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87-755: The United Conservative Party of Alberta ( UCP ) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta , Canada . It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party . When established, the UCP immediately formed the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta . The UCP won a majority mandate in

174-510: A non-confidence vote after only nine months, and the Liberals again took power. After Pierre Trudeau 's retirement in 1984, his successor, John Turner , called a federal election, which was won in a landslide by the PCs under Brian Mulroney. Mulroney succeeded by uniting conservatives from Western Canada with those from Quebec . During his tenure, the government unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate

261-494: A "confidential lawsuit", for instance a future BC or Canadian government reversing a federal approval of the Northern Gateway pipeline. The move received criticism from many quarters, including the often supportive Financial Post and is the subject of a current lawsuit. In other respects, Conservative MPs have sometimes been sharply critical of China, particularly over human rights policies and especially treatment of

348-603: A Liberal-NDP coalition government filling the vacancies next year". The party introduced a bill in the parliament to have fixed dates for elections and, with the support of the Liberal Party, passed it. However, Ned Franks, a Canadian parliamentary expert, maintains that the Prime Minister still has the right to advise the Governor-General to dissolve the parliament early and drop the writs for an election . In 2006,

435-415: A commission on or before October 31, 2016. This is so that there was sufficient time for Elections Alberta to implement the new boundaries in time for the 2019 Alberta general election . In 1905, the nomination deposit was set at $ 100, a figure that was well beyond the means of ordinary citizens at the time. Despite inflation , this fee was not changed until 1992 when it was doubled to $ 200, thus remaining

522-516: A former aide to Jim Prentice , to become UCP leader. Kenney won more than 60% of the vote on the first ballot. Kenney successfully contested a by-election in Calgary-Lougheed on December 14, 2017, after incumbent MLA Dave Rodney resigned in order to give Kenney an opportunity to enter the Alberta legislature. The UCP won the 2019 provincial election with a large majority, mainly on the strength of

609-733: A large base of its support toward the end of the Mulroney era. Brian Mulroney's failed attempts to reform the Canadian Constitution with the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords, and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax lost him most of his support. Following Mulroney's resignation in 1993 and Kim Campbell 's brief tenure, the Conservatives were reduced to only two seats in Parliament in

696-531: A large power vacuum in the Conservative Party, leading to the short tenure of John Abbott , who was the Protestant compromise choice. Abbott's government collapsed when his cabinet walked out on him, forcing him to resign and allowing for the selection of the first Catholic prime minister of Canada, John Sparrow Thompson . At just 45, he was expected to become the successor to Macdonald's legacy, but after only

783-729: A movement which is primarily represented by the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada in federal party politics , as well as various centre-right and right-wing parties at the provincial level. Far-right politics have never been a prominent force in Canadian society. The first party which called itself "Conservative" in what would become Canada was elected in the Province of Canada election of 1854 . Canadian conservative ideology has its origins in British Toryism , but over time has been influenced by American conservatism . Stemming from

870-513: A near-sweep of Calgary (where it won all but three seats) and rural Alberta (where it won all but one seat). Under the Premiership of Jason Kenney , their first cabinet of the 30th Alberta Legislature was sworn in by lieutenant governor of Alberta , Lois Mitchell , on April 30, 2019. Jason Kenney resigned as UCP leader on May 18, 2022 after getting 51.4% support in a leadership review vote. The 2022 United Conservative Party leadership election

957-497: A nominal sum to many Albertans. In 2004, the government controversially increased the required deposit again, to $ 500, although it became easier to get half of the new deposit back. The government contended that the increase was necessary to deter frivolous candidacies, encourage timely filing of financial statements, and help pay for Elections Alberta's expenses. Some smaller parties argue that an excessively high deposit represents an unacceptable " user fee " on democracy . Prior to

