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The Canadian Alliance (), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (), was a
centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
to
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
federal political party in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
that existed under that name from 2000 to 2003. The Canadian Alliance was the new name of the
Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada () was a right-wing populism, right-wing populist and conservative List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada- ...
and inherited many of its
populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
policies, as well as its position as the
Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
in the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
. The party supported policies that were both fiscally and
socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...
, seeking reduced government spending on social programs and reductions in taxation. The Alliance resulted from the
United Alternative United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
initiative launched by the
Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada () was a right-wing populism, right-wing populist and conservative List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada- ...
and several provincial Tory parties as a vehicle to merge with the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...
. The federal Progressive Conservative Party led by
Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...
in the late fall of 1998 rejected the initiative to "unite the right." After the Alliance led by
Stockwell Day Stockwell Burt Day Jr. (born August 16, 1950) is a former Canadian politician who served as leader of the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2001 and later as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. A provincial cabinet minister from Alber ...
was defeated and a third consecutive Liberal
majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...
was won in the 2000 federal election, talks reopened and in December 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative parties finally voted to merge into the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
.


History


Background

The Canadian Alliance's origins were in the
Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada () was a right-wing populism, right-wing populist and conservative List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada- ...
, which was founded in 1987 as a
right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...
party supporting
Western Canadian Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada–Unit ...
interests. Led by its founder
Preston Manning Ernest Preston Manning (born June 10, 1942) is a retired Canadian politician. He was the founder and the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance in 2000 which in tu ...
, the Reform Party rapidly gained momentum at the expense of the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...
(PC); in the 1993 federal election, the PCs fell to only two seats while Reform surged to 52 seats, thus becoming Canada's largest right-wing party. However, the party was virtually nonexistent east of
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
. In the 1997 election, the PCs rebounded slightly to 20 seats while Reform again struggled outside of the west. The division among the right encouraged Manning to promote a new movement, the "
United Alternative United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
" (UA), to create a small-c conservative alternative to the Liberals. Manning blamed "conservative"
vote-splitting In social choice theory and politics, a spoiler effect happens when a losing candidate affects the results of an election simply by participating. Voting rules that are not affected by spoilers are said to be spoilerproof. The frequency and se ...
for keeping the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
in power, although some polls showed that the Liberals were the second choice of many PC voters (especially in Ontario). Manning's efforts created a strong debate in the Reform Party, and he would even write a letter to the effect that he didn't want to lead Reform anymore, but would only lead the new party. The opposition died down after Manning won a
leadership review In Canadian politics, a leadership review is a vote held at a political party convention in which delegates decide whether to endorse the incumbent party leader or schedule a leadership convention to elect a new leader. In most parties at present, ...
with 74.6 per cent support at the January 2000 UA convention.


Foundation

In 2000, following the second of the two United Alternative conventions, the party voted to form a new party, the "Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance". After the convention, the Reform Party applied to change its name, short name, and logo; this application was granted by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, retroactive to March 27, 2000. As of that date, what used to be the Reform Party of Canada was used as a vehicle to adopt the new name, and re-registered as the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance. The newly named party's platform was a mixture of the PC and Reform platforms. However, former Reform members dominated the new party — with few exceptions, the Reform caucus in the Commons essentially became the Alliance caucus.
Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...
called the party "Reform in pantyhose", and some opponents referred to the party as the "Reform Alliance" to enforce this perception. Media covering the convention quickly pointed out that if one added the word "Party" to the end of the party's name, the resulting initials were "CCRAP"In Depth: Conservative Party
(humorously pronounced "see-
crap Crap or craps may refer to: * Crap, a slang term for feces * Craps, a dice game * ''Craps'' (album), by Big Dipper, 1988 * ''Commandos de recherche et d'action en profondeur'', the former name of France's Commando Parachute Group * "Create, r ...
" or just "crap") even though it didn't actually have the word ''party'' in its name. One day later, the party changed its official name to the "Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance". However, it was almost always called simply "the Canadian Alliance" (which was accepted on first reference in most media outlets) or "the Alliance". However, the "CCRAP" nickname was still used by its opponents.
Deborah Grey Deborah Cleland Grey (born July 1, 1952) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the Official Opposition in 2000, from March to September. Grey was elected to the House of Common ...
, the deputy leader of Reform, was chosen as the new party's interim leader, becoming the first female
leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
in Canadian history. Subsequently, at the new party's first
leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Politics of Canada, Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leadership, leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, ...
, Manning was defeated by
Stockwell Day Stockwell Burt Day Jr. (born August 16, 1950) is a former Canadian politician who served as leader of the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2001 and later as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. A provincial cabinet minister from Alber ...
, treasurer (finance minister) of
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
. One Progressive Conservative senator, Gerry St. Germain, joined the new party in October 2000, becoming the Alliance's first (and, ultimately, only) member of the Senate.


