Democratic Representative Caucus
Encyclopedia
The Democratic Representative Caucus was a group of Canadian
Members of Parliament
who left the Canadian Alliance
in 2001 in protest against the leadership of Stockwell Day
. Day came under fire very shortly after his disappointing performance in the 2000 election
, and soon came under the fire from members of his own caucus, and through the spring of 2001, several members of the Alliance resigned their shadow cabinet seats, the most high-profile resignation being that of deputy leader Deborah Grey
.
On May 2, Art Hanger
was the first Alliance MP suspended from caucus for criticizing Day. Two weeks later, on May 16, he was followed by Chuck Strahl
, Gary Lunn
, Jim Pankiw
, Val Meredith
, Grant McNally
, Jay Hill
and Jim Gouk
. In late June, they were joined by Monte Solberg
, Andy Burton
and Brian Fitzpatrick
, and in the first week of July by Inky Mark
and Grey. Through the summer, this group of MPs sat as "Independent Alliance Caucus", and were jokingly dubbed the "Rebel Alliance
" by political commentators.
In early September, an offer was made to the MPs to readmit them to the Alliance caucus if they promised to refrain from criticizing Day's leadership. The MPs surveyed their constituents, and on September 10, the offer was accepted by Hanger, Gouk, Solberg, Fitzpatrick and Burton. The remaining seven MPs refused, and initiated the Democratic Representative Caucus on September 12, with Strahl as its parliamentary leader and Grey as deputy leader. This was not intended as a new political party, but simply as a group caucus.
, which was intended to be PC leader Joe Clark
's framework for proving that the two parties could be united on his terms rather than Day's. Clark was leader of the "PC-DRC Coalition" caucus, and Strahl, as leader of the DRC, was named deputy leader. Clark and Strahl tried to propose common policies that would appeal to both PC and Alliance members.
While the DRC members insisted that they remained loyal to the Canadian Alliance despite their opposition to Day's leadership, the group began to establish the Democratic Representative Association (DRA), presumably to support their re-election campaigns as DRC Members of Parliament.
On November 19, Lunn left the DRC to rejoin the Alliance shortly after Day agreed to hold a new Alliance leadership race.
, and on April 10, most of the DRC members returned to the Alliance caucus, terminating their coalition agreement with the PCs after Clark rebuffed Harper's attempts to seek a greater union between the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives. The DRA was disbanded.
Mark chose not to return to the Alliance caucus, instead sitting as an Independent Conservative, then joining the PC caucus in early 2003.
Pankiw's request for readmission to the Alliance caucus was denied, as he was embroiled in a political scandal involving a violent confrontation with an aboriginal constituent. He ran for mayor of Saskatoon
, in 2003, while still sitting as an independent MP, and again attracted controversy because his home was in fact outside of Saskatoon's city limits and not in the city's Forest Grove area as he claimed on his application.
, negotiated a merger with the CA in late 2003, and he, along with Mark and most of the PC caucus, joined with the CA caucus to form the Conservative Party of Canada
, fulfilling the DRC's main goal of a unified centre right. But, Clark and a few other prominent PC MPs and senators refused to join the new party, whilst Pankiw was again refused admission along with another Saskatchewan CA MP, Larry Spencer
.
In 2004, Grey, having retired from politics, noted in her published political memoirs that the PC-DRC's full name was constantly misreported by the press, political commentators and the media. The official title of the coalition was "Progressive Conservative - Democratic Reform Coalition Caucus" as opposed to Representative.
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...
Members of Parliament
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
who left the Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
in 2001 in protest against the leadership of Stockwell Day
Stockwell Day
Stockwell Burt Day, Jr., PC, MP is a former Canadian politician, and a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is a former cabinet minister in Alberta, and a former leader of the Canadian Alliance. Day was MP for the riding of Okanagan—Coquihalla in British Columbia and the president of...
. Day came under fire very shortly after his disappointing performance in the 2000 election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, and soon came under the fire from members of his own caucus, and through the spring of 2001, several members of the Alliance resigned their shadow cabinet seats, the most high-profile resignation being that of deputy leader Deborah Grey
Deborah Grey
Deborah Cleland Grey, OC, sometimes called Deb Grey is a former Canadian Member of Parliament from Alberta for the Reform Party of Canada, Canadian Alliance and Conservative Party of Canada....
.
On May 2, Art Hanger
Art Hanger
Arthur "Art" Hanger is a Canadian politician.Hanger is a former member of the Conservative Party of Canada in the Canadian House of Commons, having represented the riding of Calgary Northeast since 1993 until his retirement in 2008. He has also been a member of the Reform Party of Canada , and the...
was the first Alliance MP suspended from caucus for criticizing Day. Two weeks later, on May 16, he was followed by Chuck Strahl
Chuck Strahl
Charles Strahl, PC, MP was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. He was a Member of Parliament in the governing Conservative Party of Canada.-Before politics:...
, Gary Lunn
Gary Lunn
Gary Vincent Lunn, PC, MP is the former Canadian Member of Parliament for the British Columbia riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands. He served in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2011, first as a member of the Reform Party of Canada and subsequently as a member of the Canadian Alliance and the...