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1044-453: A number of initiatives, including cuts to education, welfare and Medicare , privatization of government services and health care, the sale of provincial highways and the forced amalgamation of municipalities. Provincial income taxes were also cut by 30% and corporate tax rates were nearly cut in half during the Harris mandate. Most Blue Tories are at least somewhat ideologically aligned close to

1131-445: A party to regroup was to accept the consequences of responsible government. They abandoned the idea of being the governor's party and embraced mass politics. At the same time the coalition that had won responsible government began to break up in the 1850s. This presented an opening for more moderate conservatives such as John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier to claim the political centre. Their coalition dominated politics in

1218-585: A special program was reiterated by a Conservative Party spokeswoman after the first such conscientious objector (Robin Long) had been deported and sentenced to 15 months in jail. (See Canada and Iraq War resisters for details about two motions in Parliament concerning Canada and Iraq War resisters.) Consistent in all recent Canadian governments is strong ties to China . In 2013, the Conservative administration approved

1305-516: A traditional pre-industrial standard of morality – which has never been as evident in American conservatism. Red Toryism derives largely from a classical conservative tradition that maintained that the unequal division of wealth and political privilege among social classes can be justified if members of the privileged class practiced noblesse oblige and contributed to the common good. Red Tories supported traditional institutions such as religion and

1392-632: A whole, the names of returning officers are among the information in annual reports. Electoral boundary changes come from the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission , made up of five appointed members. The commission collects input from residents and politicians, then draws up the divisions based on enumeration and census data. A bill is then introduced and voted on in the Legislative Assembly. Minor changes may be made and introduced by members. Changes are then implemented by

1479-490: A year in office he died from a stroke. Two more short-serving Conservatives, Mackenzie Bowell and Charles Tupper , served out the end of the Conservative government, until the election in 1896 when the coalition of French and English Canadians fell apart and Sir Wilfrid Laurier became the second Liberal prime minister of Canada. The Liberals would dominate for the next fourteen years until the emergence of Robert Borden . Robert Borden's Conservative government led Canada into

1566-499: Is against the federal carbon tax . The UCP government indexes Alberta's income tax brackets to keep up with inflation. It has pledged to cut Alberta's provincial income tax by adding a new, lower bottom income tax bracket of 8% for the first C$ 60,000 of income earned (down from 10% on the first C$ 142,292 in 2023) and it cut Alberta's corporate tax rate from 12% to 8%. It also seeks to expand the Taxpayer Protection Act to make

1653-626: Is an adherent of a centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, predominantly in Canada, but also in the United Kingdom. This philosophy tends to favour communitarian social policies, while maintaining a degree of fiscal discipline and a respect of social and political order. It is contrasted with " Blue Tory " or " High Tory ". Some Red Tories view themselves as small-c conservatives . In Canada, Red Toryism

1740-468: Is found in provincial and federal Conservative political parties. The history of Red Toryism marks differences in the development of the political cultures of Canada and the United States . Canadian conservatism and American conservatism have been different from each other in fundamental ways, including their stances on social issues and the role of government in society. The adjective "red" refers to

1827-491: Is represented mainly by the Libertarian Party of Canada , People's Party of Canada , and other small provincial parties. These parties have never been successful in having members elected. While social conservatism exists throughout Canada, it is not as pronounced as it is in some other countries, such as the United States . It represents conservative positions on issues of culture, family, sexuality and morality. Despite

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1914-579: The 1921 election the Conservatives were relegated to third place, at the expense of the new Progressive movement based mostly in the Prairie West (see Western alienation ). Once the Progressive movement had largely been subsumed into the Liberal Party of Canada , the Conservatives were once again in opposition, until the election of 1930, under the leadership of R. B. Bennett. But in the 1935 election

2001-635: The 1993 federal election . The Liberal Party was elected with a strong majority and the Reform Party gradually replaced the Tories as the major right-wing party in Canada. The Reform Party under Preston Manning would become the Official Opposition from 1997 to 2000. Throughout the 1990s, many social conservatives and Blue Tories in the PC Party began to drift slowly to the Reform Party and then in droves to

