Ontario Libertarian Party
Encyclopedia
The Ontario Libertarian Party is a political party in Ontario
, Canada
that was founded in 1975 by Bruce Evoy, Vince Miller, and others, inspired by the formation three years earlier of the US Libertarian Party. The Party is guided by adherence to the philosophical ideas of Austrian Economics and influenced by authors and thinkers like Jan Narveson
and Murray Rothbard
. The party's current leader is Allen Small.
It claimed, for a time, to be Ontario's fourth party, but has been surpassed in popularity by the Green Party of Ontario
and the Family Coalition Party of Ontario
.
The Ontario Libertarian Party split in 1980 when the Unparty was formed. In 1984, under the leadership of Marc Emery
and Robert Metz, the Unparty's name and nature changed: it became the Freedom Party of Ontario
.
The Ontario Libertarian Party lost support with the rise of Mike Harris
and his Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
in the 1990s.
The party is associated with the Libertarian Party of Canada
.
In 1995, under the leadership of John Shadbolt
, the party's total vote declined to 6,085 votes. The top candidate was Robert Ede in York Centre, with 1,792 votes (2.31%). Three other candidates - Party Chairman Jean-Serge Brisson, Vice-Chairman Kaye Sargent, and Paul Barker - topped 1%.
Shadbolt resigned one day after the 1995 election, and was replaced by George Dance on an interim basis. Sam Apelbaum
was chosen as the party's full-time leader at a convention in late 1996.
Thanks in part to the Harris
"Common Sense Revolution
" and the appearance of the Reform Party of Ontario
, the party lost momentum and had trouble finding candidates and ran few in 1999 and 2003. The demise of the Reform Party and the replacement of Mike Harris
with Ernie Eves
helped the party to regain membership. Changes to the Ontario Election Act, calling for fixed election dates at four year intervals galvanized the party to start preparing well in advance for the 2007 general election
. As a result the party fielded 25 candidates and obtained a total of 9,249 votes.
1975 results: Bulletin (Ontario Libertarian Party), 1:9 (Sep. 1975), 2.
1977-1981 results: Bulletin (Ontario Libertarian Party), 13:2 (Sep. 1987), 4.]
The party's Executive Committee, elected at its November 2011 Leadership Convention:
Nunzio Venuto (2009), Anthony Giles (2009), George Dance
(2010), Chester Brown(2010), John Shaw (2011), Sam Apelbaum
(2011)
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
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...
that was founded in 1975 by Bruce Evoy, Vince Miller, and others, inspired by the formation three years earlier of the US Libertarian Party. The Party is guided by adherence to the philosophical ideas of Austrian Economics and influenced by authors and thinkers like Jan Narveson
Jan Narveson
Jan Narveson, OC is professor of philosophy emeritus at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. An anarcho-capitalist and contractarian, Narveson's form of libertarian anarchism is deeply influenced by the thought of Robert Nozick and David Gauthier.Narveson was born in Erskine,...
and Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
. The party's current leader is Allen Small.
It claimed, for a time, to be Ontario's fourth party, but has been surpassed in popularity by the Green Party of Ontario
Green Party of Ontario
The Green Party of Ontario is a political party in Ontario, Canada. The party is led by Mike Schreiner. It has never held any seats in the Ontario Legislative Assembly; however, the party did see significant gains in the 2007 provincial election, earning 8% of the popular vote with some candidates...
and the Family Coalition Party of Ontario
Family Coalition Party of Ontario
The Family Coalition Party is a small political party in Ontario, Canada that promotes a socially conservative ideology. It was formed in 1987 by members of the pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, and has fielded candidates in every provincial election since then...
.
The Ontario Libertarian Party split in 1980 when the Unparty was formed. In 1984, under the leadership of Marc Emery
Marc Emery
Marc Scott Emery is a Canadian cannabis policy reform advocate, as well as a former cannabis seed seller. He is currently serving a five year sentence in a United States federal prison for selling cannabis seeds....
and Robert Metz, the Unparty's name and nature changed: it became the Freedom Party of Ontario
Freedom Party of Ontario
The Freedom Party of Ontario is a provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was founded on January 1, 1984 in London, Ontario by Robert Metz and Marc Emery, as a successor to the Unparty....
.
The Ontario Libertarian Party lost support with the rise of Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
and his Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
in the 1990s.
