Confederation of Regions Party of Canada
Encyclopedia
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 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
.
The party also attracted significant support as a protest vote
against official bilingualism
among some voters who were not necessarily ideologically opposed to mainstream Canadian political parties on other issues.
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 took 2.2% of the vote in Alberta
and peaked with 6.7% in Manitoba
.
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. (See also: Confederation of Regions Party candidates, 1988 Canadian federal election
).
The Party's greatest success came in New Brunswick
, where it held the status of official opposition following the 1991 provincial election, until 1995.
After the demise of CoR, many former supporters joined the Reform Party of Canada
.
and the 1990 Ontario 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.
On 17 June 1996, the Chief Electoral Officer of Alberta, cancelled the registration of the Confederation of Regions Party of Alberta and the party was struck from the Register of Alberta Political Parties because the party failed to comply with the registration requirements of the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act. The COR Party was struck from the register because two conflicting groups in the party claimed different persons were officers of the party. The party presented different addresses of record. The conflicting groups had different interpretations of the COR Party Constitution.
As the Chief Electoral Officer did not have the authority to resolve such issues, he referred the participants in the dispute to the courts. Neither side in the dispute applied to the courts in an effort to resolve the problem.
Leaders
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
founded in 1984 by Elmer Knutson
Elmer Knutson
Elmer S. Knutson was a Canadian fringe politician. He was born on the family farm in Torquay, Saskatchewan. He worked on road gangs, in lumber camps and mines until he won a baseball scholarship to a Lutheran college in North Dakota, USA. After serving in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War...
. It was founded as a successor to the Western Canada Federation (West-Fed), a non-partisan organization, to fight the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
. The CoR aimed to fill the void on the right of the political spectrum left by the decline of the Social Credit Party of Canada
Social Credit Party of Canada
The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
and the growing unpopularity among westerners of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
of Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
.
The party also attracted significant support as a protest vote
Protest vote
A protest vote is a vote cast in an election to demonstrate the caster's unhappiness with the choice of candidates or refusal of the current political system...
against official bilingualism
Bilingualism in Canada
The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada" according to Canada's constitution...
among some voters who were not necessarily ideologically opposed to mainstream Canadian political parties on other issues.
In the 1984 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
, it nominated 55 candidates, who won 65,655 votes in total, or 0.52% of the popular vote across the country. The party took 2.2% of the vote in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
and peaked with 6.7% in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
.
In the 1988 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
, 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
Citizens for Foreign Aid Reform
Citizens for Foreign Aid Reform is one of a number of groups run by neo-Nazi leader Paul Fromm. It was founded in 1976 by Fromm after he had left the white supremacist Western Guard organization. C-FAR became closely linked to Canadian Association for Free Expression , another one of Fromm's...
and Canadian Association for Free Expression
Canadian Association for Free Expression
The Canadian Association for Free Expression is a political organization based in Canada that campaigns for free speech. It is often accused of having ties to the racist far-right....
, and who is known to attend racist gatherings and associate with neo-Nazis. (See also: Confederation of Regions Party candidates, 1988 Canadian federal election
Confederation of Regions Party candidates, 1988 Canadian federal election
The Confederation of Regions Party of Canada fielded several candidates in the 1988 federal election, none of whom were elected.-S. Brent Ridley :Ridley was an instrumentation technician...
).
The Party's greatest success came in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, where it held the status of official opposition following the 1991 provincial election, until 1995.
After the demise of CoR, many former supporters joined the Reform Party of Canada
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
.
Provincial wings
The CoR captured about 2% of the vote in provincial elections in the 1988 Manitoba electionManitoba general election, 1988
The Manitoba general election of April 26, 1988 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a minority government...
and the 1990 Ontario election
Ontario general election, 1990
The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
.
Alberta
The CoR's Alberta wing nominated candidates in the 1986 provincial electionAlberta general election, 1986
The Alberta general election of 1986 was the twenty-first general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on May 8, 1986 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
and the 1993 provincial election
Alberta general election, 1993
The Alberta general election of 1993 was the twenty-third general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 15, 1993 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta...
. 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.
On 17 June 1996, the Chief Electoral Officer of Alberta, cancelled the registration of the Confederation of Regions Party of Alberta and the party was struck from the Register of Alberta Political Parties because the party failed to comply with the registration requirements of the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act. The COR Party was struck from the register because two conflicting groups in the party claimed different persons were officers of the party. The party presented different addresses of record. The conflicting groups had different interpretations of the COR Party Constitution.
As the Chief Electoral Officer did not have the authority to resolve such issues, he referred the participants in the dispute to the courts. Neither side in the dispute applied to the courts in an effort to resolve the problem.
Leaders
- Bill Lucey ?-1996
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 an 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"O CanadaIt has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
- A Canada whose multi-racial and multi-cultural heritage is acknowledged but where Canadian nationality is neither divided or hyphenated and where one 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" consists 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.