2088-417: The 2004 general election a candidate received their deposit back if they were elected or received at least one half the votes of the elected candidate. Candidates who failed to meet these benchmarks forfeited their deposits. Starting with the 2004 election however, the refund policy described above only applies to half of the new deposit ($ 250). The other half of the deposit is refunded if the candidate files

2175-674: The 2017 Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta leadership election on a platform of uniting the two parties. When the Alberta New Democratic Party 's (NDP) won the 2015 Alberta general election , it ended an uninterrupted period in which the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta had won provincial elections since 1971, under Premiers Peter Lougheed , Don Getty , Ralph Klein , Ed Stelmach , Alison Redford , Dave Hancock and Jim Prentice . No other government had served for that long at

2262-622: The 2019 Alberta general election to form the government of Alberta. The party won a renewed majority mandate in the 2023 Alberta general election under the leadership of Danielle Smith. In July 2017, the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party merged to form the United Conservative Party under the leadership of Jason Kenney , a former cabinet member in the Stephen Harper government. Kenney had won

2349-524: The Bloc Québécois or the Reform Party were the Official Opposition. After the 1997 federal election some members of the Reform Party tried to end the vote splitting by merging the two parties. A new party was formed, called the Canadian Alliance, and Stockwell Day was elected its leader. However, many PCs resisted the move, suspecting that Reform Party ideology would dominate the new party, and

2436-597: The Conservative Party of Canada . This party was the dominant political force in Canadian politics from 1867 to 1935. Thereafter, the party (renamed the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 1945) spent more time in opposition than in government. During the twentieth century rival " small-c conservative " movements appeared, most notably the federal Social Credit and Reform parties. Conservatism

2523-483: The Constitution of Canada requirement that senators own $ 4,000 worth of property. Alberta began to hold Alberta Senate nominee elections in 1989 and remains the only province to do so. The three candidates who receive the most votes are recommended to the Canadian prime minister as Senate candidates, but there is no legal or constitutional obligation to appoint them. The prime minister has appointed three nominees to

2610-661: The Falun Gong . These positions are not materially different than those of other parties. Prior to winning election, Stephen Harper openly favoured the alternative vote method of selecting both MPs and Senators. As the successor of the Western Canada-based Canadian Alliance (formerly the Reform Party of Canada), the party supported reform of the Senate to make it "elected, equal, and effective" (the " Triple-E Senate "). However, party leader Stephen Harper advised

2697-672: The Governor General to appoint the unelected Michael Fortier to both the Senate and to the Cabinet on 6 February 2006, the day his minority government took office. On 22 December 2008, Prime Minister Harper asked the Governor General to fill all eighteen Senate seats that had been vacant at the time. It was earlier reported in The Toronto Star that this action was "to kill any chance of

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2784-503: The MV Sun Sea incident . These changes cleared an immigration backlog that had persisted for many years under the previous Liberal government, reducing the processing time from over 1000 days to less than two months. All 110 Conservative Party MPs voted against an opposition motion concerning conscientious objectors and the introduction of programs to allow objectors to seek refuge in Canada. On 13 September 2008, this refusal to set up

2871-465: The Montreal and Toronto commercial elite who took positions of influence within the Progressive Conservative Party. Since the mid-1970s, they have been heavily influenced by the libertarian movement and the more individualist nature of American conservatism . Blue Tories tend to favour libertarian policies such as devolution of federal power to the provincial governments, a reduced role for government in

2958-591: The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada . While the PCs and Reform had some similar economic policies, Reformers wanted deeper cuts to government services than the PCs and Reformers had strong social conservative stances whereas the PCs were more neutral on controversial social issues. The PCs faced an unprecedented collapse in the 1993 federal election and Reform surpassed the PCs as the largest conservative party in Canada's parliament. After several elections of neither party making significant gains,