The party is associated with the Libertarian Party of Canada
Libertarian Party of Canada
The Libertarian Party of Canada is a political party in Canada that subscribes to the tenets of the libertarian movement across Canada.-History:...
.
Recent election results
The party's most successful election was the 1990 election, in which the OLP candidates won 24,613 votes or 0.61% of the vote. In the 45 ridings where the OLP ran candidates, the party averaged 547 votes or 1.76% of the total. In eight of the election races, OLP candidates came in fourth behind the PC, Liberal and NDP candidates. Top OLP vote getters were Robert Shapton, 5.1% of the vote in Dufferin-Peel; William Galster, 4.5% in Scarborough-Agincourt; John McLean, 3.4% in Simcoe East; and Daniel Hunt, 3.0% of the vote in Riverdale.In 1995, under the leadership of John Shadbolt
John Shadbolt
John Shadbolt is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as leader of the Libertarian Party of Ontario in the 1995 provincial election.Shadbolt first ran for the provincial legislature in the 1990 Ontario election, finishing sixth out of six candidates in Halton North with 461 votes...
, the party's total vote declined to 6,085 votes. The top candidate was Robert Ede in York Centre, with 1,792 votes (2.31%). Three other candidates - Party Chairman Jean-Serge Brisson, Vice-Chairman Kaye Sargent, and Paul Barker - topped 1%.
Shadbolt resigned one day after the 1995 election, and was replaced by George Dance on an interim basis. Sam Apelbaum
Sam Apelbaum
Sam Apelbaum is a politician in Ontario, Canada. A lawyer and real estate agent, he has been the leader of the Ontario Libertarian Party since 1996....
was chosen as the party's full-time leader at a convention in late 1996.
Thanks in part to the Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
"Common Sense Revolution
Common Sense Revolution
The phrase Common Sense Revolution has been used as a political slogan to describe common sense conservative platforms in Australia and the U.S. state of New Jersey in the 1990s. Based on the Singapore Model of economics, its main goal is to reduce taxes while balancing the budget by reducing the...
" and the appearance of the Reform Party of Ontario
Reform Party of Ontario
The Reform Party of Ontario is a political party in Ontario, Canada. Until the 1999 provincial election, the party ran one candidate each election merely to keep the party's name in the possession of the Reform Party of Canada....
, the party lost momentum and had trouble finding candidates and ran few in 1999 and 2003. The demise of the Reform Party and the replacement of Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
with Ernie Eves
Ernie Eves
Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
helped the party to regain membership. Changes to the Ontario Election Act, calling for fixed election dates at four year intervals galvanized the party to start preparing well in advance for the 2007 general election
Ontario general election, 2007
The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...
. As a result the party fielded 25 candidates and obtained a total of 9,249 votes.
| Year of election | # of candidates | # of seats won | # of votes | % of popular vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 Ontario general election, 1975 The Ontario general election of 1975 was held on September 18, 1975, to elect the 125 members of the 30th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada.... |
17 | 0 | 4,752 | |
| 1977 Ontario general election, 1977 The Ontario general election of 1977 was held on June 9, 1977, to elect the 125 members of the 31st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada.... |
31 | 0 | 9,961 | |
| 1981 Ontario general election, 1981 The Ontario general election of 1981 was held on March 19, 1981, to elect members of the 32nd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.... |
12 | 0 | 7,087 | |
| 1985 Ontario general election, 1985 The Ontario general election of 1985 was held on May 2, 1985, to elect members of the 33rd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada... |
17 | 0 | 12,831 | 0.4% |
| 1987 Ontario general election, 1987 The Ontario general election of 1987 was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by David Peterson, was returned to power with a large majority... |
25 | 0 | 13,514 | 0.4% |
| 1990 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.... |
45 | 0 | 24,613 | 0.6% |
| 1995 Ontario general election, 1995 The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada... |
7 | 0 | 6,085 | 0.2% |
| 1999 Ontario general election, 1999 An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.... |
7 | 0 | 2,337 | 0.1% |
| 2003 Ontario general election, 2003 The Ontario general election of 2003 was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.... |
5 | 0 | 1,991 | 0.04% |
| 2007 Ontario general election, 2007 The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular... |
25 | 0 | 9,249 | 0.21% |
| 2011 Ontario general election, 2011 The 40th Ontario general election was held on October 6, 2011 to elect members of the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Ontario Liberal Party will form a minority government, with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario serving as the Official Opposition and the Ontario New... |
51 | 0 | 19,387 |
1975 results: Bulletin (Ontario Libertarian Party), 1:9 (Sep. 1975), 2.
