Conservative Party of Canada

For the historical party, see Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942).

Conservative Party of Canada
Parti conservateur du Canada
AbbreviationCPC
PCC[a]
LeaderPierre Poilievre
PresidentStephen Barber
Deputy leaders
Senate leaderDon Plett
House leaderAndrew Scheer
Founders
FoundedDecember 7, 2003; 20 years ago (2003-12-07)
Merger of
Headquarters1800–66 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5H1
Membership (2022)Increase 678,708[1]
IdeologyConservatism (Canadian)
Economic liberalism
Political positionCentre-right to right-wing
Regional affiliationAsia Pacific Democracy Union
Continental affiliationUnion of Latin American Parties (associate party)
International affiliationInternational Democracy Union
Colours  Blue
Senate
12 / 105
House of
Commons
119 / 338
Website
conservative.ca Edit this at Wikidata

The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; French: Parti conservateur du Canada, PCC), colloquially known as the Tories or simply the Conservatives, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) and the Canadian Alliance, the latter being the successor of the Western Canadian–based Reform Party. The party sits at the centre-right to the right of the Canadian political spectrum, with their federal rival, the centre-left Liberal Party of Canada, positioned to their left.[2] The Conservatives are defined as a "big tent" party, practising "brokerage politics"[d][5][6][7] and welcoming a broad variety of members, including "Red Tories" and "Blue Tories".[8][9][10][11]

From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the original Conservative Party of Canada formed numerous governments and had multiple names. However, by 1942, the main right-wing Canadian force became known as the Progressive Conservative Party. In the 1993 federal election, the PC Party's Western Canadian support transferred to the Reform Party. When it became clear that neither the PC Party nor the Reform Party or Canadian Alliance (the latter being the successor to the Reform Party) could beat the incumbent Liberals that had governed since the 1993 election, an effort to unite the right-of-centre parties emerged. In 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the PCs merged, forming the Conservative Party of Canada.

During the Conservative Party's governance of Canada from 2006 to 2015, its economic policies included reducing sales tax, reducing income taxes, reducing business taxes, balancing the national budget, creating the tax-free savings account (TFSA), and creating the Universal Child Care Benefit. In social policy, the government eliminated the long-gun registry, introduced mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes, raised the age of consent to 16 years of age, permitted the construction of several pipelines, and withdrew Canada from the Kyoto Protocol. The government also supported the State of Israel, negotiated the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).[12][13][14][15]

Under its first leader, Stephen Harper, the party governed with two minority governments after the federal elections of 2006 and 2008. It then won a majority government in the 2011 federal election before being defeated in the 2015 federal election by a majority Liberal government led by Justin Trudeau. Despite winning a plurality of the vote in each election, the party remained in opposition after losing the 2019 and 2021 elections under its second and third leaders, Andrew Scheer and Erin O'Toole respectively. Pierre Poilievre was elected leader in the 2022 leadership election.


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  1. ^ Van Dyk, Spencer (July 29, 2022). "Conservative party says nearly 679,000 members eligible to vote for new leader". CTV News. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  2. ^ "Political Parties". Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  3. ^ Alex Marland; Thierry Giasson; Jennifer Lees-Marshment (2012). Political Marketing in Canada. UBC Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-7748-2231-2. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  4. ^ John Courtney; David Smith (2010). The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics. OUP USA. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-19-533535-4. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  5. ^ Stephen Brooks (2004). Canadian Democracy: An Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-19-541806-4. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2020. Two historically dominant political parties have avoided ideological appeals in favour of a flexible centrist style of politics that is often labelled brokerage politics
  6. ^ David Johnson (2016). Thinking Government: Public Administration and Politics in Canada, Fourth Edition. University of Toronto Press. pp. 13–23. ISBN 978-1-4426-3521-0. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2020. ...most Canadian governments, especially at the federal level, have taken a moderate, centrist approach to decision making, seeking to balance growth, stability, and governmental efficiency and economy...
  7. ^ Miriam Smith (2014). Group Politics and Social Movements in Canada: Second Edition. University of Toronto Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4426-0695-1. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2020. Canada's party system has long been described as a "brokerage system" in which the leading parties (Liberal and Conservative) follow strategies that appeal across major social cleavages in an effort to defuse potential tensions.
  8. ^ Arthur J. Wolak (2014). The Development of Managerial Culture: A Comparative Study of Australia and Canada. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 199–201. ISBN 978-1-137-47562-6. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  9. ^ Shannon Bell; Peter Keith Kulchyski (2013). Subversive Itinerary: The Thought of Gad Horowitz. University of Toronto Press. pp. 18–22. ISBN 978-1-4426-4532-5. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  10. ^ Alain-G Gagnon; A. Brian Tanguay (2017). Canadian Parties in Transition, Fourth Edition. University of Toronto Press. pp. 122–125. ISBN 978-1-4426-3470-1. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  11. ^ J. P. Lewis; Joanna Everitt (August 28, 2017). The Blueprint: Conservative Parties and their Impact on Canadian Politics. University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division. pp. 11–. ISBN 978-1-4875-1403-7. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  12. ^ "10 Ways Harper Left His Mark On Canada". HuffPost Canada. August 26, 2016. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  13. ^ "The Harper Legacy". Angus Reid Institute. October 30, 2015. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  14. ^ Dippel, Scott. "As Stephen Harper leaves politics, record shows mixed results for Calgary". CBC. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Payton, Laura. "Harper appoints 7 new senators". CBC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2021.