cabinet minister Stéphane Dion as their new leader. Dion inherited a disorganized and dispirited party that was also in debt after enduring years of internal strife between the Chrétien and Martin camps. In 2007 and 2008, the Liberals backed away from opportunities to defeat the minority Conservative governme...
In 2008, Justin Trudeau, a former schoolteacher and the eldest son of Pierre Trudeau, was elected to Parliament. In 2013, Trudeau won the leadership of the party in a landslide leadership vote—the first in the party’s history in which social media played a major role in selecting a new leader After becoming leader, Trudeau made controversial commen...
As with any broadly based party, there are always small but significant groups that oppose the dominant view of the leadership. In British Columbia in the 1950s, many provincial Liberals formed an electoral coalition with the right-wing Social Credit movement, to the dismay of the federal party. In the 1960s, Ross Thatcher, the Liberal premier of S...
The Liberals traditionally raised election campaign money from big business and, to a lesser extent, small entrepreneurs (see Party Financing). After the introduction of the Election Expenses Act (1974), reliance on business funding declined in favour of tax-deductible member donations and direct subsidies from the public purse ( see Party System)....
The Liberal Party dominated Canadian politics throughout much of the 20th century. It survived in the 1920s, a time when its namesake was collapsing in Britain, and in the 1990s, when “liberal” was a derogatory term in the United States. The party’s success has reflected its ability to occupy the political centre, while showing ideological supplene...
In their early history, the Liberals were the party of continentalism ( free trade with the United States), and opposition to imperialism. The Liberals also became identified with the aspirations of Quebecers as a result of the growing hostility of French-Canadians to the Conservatives.
Jul 1, 2024 · The Liberal Party originated in the reformist opposition groups that emerged in the mid-19th century in what are now the provinces of Quebec and Ontario —“ Rouges” (Reds) in the former and Clear Grits in the latter.
- David Rayside
The Liberal Party of Canada was officially founded in 1867, the same year that Canada became a confederation. At the time, the party was known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party" and was led by Sir John A. Macdonald.
Apr 13, 2023 · Much of the shine has come off the famous son of Pierre Trudeau. But the Liberals remain competitive in public opinion polling and comfortably ahead of the NDP. Did the prophecies come true?
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The History of the Liberal Party of Canada The origin of Canadian political parties can be traced to the early days of the English and French colonies of Upper and Lower Canada. The American Revolution had seen the influx into Canada of a substantial number of United Empire Loyalists.