1977-1981 results: Bulletin (Ontario Libertarian Party), 13:2 (Sep. 1987), 4.]
Executive committee
Conventions are held every three years to elect the Leader, Deputy Leader, Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and Campaign Director for a three-year term. All of these positions except Leader and Deputy Leader may be replaced by election at a General Meeting. Members-at-Large are elected for a one-year term at a Convention or Annual General Meeting.The party's Executive Committee, elected at its November 2011 Leadership Convention:
- Leader- Allen Small
- Deputy Leader- Paolo Fabrizio
- Chairman- Greg Pattinson
- Vice-Chair- Jean-Serge BrissonJean-Serge BrissonJean-Serge Brisson is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is the former leader of the Libertarian Party of Canada, which he joined in 1986.-Biography:...
- Secretary- Philip Bender
- Recording Secretary- Matthew Belanger
- Treasurer- Jim McIntosh
- Campaign Director- Jeff McLarty
- Members at Large- Christin Milloy, Adam Hyde
Ethics Committee
The Ethics Committee is normally composed of 6 members, none of whom may be a member of the Executive. Two (or more) members of the Party are elected to the Ethics Committee for a three-year term at each Convention or Annual General Meeting. (Ethics Committee members are listed in order of seniority - longest serving members first.)Nunzio Venuto (2009), Anthony Giles (2009), George Dance
George Dance (politician)
George Dance is a politician and political activist in Ontario, Canada. He has been a member of the Libertarian Party of Canada and the Ontario Libertarian Party since the mid-1970s, and has served as interim leader of both parties....
(2010), Chester Brown(2010), John Shaw (2011), Sam Apelbaum
Sam Apelbaum
Sam Apelbaum is a politician in Ontario, Canada. A lawyer and real estate agent, he has been the leader of the Ontario Libertarian Party since 1996....
(2011)
Party leaders
- Terry Coughlin (Elected at founding meeting, July 24, 1975)
- Paul Mollon (1977 electionOntario general election, 1977The Ontario general election of 1977 was held on June 9, 1977, to elect the 125 members of the 31st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
) - Scott Bell (1981Ontario general election, 1981The Ontario general election of 1981 was held on March 19, 1981, to elect members of the 32nd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
and 1985Ontario general election, 1985The Ontario general election of 1985 was held on May 2, 1985, to elect members of the 33rd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada...
elections) - Kaye SargentKaye SargentKaye Sargent was a political activist in Ontario, Canada. She was the Deputy Leader of the Ontario Libertarian Party, and served as the party's leader for three years in the late 1980s. She also campaigned as a federal candidate for the Libertarian Party of Canada.Formerly a singer, Sargent became...
(1987 electionOntario general election, 1987The Ontario general election of 1987 was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by David Peterson, was returned to power with a large majority...
) - James Stock (1990 electionOntario general election, 1990The 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....
) - John ShadboltJohn ShadboltJohn Shadbolt is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as leader of the Libertarian Party of Ontario in the 1995 provincial election.Shadbolt first ran for the provincial legislature in the 1990 Ontario election, finishing sixth out of six candidates in Halton North with 461 votes...
(?-June 9, 1995) - George Dance (interim) (June 9, 1995-1996)
- Sam ApelbaumSam ApelbaumSam Apelbaum is a politician in Ontario, Canada. A lawyer and real estate agent, he has been the leader of the Ontario Libertarian Party since 1996....
(October 1996 - November 2011) - Allen Small (November 2011 - )
See also
- List of Ontario general elections
- List of Canadian political parties
- List of libertarian political parties
- Libertarian Party candidates, 2003 Ontario provincial electionLibertarian Party candidates, 2003 Ontario provincial electionThe Ontario Libertarian Party ran five candidates in the 2003 Ontario provincial election. Relevant information about these candidates may be found on this page. The party originally planned to run two other candidates: Bill Turley in Durham and Paolo Fabrizio in Vaughan—King—Aurora...