3045-528: The United Province of Canada , and when joined by liberal George Brown , provided the broad support necessary to negotiate Confederation with the Maritime Provinces . The MacDonald-Cartier coalition's prestige was only strengthened by the creation of the new Canadian Confederation in 1867. Their coalition dominated the early politics of the new state. Their "National Policy" of high tariffs against

3132-631: The state of Israel and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . Harper also took aggressive action against perceived sponsors of terrorism such as Iran, closing the Canadian embassy and expelling the Iranian diplomats in 2012. In 2012, the Conservative government introduced reforms to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which limited refugee claims from those on a list of designated countries of origin, those considered safe by Canada for most persons. Other changes allowed for detention of mass arrivals, following

3219-600: The "sharpest thorn in Harper's side". Major media commentators often use Page's reports as a starting point for general criticisms of Harper's budgetary and transparency practices, including comedic rants. Elections Alberta The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (Elections Alberta), was created in 1977 to act as an independent body to oversee Alberta's Elections Finances and Contribution Disclosure Act and Election Act. Prior to 1977, these acts were overseen by

3306-646: The Canadian Alliance dominated the opposition benches. Support for both the Reform Party and the Progressive Conservatives was negligible in Quebec until the 2006 federal election , where the renewed Conservative party won 10 seats in Quebec. In the west, the Reform Party took most of the PC Party's former seats, but held much more socially or economically conservative views than the old party on most subjects (regarding, for example, homosexuality, religion in public life, gun control , and government intervention in

3393-538: The Conservatives campaigned strongly against Liberal abuses in the Sponsorship scandal and vowed to introduce several accountability measures that would hold even a majority government to account. These included a Parliamentary Budget Office whose first head Kevin Page found himself often sharply at odds with Harper government policy and issued several reports scathing of Conservative practices, even sometimes being described as

3480-399: The Conservatives were handed a major defeat by the Liberals, with a new right-wing party, Social Credit, placing a close third, again on the strength of Western alienation . Throughout most of the last century, the Progressive Conservative Party (often abbreviated PC ) dominated conservative politics at the federal level and in most provinces. Canada had many conservative Prime Ministers in

3567-534: The First World War, with the Laurier-led Liberal in opposition. The government wanted to introduce conscription , and sought a coalition to pursue this policy. Most English-speaking Liberals joined the Tories to form a coalition called "Unionist" with the mostly-French speaking Liberal rump in opposition. After the war this coalition, now led by Arthur Meighen could not govern with a stable majority. In

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3654-519: The Legislative Assembly, including electoral boundary changes and Elections finance laws. Elections Alberta is tasked with printing and distributing maps and Elections Alberta–related campaign materials and guides to candidates and party officials. It is mandated to issue an annual report, as well as reports after each election. These reports contain new and deregistered riding associations, party executives and contact information, donations to parties, changes to electors data, election cost by riding and as

3741-494: The PC Party with the Alliance. Later on that year, the Progressive Conservative Party, which dated back to 1854 (though existing under many different names), merged with the Canadian Alliance. 96% of the Alliance's membership and 92% of the PC Party's riding representatives approved the merger. The contemporary Conservative Party of Canada was then created, and, in 2004, Stephen Harper was elected leader. Dissident Red Tories opposed to

3828-455: The PC and Wildrose parties as well. Also on that date, all members in good standing of the PCs and Wildrose became members of the UCP, with all but a few members withdrawing their memberships in the merging parties. The PCs and Wildrose withdrew from any meaningful public presence, thus de facto dissolving them although they continued to exist on paper. To maintain their registration and assets, both

3915-464: The PC party's standings, Peter MacKay was chosen in a leadership contest to replace him. MacKay immediately created controversy within the party by entering into negotiations with Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper to merge the two parties. MacKay had been elected on a third ballot of the party's leadership convention as a result of an agreement that he signed with another leadership contestant, David Orchard , in which he promised never to merge