, Jim Pankiw
Jim Pankiw
Jim Pankiw is a Canadian politician and former Member of Parliament.Pankiw served two terms in the Canadian House of Commons, representing Saskatoon—Humboldt in Saskatchewan from 1997 until 2004 as a member of the Reform Party of Canada, the Canadian Alliance, the Democratic Representative Caucus...
, Val Meredith
Val Meredith
Valerie Meredith was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2004. She was a realtor by career....
, Grant McNally
Grant McNally
Grant McNally was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2004. He was educated at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC. By career, he is a teacher....
, Jay Hill
Jay Hill
Jay D. Hill PC is a former Canadian politician and member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He was the Member of Parliament for the riding of Prince George—Peace River from 1993 until his retirement in 2010. He also served as Government House Leader in the Canadian House of Commons during his...
and Jim Gouk
Jim Gouk
James William "Jim" Gouk is a Canadian politician.Gouk began his political career as an alderman in Castlegar, British Columbia. Gouk would enter federal politics in 1993 when he was elected into the Canadian House of Commons. In the Canadian federal election, 1993 he was elected in Kootenay...
. In late June, they were joined by Monte Solberg
Monte Solberg
Monte Kenton Solberg, PC is a former Canadian Member of Parliament, representing the riding of Medicine Hat in the Canadian House of Commons as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He was the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development...
, Andy Burton
Andy Burton
Andy Burton is a Canadian politician.Burton immigrated with his family to Canada from England in 1952 at the age of 10. He grew up in Prince George, British Columbia. In the early 1960s, he worked as a highway surveyor and then as a bulk plant manager for Shell Petroleum...
and Brian Fitzpatrick
Brian Fitzpatrick (Canadian politician)
Brian Fitzpatrick is a Canadian politician.After serving as a board of education trustee in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Fitzpatrick ran in the Canadian federal election, 2000 for the Canadian Alliance...
, and in the first week of July by Inky Mark
Inky Mark
Inky Mark is a Canadian politician and a former member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the Manitoba riding of Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette. Mark is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada....
and Grey. Through the summer, this group of MPs sat as "Independent Alliance Caucus", and were jokingly dubbed the "Rebel Alliance
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
" by political commentators.
In early September, an offer was made to the MPs to readmit them to the Alliance caucus if they promised to refrain from criticizing Day's leadership. The MPs surveyed their constituents, and on September 10, the offer was accepted by Hanger, Gouk, Solberg, Fitzpatrick and Burton. The remaining seven MPs refused, and initiated the Democratic Representative Caucus on September 12, with Strahl as its parliamentary leader and Grey as deputy leader. This was not intended as a new political party, but simply as a group caucus.
Coalition with the Progressive Conservatives
Two weeks later, on September 24, the DRC members entered into a coalition with the Progressive ConservativesProgressive 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....
, which was intended to be PC leader Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
's framework for proving that the two parties could be united on his terms rather than Day's. Clark was leader of the "PC-DRC Coalition" caucus, and Strahl, as leader of the DRC, was named deputy leader. Clark and Strahl tried to propose common policies that would appeal to both PC and Alliance members.
While the DRC members insisted that they remained loyal to the Canadian Alliance despite their opposition to Day's leadership, the group began to establish the Democratic Representative Association (DRA), presumably to support their re-election campaigns as DRC Members of Parliament.
On November 19, Lunn left the DRC to rejoin the Alliance shortly after Day agreed to hold a new Alliance leadership race.
End of the coalition
In March 2002, Day lost that leadership race to Stephen HarperStephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
, and on April 10, most of the DRC members returned to the Alliance caucus, terminating their coalition agreement with the PCs after Clark rebuffed Harper's attempts to seek a greater union between the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives. The DRA was disbanded.
Mark chose not to return to the Alliance caucus, instead sitting as an Independent Conservative, then joining the PC caucus in early 2003.
Pankiw's request for readmission to the Alliance caucus was denied, as he was embroiled in a political scandal involving a violent confrontation with an aboriginal constituent. He ran for mayor of Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, in 2003, while still sitting as an independent MP, and again attracted controversy because his home was in fact outside of Saskatoon's city limits and not in the city's Forest Grove area as he claimed on his application.
Conservative Party of Canada
Clark's successor, Peter MacKayPeter MacKay
Peter Gordon MacKay, PC, QC, MP is a lawyer and politician from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for Central Nova and currently serves as Minister of National Defence in the Cabinet of Canada....
, negotiated a merger with the CA in late 2003, and he, along with Mark and most of the PC caucus, joined with the CA caucus to form the Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
, fulfilling the DRC's main goal of a unified centre right. But, Clark and a few other prominent PC MPs and senators refused to join the new party, whilst Pankiw was again refused admission along with another Saskatchewan CA MP, Larry Spencer
Larry Spencer
Larry Spencer is a Baptist pastor in Canada, and former Member of Parliament for the Saskatchewan riding of Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre. He is currently serving as interim national president of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada....
.
In 2004, Grey, having retired from politics, noted in her published political memoirs that the PC-DRC's full name was constantly misreported by the press, political commentators and the media. The official title of the coalition was "Progressive Conservative - Democratic Reform Coalition Caucus" as opposed to Representative.