Confederation of Regions Party of Canada
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The Confederation of Regions Party (CoR) was a right-wing Canadian political party founded in 1984 by Elmer Knutson. It was founded as a successor to the Western Canada Federation (West-Fed), a non-partisan organization, to fight the Liberal Party of Canada. The CoR aimed to fill the void on the far right of the political spectrum left by the decline of the Social Credit Party of Canada and the growing unpopularity among westerners of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada of Brian Mulroney.
In the 1984 federal election, it nominated 55 candidates, who won 65,655 votes in total, or 0.52% of the popular vote across the country. The party won took 2.1% of the vote in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
In the 1988 federal election, its 51 candidates won 41,342 votes, 0.31% of the popular vote. One of its candidates was Paul Fromm, leader of the far right-wing Citizens for Foreign Aid Reform and Canadian Association for Free Expression, and who is known to attend racist gatherings and associate with neo-Nazis.
After the demise of CoR, many former supporters joined the Reform Party of Canada.
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Provincial wings
The CoR captured about 2% of the vote in provincial elections in the 1988 Manitoba election and the 1990 Ontario election.
Alberta
The CoR's Alberta wing noimnated candidates in the 1986 provincial election and the 1993 provincial election. In 1986, the party nominated 6 candidates, who won a total of 2,866 votes, or 0.40% of the total. In 1993, the party nominated 12 candidates, who won 3,556 votes, or 0.36% of the total.
Manitoba
- See main article: Manitoba Confederation of Regions Party
New Brunswick
In the late 1980s, support for the Progressive Conservative Party of Premier Richard Hatfield had collapsed because of corruption scandals in the government. As well, many English-speaking New Brunswickers were unhappy with the government's promotion of official bilingualism (the use of English and French in public services).
CoR promised to repeal the 1969 Official Languages Act, which put the French language equal with English on a province-wide basis. CoR proposed providing government services in French only in areas with a large francophone population. The French-speaking Acadian population believed this to be an anti-francophone policy, so the CoR had no support in areas with large francophone populations.
In the 1988 federal election, the CoR party had considerable success in New Brunswick. CoR nominated candidates in seven of the ten federal ridings in the 1988 election, and won 4.3% of the vote within the province.
The CoR party's provincial wing was founded in 1989. Miramichi businessman Arch Pafford was elected leader, and former Hatfield cabinet minister Ed Allen became the party's most notable candidate.
The party's greatest success came in the 1991 provincial election. The provincial Liberals held all the seats in the legislature going into the election. Many conservatives, especially in the Fredericton area and rural southern New Brunswick, were still upset with the PC Party over the bilingualism issue, and joined CoR. CoR was able to capitalize on the situation and captured 21.2% of the vote (87,256 votes), while the Progressive Conservatives received only 20.7%. The CoR won 8 seats in the 58-seat provincial legislature, and formed the official opposition.
After 1991, the CoR party was divided by fighting over the leadership of the party, especially since Pafford lost his own seat in the election. Danny Cameron was chosen as the new leader, but several members contested the results. Two of the eight MLAs, Brent Taylor and Bev Brine, were kicked out of caucus in 1994. Greg Hargrove was elected leader in time for the 1995 election.
None of the party Members of the Legislative Assembly were re-elected in 1995, and the party fell behind the New Democrats in popular vote, receiving only 27,684 votes (7.1% of the popular vote).
In the 1999 provincial election, the party declined further, receiving only 2,807 votes (0.7% of the total). The party was officially dissolved in 2002.
Ontario
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The CoR nominated candidates in the 1990, 1995, 1999, and 2003 Ontario elections (one candidate in each of the last two), and remains an official party in Ontario.
In the 1990 election, its 33 candidates collected over 75,000 votes (1.9% of the total), and placed ahead of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party candidates in eight ridings in northern and eastern Ontario.
It is ironic that the CoR survives only in Ontario when the original raison d'etre of CoR was to promote the rights of regions other than Ontario and Quebec.
Party Program
The party program was set out in a website that aimed to re-establish CoR as a federal political party. Grammatical, punctuation and formatting errors have been left intact.
- COR wants to become a nationwide Federal Party, and wishes to represent all Canadians who want to live in a true democracy, restore Canada's prosperity and rebuild its National Institutions.
- We want to become a egalitarian, populist party slightly to the right of center in the political spectrum
- We aspire to be the elected representative of all Canadians who embrace these views about their nation.
- A Canada that follows a policy of "CANADA FIRST"
- A Canada that practices true democracy, where individual rights are paramount, majority rule is applied, minorities are protected by law and all citizens are equal
- A Canada that teaches its people about their true history, celebrates their contributions, achievements and sacrifices and takes pride in its unique heritage and tradition
- A Canada that is viewed by all as a land of "the true, north, strong and free
- A Canada whose multi-racial and multi-cultural heritage is acknowledged but where Canadian nationality is neither divided or hyphenated and where on official language and one legal system based on common law serves to unite its people
- We believe that Canada has evolved into four economic, geographic, commercial and political regions which, has the potential to become one strong and united nation once Canadians have been allowed to draft and ratify a true Constitution for Canada at a constituent assemble of elected delegates.
- COR (whose name is derived from its belief) believes that in such a "CONFEDERATION of REGIONS" EACH REGION SHOULD BE FREE TO DEVELOP ITS POTENTIAL TO THE FULL WHILST COMPLEMENTING THE CANADIAN NATION AS A WHOLE
- We believe that during the last 25 years Canadians have been unable to change things because of the political and economic bankruptcy of old line parties who encourage the enshrinement of flawed vision of Canada's future, a politically imposed Canadian Constitution, the greed of big business and the existence of an "establishment" comprised of institutionalized elites who strive to retain power by maintaining the status quo and perpetuating myths about Canada's past.
- Our goals have been shaped by events of our times such as the latest recession that our politicians were eventually obliged to acknowledge and the presence of an ever growing number of homeless and hungry Canadian men, women and children who are now walking the streets and roads of this land in search of personal pride and dignity and a restored sense of what is means to be a Canadian.
- Our policies have also been influenced by the cavalier attitude of the present government with regard to how its spends the taxpayer's dollar, its contempt for the nation's ever increasing national debt and its inability to address the rising unemployment that is eroding the foundations of Canadian society and which is now impacting negatively on Canadians from all walks of life.
- THE OVERRIDING GOAL OF THE POLICIES IS TO RESTORE CANADIAN PROSPERITY AND BUILD CANADIAN DEMOCRACY.
See also
External links
- Confederation of Regions Party of Ontario (http://home.mountaincable.net/~galloway/cor/)