4002-513: The PCs and Wildrose ran one paper candidate each in Edmonton-Strathcona (an NDP safe seat held at that time by NDP leader Rachel Notley). On February 7, 2020, after the UCP government passed legislation allowing parties to legally merge, Elections Alberta formally approved the merger of the PCs and Wildrose into the UCP, allowing the UCP to merge the legacy parties' assets and formally wind up their affairs. The UCP supports lowering taxes, and

4089-488: The Reform Party's direct successor, the Canadian Alliance. This left the PC Party under the control of the moderate Red Tory faction. Despite taking what they believed to be more popular socially progressive approaches on certain issues, the PCs significantly fell in the popular vote from the 1997 to 2000 federal elections and were not able to greatly increase their representation in the House of Commons. The Reform Party and then

4176-520: The Senate: Reform Party member Stan Waters in 1990 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney , and Bert Brown in 2007 and Doug Black in 2013, both by Prime Minister Stephen Harper . The winners of the April 23, 2012 Senate nominee election were all Progressive Conservative Party candidates, Doug Black , Scott Tannas , and Mike Shaikh . Doug Black received the most votes and was consequently appointed to

4263-402: The UCP, Alberta electoral law at the time did not permit parties to formally merge or transfer assets between each other. Thus, the PC and Wildrose legally continued to exist, while the UCP was legally reckoned as a newly created party. As a result, on July 24, 2017–the day the new UCP formally came into existence–Cooper and the UCP's interim leadership team formally assumed the leaderships of both

4350-496: The US and UK. With the rise in inflation and a large budgetary deficit in Canada from the Trudeau government, emphasis was put on "shrinking the size of government" (in part, through privatization), pursuing continental trade arrangements ( free trade , creating tax incentives and cutting "government waste"). Joe Clark became Prime Minister with a minority government in 1979, but lost to

4437-485: The United Conservative caucus. Kenney and Jean selected six individuals each to sit on the interim executive board of the new party. Ed Ammar was elected as first chair of the party on July 24, 2017. Cooper also appointed two MLAs to the board as non-voting members. The new party was registered with Elections Alberta as of July 31, 2017. Although it was generally understood that the PC and Wildrose merged to form

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4524-578: The United States during the American Revolution and War of Independence. They were wary of emulating the US's "mob rule" and preferred a strong role for traditional elites such as landowners and Christianity in politics. Many were Anglicans who supported keeping the Anglican Church of Canada as Canada's established church . In each colony, Tories contested elections as the personal party of

4611-405: The United States, and Crown Corporations such as Teleglobe , Petro-Canada and Air Canada (some created by previous Conservative governments) were sold to both domestic and foreign private buyers (privatized). However, due to the failure of the Mulroney government to balance the budget and service debt, the federal debt continued to rise. It was not until the end of Mulroney's administration and

4698-484: The United States, and intense railway building , became the basis of a political dynasty that dominated Canadian politics from Confederation until Macdonald's death in office in 1891. The greatest strain in this coalition came during the Riel rebellions of 1869 and 1885 , which inflamed French-English and Protestant-Catholic tensions in the country. After Macdonald's death, the coalition faltered. The death of Macdonald left

4785-519: The Wildrose Party from October 2009 until December 2014, made an unsuccessful attempt to merge the Wildrose and the PC party by resigning from the Wildrose and crossing the floor to join the governing Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta caucus under then Premier Jim Prentice , along with eight other Wildrose MLAs. The remaining Wildrose Party refused to consider the request by Smith to dissolve their party. Then Wildrose President David Yager said at

4872-408: The Wildrose. Kenney was elected PC leader on March 18, 2017 . Negotiations between Wildrose leader Brian Jean and Kenney were successful; the merger agreement was released on May 18, 2017. The results of the July 22, 2017 internal votes on the merger agreement held by both parties supported the merger with 95% of Wildrose and PC members voting in favour. A joint meeting of the PC and Wildrose caucuses

