Libertarian Party of Canada

The Libertarian Party of Canada is a minor political party in Canada that subscribes to the tenets of the libertarian movement. The party was founded on July 7, 1973 by Bruce Evoy, who became its first chairman, and 7 others. Evoy ran for election to Parliament in the 1974 federal election in the Toronto riding of Rosedale. The party achieved registered status in the 1979 federal election by running more than fifty candidates.

The party described itself as Canada's "fourth party" in the 1980s, but it has since been displaced by new parties such as the Bloc Québécois and the Green Party of Canada. The party declined when the Reform Party of Canada was formed, which attracted many libertarians who saw it as a better vehicle to put forward their philosophy. Many libertarians were also attracted to provincial Progressive Conservative parties that moved to the right during the 1990s in Ontario under Mike Harris, and in Alberta under Ralph Klein.

The decline in the party's membership and resources resulted in Elections Canada removing their status as a registered party immediately before the 1997 federal election when the party failed to run the minimum fifty candidates needed to maintain its registration.

The party successfully re-registered with Elections Canada on June 2, 2004, in time for the 2004 election. Its eight candidates won 1,964 votes.

Jean-Serge Brisson has formally led the party since May 22, 2000.

Election results

Election	# of candidates	# of votes	% of popular vote	% in ridings contested
1974	24	5,254	?	?
1979	60	16,042	0.14%	?
1980	58	14,656	0.13%	?
1984	72	23,514	0.19%	0.70%
1988	88	33,135	0.25%	0.75%
1993	52	15,079	0.11%	0.55%
1997	*	*	*
2000	*	*	*
2004	8	1,964	0.01%	0.52%
2006	10	3,002	0.02%	0.57%

The party also nominated a number of candidates to run in by-elections:

• 1980 by-election: 1
• 1981 by-election: 1
• 1982 by-election: 1
• 1990 by-election: 2
• 1995 by-election: 1

Sources: 1974: Libertarian Party of Canada News, July/August 1974, 4. 1979-2006: Parliament of Canada History of the Federal Electoral Ridings since 1867

Libertarian Party governance

Board of directors

• Adriana Civardi, Deputy Leader
• Francis Bedard
• George Dance
• Drew Dorweiler
• Alan Mercer
• Jan Narveson
• John Shaw
• Earl Wertheimer

Officers

• Alan Mercer, President
• John Shaw, Vice-President / Political Operations
• Drew Dorweiler, Chief Financial Officer

Ethics Committee

• Sam Cino
• Paolo Fabrizio
• Michael McHugh
• Jim McIntosh
• Steve Ryan

Leaders

(Note: This list is incomplete.)

• Sieg Pedde (1973-1974)
• Charles 'Chuck' Lyall (1974-1976)
• Ron Bailey (1976-1978)
• Alex Eaglesham (1978-1979)
• Linda Cain (1980-1982)
• Neil Reynolds (May 1982-1983)
• Victor Levis (1983-1987)
• Dennis Corrigan (1987-1990)
• Stanislaw Tyminski (1990-1991)
• George Dance (1991-1993)
• Hilliard Cox (May 1993-1995)
• George Dance (1995-1996)
• Vincent Pouliot (May 12, 1996-April 5, 1997)
• Robert Morse (April 5, 1997-?)
• Jean-Serge Brisson (1999 or earlier-)

(Note: Brisson led the party on an interim basis prior to being elected at a delegated convention in 2000.)

Sources: Virginia Comer, "Etobicoke North", Toronto Star, 1 February 1980, A15 [Eaglesham].

See also

• Libertarian Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal election
• Libertarian Party candidates, 1993 Canadian federal election
• Libertarian Party candidates, 1988 Canadian federal election
• Ontario Libertarian Party
• Libertarian Party of Manitoba
• British Columbia Libertarian Party
• Gölök Z. Buday Vancouver East riding contact, current

External links

• Libertarian Party of Canada official site