A caucus revolt occurs when enough members of a political party pressure its leadership to step down or to remove planned bills, legislation or policies from its platform. A caucus revolt generally concludes with the

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

resigning their position as such a revolt is usually seen to show poor leadership skills. Often the mere appearance of a revolt in the caucus maybe enough to force a leader to step down. In Westminster style governments, if the party suffering from a caucus revolt is the current government, often an interim leader will be appointed by the party until a

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, ...

can be held to elect a new leader, or a general election can be called should the party leader find a way to survive the revolt.

Examples

The 1937 Social Credit backbenchers' revolt against the premiership of

William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first leader o ...

in Alberta ultimately forced the premier to hand over considerable power to a committee of backbenchers, the

Social Credit Board The Social Credit Board was a committee in Alberta, Canada from 1937 until 1948. Composed of Social Credit backbenchers in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, it was created in the aftermath of the 1937 Social Credit backbenchers' revolt. Its m ...

. The Board brought in British social credit "experts" who proposed radical legislation which led to a constitutional crisis when it was repeatedly blocked: first disallowed by the federal government, then reserved by

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

John C. Bowen, and ultimately struck down by the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...

. After successfully leading the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...

and being

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as suc ...

for over ten years, Jean Chrétien was forced to step down as both Party Leader and Prime Minister of Canada at the threat of a Caucus Revolt from his longtime Minister of Finance and political rival, Paul Martin Jr. Political terminology in Canada Political terms in the United Kingdom Political terminology in Australia Westminster system {{Poli-stub