4959-450: The acquisition of Nexen by a Chinese firm. It also advanced, as of 2013, FIPA agreement, containing guarantees that Chinese buyer would have the legal right to sue Canada in private settlement of inhibition to its activities by that government (including provincial or municipal for whom the federal government would be liable). The actual extent or limit of these powers would not be publicly known and settlements would be private, in effect

5046-747: The bank, while the opposition NDP was $ 624,000 in debt. In the first quarter of 2024, the UCP raised $ 2,263,767 compared to the NDP who raised $ 1,011,739. On March 16, 2019, it came to light that during the UCP leadership election campaign Jason Kenney's leadership campaign collaborated with fellow candidate Jeff Callaway's campaign to undermine the leadership campaign of former Wildrose party leader Brian Jean. A document prepared by Callaway's communication's manager describes how Kenney's campaign provided communications support as well as planned regular strategic direction throughout Callaway's campaign. The Alberta Elections Commissioner levied more than $ 200,000 in fines relating to

5133-545: The beginning of Jean Chrétien 's Liberal government that the government's program of spending finally halted the growth in the federal debt. The government's willingness to affirm Quebec's demands for recognition as a distinct society was seen as a betrayal by many westerners as well as angering Canadian Nationalists mostly from Ontario . The Reform Party of Canada was founded on a strongly right-wing populist conservative platform as an alternative voice for these western conservatives. The Progressive Conservative Party lost

5220-533: The chief electoral officer. An expansion from 83 to 87 ridings was recommended by the commission in June 2010, and their report with the new riding boundaries was in effect for the April 2012 general election. On recommendation from the Chief Electoral Officer, Glen Resler, Bill 7 was introduced on April 12, 2016, which amended the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act to authorize the appointment of

5307-435: The clerk of the Legislative Assembly. Elections Alberta oversees the creation of political parties and riding associations , compiles election statistics on ridings , and collects financial statements from party candidates and riding associations. It maintains a list of electors, through enumeration that occurs before an election. Elections Alberta is also responsible for enacting legislation relating to elections passed in

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5394-486: The consent of a majority of Albertans via a referendum a prerequisite for raising taxes. The UCP plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by prioritizing clean energy production, optimization of Alberta's large oil and gas sector , and carbon capture technology over making large cuts to carbon production and emissions. The leadership election held on October 28, 2017 resulted in former PC leader Jason Kenney defeating former Wildrose leader Brian Jean and Doug Schweitzer,

5481-626: The conservatives in Eastern and Western Canada because Western conservatives perceived Canada's federal parliament as being dominated by Eastern interests. This Western alienation led to the creation of the Reform Party of Canada as a Western-based populist protest party promoting constitutional reform to balance the regions' interests and sought to expand into the East—especially in Ontario—to displace

5568-436: The continuation of old political institutions and the preservation of strong ties to the monarchy . In the latter half of the 20th-century, Canadian conservatism embraced neoliberal economic policies which included free trade, the seeking of balanced budgets, and the support of the privatizations of Crown Corporations which were claimed to be better provided for by the private sector. During this time, division arose between

5655-552: The economic libertarian positions of the former Canadian Alliance ; as such, they supported the merger between the PCs and the Alliance to form the new federal Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). Some notable Blue Tories include many prominent federal and provincial Progressive Conservatives such as former PC Party Leader and Attorney General Peter MacKay , Conservative Party leadership contender and former Treasury Board President Tony Clement , former Premier of Ontario Mike Harris , and former CPC leader Andrew Scheer . A Red Tory

5742-452: The economically left-leaning nature of Red Toryism in comparison with Blue Toryism, since socialist and other leftist parties have traditionally used the colour red . The term reflects the broad ideological range traditionally found within conservatism in Canada. Historically, Canadian conservatism has been derived from the Tory tradition, with a distinctive concern for a balance between individual rights and collectivism, as mediated through