2000 federal election

In the fall of 2000, the Liberals called a
snap election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Snap elections in parliamentary systems are often called to resolve a political impasse such as a hung parliament where no single political party has a ma ...
that caught the Alliance off-guard. Nonetheless, the party went into the election with great hopes, campaigning on tax cuts, an end to the federal gun registration program, and their vision of "family values". Day was expected to have greater appeal to Ontario voters. At one point, the Alliance was at 30.5 per cent in the polls; some thought they could win the election, or at least knock the Liberals down to a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
. However, the Liberals responded by accusing the Alliance of having a "hidden agenda" (e.g., to introduce two-tier health care, and threatening
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...
and
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
rights), which the party denied. Though disappointed with the election results in Ontario, the Alliance increased its presence to 66 MPs, including two MPs from Ontario. Nationally, the party increased its popular vote to 25 per cent. The Alliance remained the Official Opposition in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. The Liberals increased their large majority mostly at the expense of the NDP, and the Tories under
Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...
lost many seats and remained in fifth place, but Clark was elected in
Calgary Centre Calgary Centre (; formerly known as Calgary South Centre) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. The riding consists of many young adults who have a relativ ...
in the middle of Alliance country, so the overall political landscape was not significantly changed. Like Reform, the Alliance was perceived mostly as a Western protest party.


Election aftermath

However, the Alliance's failure to win more seats east of Manitoba, along with residual resentments from the Alliance leadership contest and questions about Day's competence, led to caucus infighting. In the spring of 2001, eleven MPs who either voluntarily resigned or were expelled from the party formed the "Independent Alliance Caucus". The group was led by
Chuck Strahl Charles Richard Strahl (February 25, 1957 – August 13, 2024) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2011. First elected for the Reform Party, he was the leader of the Democratic Representative C ...
and included Grey. Day offered the dissidents an amnesty at the end of the summer, but seven of them, including Grey and Strahl, turned it down and formed their own parliamentary grouping, the
Democratic Representative Caucus The Democratic Representative Caucus, also called the Democratic Representative Association, was a parliamentary group in the 37th Canadian Parliament consisting of Members of Parliament who left the Canadian Alliance in 2001 in protest against t ...
. The DRC formed a coalition with Clark's Tories in the House, which was widely seen as an attempt by Clark to reunite the Canadian right on his terms. The split forced Day to call a new leadership convention, and, in April 2002, former Reform MP
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
defeated Day at the subsequent leadership election. Once Harper assumed the leadership, most of the rebellious MPs rejoined the Alliance. Two MPs did not rejoin, however:
Inky Mark Inky Mark (; born November 17, 1947) is a Canadians, Canadian politician was Mayor of Dauphin and a former member of the House of Commons of Canada, representing the Manitoba riding of Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette. Mark was a member of the ...
chose to remain outside of caucus, and eventually joined the Tories, and the scandal-plagued
Jim Pankiw James K. Pankiw (born August 7, 1966) is a Canadian politician and former Member of Parliament. Pankiw served two terms in the House of Commons of Canada, representing Saskatoon—Humboldt in Saskatchewan from 1997 until 2004 as a member of t ...
was rejected when he applied for readmission to the Alliance caucus.