5829-498: The economy). The PCs retained moderate support in the Atlantic Provinces , would manage to regain a few seats. They also retained scattered support across the country. The result was that neither new party managed to approach the success of the Progressive Conservatives prior to 1993. In many ridings the conservative vote was split , letting other parties win: the Liberal Party under Jean Chrétien won three successive majority governments starting in 1993. During this period, either

5916-471: The economy, reduction of taxation and similar mainstream market liberal ideals. The term Blue Tory does not refer to social conservatism . One example of a Blue Tory administration in Canada was the ' Common Sense Revolution ' provincial Progressive Conservative government of Ontario Premier Mike Harris . The Harris Tories were widely viewed as radical by Canadian standards in their economic policies and style of governance. Harris' government embarked on

6003-406: The government in the economy and the creation of government-operated businesses (early Crown Corporations such as the Canadian National Railway ) to develop and protect Canadian industries, protectionist programs such as the National Policy . Canadian conservatism thus mirrored British Conservatism in its values and economic and political outlooks. Canadian conservatives have generally favored

6090-570: The governor to the elected assemblies. This new arrangement, called responsible government , mirrored earlier changes that had occurred in Britain. After the failure of radical liberalism during the Rebellions of 1837, a new set of moderate liberals, led by Robert Baldwin in Canada West , Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine in Canada East and Joseph Howe in Nova Scotia rose to prominence. They campaigned for and won responsible government by creating broad coalitions that took in liberals, moderates, and conservatives. The only way for conservatives as

6177-487: The governor. Business elites who surrounded the governor also hoped to gain patronage . In Upper Canada this was the Family Compact , in Lower Canada the Chateau Clique . Opposition to the rule of these oligarchies resulted in the Rebellions of 1837 . After the rebellions, Lord Durham (a Whig or liberal) issued his Report on the Affairs of British North America , a report to the British government that recommended that most powers in colonial governments be given from

6264-591: The history and ideology of conservatism, identified Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson as the most significant conservative thinker to appear in the English-speaking world in a generation. While in Opposition, Stephen Harper voted in favour of Canadian military involvement in the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq; he later admitted this had been a mistake. Conservative Party member resolutions express strong support for

6351-569: The kamikaze campaign prior to the Elections Commissioner's termination by the UCP government and conclusion of open investigations. The RCMP concluded their investigation into the 2017 UCP leadership race on March 8, 2024 and announced they found no evidence of wrongdoing. Conservatism in Canada Provincial Provincial Conservatism in Canada ( French : conservatisme ) is generally considered

6438-459: The merger would go on to form the minor Progressive Canadian Party . Under Stephen Harper, the platform of the Conservative Party emphasized the Blue Tory policies of fiscal restraint, increases in military spending, tax cuts and Senate Reform. The Harper-led Conservative Party has, however, come under fire, with many accusing them of adopting neoconservative policies. Yoram Hazony , a scholar on

6525-489: The monarchy, and maintenance of the social order. This position was later manifest in their support for some aspects of the welfare state . This belief in a common good, as expanded on in Colin Campbell and William Christian 's Political Parties and Ideologies in Canada , is at the root of Red Toryism. Libertarianism as a political philosophy is not considered to be a primary force in Canadian conservatism. This philosophy

6612-441: The new party garnered only a little more support than its predecessor. Meanwhile, the PC Party re-elected Joe Clark as their leader and attempted to regain lost ground. Day's tenure was marked by a number of public gaffes and apparent publicity stunts, and he was widely portrayed as incompetent and ignorant. Several MPs left his party in 2002. In 2003, when former Prime Minister Joe Clark retired after being brought back to improve

6699-496: The past, but the first to be elected under the Progressive Conservative banner was John Diefenbaker, who served from 1957 to 1963. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the rise of Conservative politicians in Canada such as Ralph Klein , Don Getty , Brian Mulroney , Preston Manning , Mike Harris and others, the objectives and values of Conservatives in Canada began to mimic those of fiscal conservatives in both

6786-585: The provincial or federal level in Canadian history. The Wildrose Party had formed in 2008 as a provincial political party in Alberta with the merger of the Alberta Alliance Party and the unregistered Wildrose Party of Alberta . Its members largely consisted of dissatisfied former Progressive Conservative supporters. Three of the first five Wildrose MLAs were defectors originally elected as Progressive Conservatives. Danielle Smith, who served as leader of

6873-526: The recent Conservative government having influential members who would be defined as social conservatives in its caucus, social conservatism is considered to have little influence on Canadian society and political policy. One of their notable wins was a 2014 neo-abolitionist law passed against prostitution, which banned buying services as well as third party involvement. The conservative movement in Canada evolved from relatively informal pre-Confederation political movements or parties, gradually coalescing into

6960-539: The required financial statements with Elections Alberta within the prescribed time frame, regardless of how many votes they receive. Therefore, a failed candidate who files timely financial statements would lose $ 250. A change in legislation in 2010 led to the deposit being fully refundable to candidates who file their post-election financial report on time. Prospective senate nominees are required to deposit $ 4,000 along with nomination papers signed by 1,500 Albertans. Candidates must be at least 30 years old in accordance with

7047-637: The resettlement of United Empire Loyalists after the American Revolutionary War with traditionalist conservative views alongside pro-market liberalism ideals, is the reason that Canadian conservatives generally prefer the Westminster system of government. Originally, Canadian conservatism tended to be traditionalist . Conservative governments in Canada, such as those of John A. Macdonald , Robert Borden , R. B. Bennett , and John Diefenbaker , were known for supporting an active role for

7134-413: The status of Quebec through the failed Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords . During the government of Brian Mulroney (1984–1993), government spending on social programs was cut, taxes for individuals and businesses were reduced (but a new national tax appeared for nearly all goods and services), government intervention in the economy was significantly reduced, a free trade agreement was concluded with

7221-407: The time "This is not a merger in any way. It is capitulation." When the NDP won in 2015 an Edmonton Sun article blamed the mass Wildrose defections for the loss. In the wake of the historical loss, uniting the Wildrose and PC parties became a major issue. In July 2016, federal MP and former minister Jason Kenney announced that he would seek the PC leadership on a platform of seeking a merger with

7308-483: The two parties agreed to merge into the new Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. Meanwhile, although Quebec delivered few seats to conservative parties in federal elections from 1993 on, conservative themes were influential in Quebec provincial politics . Blue Tories are, in Canadian politics, Conservatives who are more free-market or liberal economically. Prior to the 1960s, these Conservatives were most identified with

7395-698: Was divided (especially by region) until the merger of the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance (the direct successor to the Reform Party) in 2003. In the early days of electoral politics in Canada, the term conservatives or Tories applied to those people who supported the authority of colonial governors and their advisers over the elected assemblies. These conservatives took their cues from British Tories , especially Burke. They supported royal privilege, and were avowedly anti-democratic. Tory supporters were often descended from loyalists who had fled

7482-476: Was held and was won by Danielle Smith. The UCP under Premier Danielle Smith was re-elected to government in the 2023 Alberta general election with a reduced majority. They lost their one seat in Edmonton to the NDP. The election campaign had been close and one of the fiercest in Alberta's history. The UCP broke provincial records by pulling in $ 10.4 million in 2023, ending the election year with over $ 1 million in

7569-521: Was held on July 24, 2017, to elect Nathan Cooper , Wildrose MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills , as interim leader —and hence Leader of the Opposition-- over Prasad Panda , Wildrose MLA for Calgary-Foothills , and Richard Gotfried , who at the time was PC MLA for Calgary-Fish Creek . As well, members of both caucuses approached the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and asked to be recognized as

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