Creation of the Conservative Party of Canada

On October 15, 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party (under its new leader
Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965), a Canadian lawyer and politician, served as Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and as Minister of Justice (Canada), Minister of Justice and Attorney General (20 ...
) announced that they would merge to form a new party, called the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
. The union was ratified on December 5, 2003, with 96 per cent support of the membership of the Canadian Alliance, and on December 6, 90.04 per cent support of elected delegates in the PC Party. On December 8, the party was registered with
Elections Canada Elections Canada () is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering elections in Canada, Canadian federal elections and Referendums in Canada, referendums. History Elections Canada is an agency of the Parliament of Canada, and reports ...
, and on March 20, 2004, former Alliance leader
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
was elected as leader of the party with MacKay serving as deputy leader. The new party was dubbed "the Alliance Conservatives" by critics who considered the new party a "hostile takeover" of the old Progressive Conservatives by the newer Alliance. However, some grassroots Alliance supporters who had adhered to the old populist ideas of the Reform Party feared that the merger would signal a return to what they saw as indifference to Western Canadian interests. The Alliance also subsequently shed some of its populist and socially conservative policies during the merger. The new Conservative Party formed the Canadian government on February 6, 2006, and won two additional elections (
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
and
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
) under the leadership of Stephen Harper; of these, the
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
and 2008 votes resulted in the party governing only as a minority; only in 2011 was a majority mandate achieved. The party was defeated in 2015, by the Liberals, and became the official opposition party in the House of Commons.


Provincial wings

During its short history, the Canadian Alliance never seriously entertained the prospect of forming provincial wings or forging formal links with existing provincial parties. The vast majority of Alliance supporters in most provinces supported, and continued to support, their provincial Progressive Conservative parties, while most supporters in
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
remained loyal to the
Saskatchewan Party The Saskatchewan Party (SP or Sask Party) is a conservative political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was founded in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative ...
and in BC supported the conservative BC Liberals. However, an attempt to form a provincial party with clear, if unofficial links with the Alliance was made in
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, where the
Alberta Alliance The Alberta Alliance was a right-wing provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Many of its members were supporters of the defunct Canadian Alliance federal political party and its predecessor, the Reform Party of Canada. Members also joined f ...
was formed in 2002. Under the leadership of Reform/Alliance activist
Randy Thorsteinson Randy Thorsteinson (born November 8, 1956) is a politician and businessman in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Early years Thorsteinson was born in Gimli, Manitoba and spent his youth living in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Edmonton, Alberta; Calgary, Alberta; ...
, the new party never sought a formal link with the Alliance, and if it had done so the overture would likely have been rebuffed since many Albertan Alliance members continued to support the
Alberta Progressive Conservatives The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, often referred to as the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, was a provincial centre-right party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta that existed fro ...
. However, the Alberta Alliance copied the colours of the Alliance and many of its logos bear a striking resemblance to those of the federal party. The Alberta Alliance continued to grow following the federal party's merger, and the provincial party fielded a full slate of candidates for the 2004 provincial election, on November 22, 2004, and won one seat in the Legislature.


Party leaders

*
Deborah Grey Deborah Cleland Grey (born July 1, 1952) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the Official Opposition in 2000, from March to September. Grey was elected to the House of Common ...
— March 27, 2000 – July 8, 2000 (interim) *
Stockwell Day Stockwell Burt Day Jr. (born August 16, 1950) is a former Canadian politician who served as leader of the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2001 and later as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. A provincial cabinet minister from Alber ...
— July 8, 2000 – December 11, 2001 * John Reynolds — December 11, 2001 – March 20, 2002 (interim) *
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
— March 20, 2002 – December 7, 2003


Electoral performance


House of Commons


See also

*
Canadian Alliance leadership elections The Canadian Alliance, a conservative political party in Canada, held two leadership elections to choose the party's leader. The first was held shortly after the party's founding in 2000, and the second was held in 2002. The party merged with the ...
* Canadian Alliance candidates in the 2000 Canadian federal election *
List of political parties in Canada This article lists political party, political parties in Canada. Federal parties In contrast with the political party systems of many nations, Canadian parties at the federal level are often only loosely connected with parties at the provincial ...
*
Politics of Canada The politics of Canada functions within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy where the monarch is the ceremonial head o ...


References


Bibliography

*Harrison, Trevor.
Canadian Alliance
." ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. {{Authority control Political parties established in 2000 Political parties disestablished in 2003 Defunct political parties in Canada Conservative parties in Canada 2000 establishments in Canada 2003 disestablishments in Canada Defunct conservative parties