Liberal Party of Canada

oldest federal political party in Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada (French: Parti libéral du Canada) is a political party in Canada. The party is considered to be centre to centre-left. The party was the Official Opposition after it lost the 2006 election, until the NDP became the Official Opposition in 2011. They won the election in 2015. The current party leader is the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Liberal Party of Canada
Parti libéral du Canada
LeaderJustin Trudeau
Deputy LeaderMark Gerretsen
PresidentSuzanne Cowan
FounderGeorge Brown
Founded1867; 157 years ago (1867)
Preceded byClear Grits,
Parti rouge
HeadquartersConstitution Square, Ottawa, Ontario
Youth wingYoung Liberals of Canada
Ideology
Political positionCentre[5][6] to centre-left[7][8]
International affiliationLiberal International[9]
Colours  Red
Party members in the Senate[note 1]
0 / 105
Seats in the House of Commons
153 / 338
Website
liberal.ca

Provincial and territorial parties

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Every provinces and one territory in Canada have its own Liberal Party. However, only the parties in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are part of the federal Liberal Party. Some of the other provincial parties might have very similar political ideologies but they are different political parties. These parties might have different members and different funding.[11]

Affiliated provincial parties, current seats, and leaders
Party Seats/Total Leader Status
New Brunswick Liberal Association
21 / 49
Kevin Vickers Official Opposition
Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
20 / 40
Dwight Ball Minority government
Nova Scotia Liberal Party
27 / 51
Stephen McNeil Majority government
Prince Edward Island Liberal Party
6 / 27
Robert Mitchell Third Party

List of Leaders (1867–present)

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To date, only seven Liberal leaders never served as Prime Minister, three of whom were interim leaders.

Portrait No. Name Term start Term end Date of birth Date of death Notes
1   George Brown 1867 1867 29 November 1818 9 May 1880 Unofficial
(The leader of the Clear Grits, a forerunner of the federal Liberal Party)
Vacant
1867 – 1869
2   Edward Blake 1869 1870 13 October 1833 1 March 1912 Unofficial
3   Alexander Mackenzie 6 March 1873 27 April 1880 28 January 1822 17 April 1892 2nd Prime Minister (1st Liberal Prime Minister)
(2)   Edward Blake 4 May 1880 2 June 887 13 October 1833 1 March 1912
4   Wilfrid Laurier 23 June 1887 17 February 1919 20 November 1841 17 February 1919 7th Prime Minister
  Daniel Duncan McKenzie 17 February 1919 7 August 1919 8 January 1859 8 June 1927 Interim leader
5   William Lyon
Mackenzie King
7 August 1919 7 August 1948 17 December 1874 22 July 1950 10th Prime Minister
6   Louis St. Laurent 7 August 1948 16 January 1958 1 February 1882 25 July 1973 12th Prime Minister
7   Lester B. Pearson 16 January 1958 6 April 1968 23 April 1897 27 December 1972 14th Prime Minister
8   Pierre Trudeau 6 April 1968 16 June 1984 18 October 1919 28 September 2000 15th Prime Minister
9   John Turner 16 June 1984 23 June 1990 7 June 1929 18 September 2020 17th Prime Minister
10   Jean Chrétien 23 June 1990 14 November 2003 11 January 1934 living 20th Prime Minister
11   Paul Martin 14 November 2003 19 March 2006 28 August 1938 living 21st Prime Minister
  Bill Graham 19 March 2006 2 December 2006 17 March 1939 7 August 2022 Interim leader
12   Stéphane Dion 2 December 2006 10 December 2008 28 September 1955 living
13   Michael Ignatieff 10 December 2008 25 May 2011 12 May 1947 living Interim leader until 2 May 2009 (when ratified as permanent leader)
  Bob Rae 25 May 2011 14 April 2013 2 August 1948 living Interim leader
14   Justin Trudeau 14 April 2013 Incumbent 25 December 1971 living 23rd Prime Minister
  1. All Liberal senators were expelled from the party's parliamentary caucus in 2014. Remaining senators appointed by Liberal prime ministers sit as the Senate Liberal Caucus, which is not affiliated to or recognised by the Liberal Party.[10]

References

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  1. The party became infused with social liberalism in the 1940s and 1950s. Law Commission of Canada (2011). Law and Citizenship. UBC Press. p. 6. ISBN 9780774840798.
  2. Susan Prentice, "Manitoba's childcare regime: Social liberalism in flux". Canadian Journal of Sociology 29.2 (2004): 193-207.
  3. Michael J. Prince, "Canadian disability activism and political ideas: In and between neo-liberalism and social liberalism". Canadian Journal of Disability Studies 1.1 (2012): 1-34.
  4. Smith, Miriam (2005). "Social Movements and Judicial Empowerment: Courts, Public Policy, and Lesbian and Gay Organizing in Canada". Politics & Society. 33 (2): 327–353. doi:10.1177/0032329205275193. S2CID 154613468.
  5. Amanda Bittner; Royce Koop (1 March 2013). Parties, Elections, and the Future of Canadian Politics. UBC Press. pp. 300–. ISBN 978-0-7748-2411-8.
  6. Andrea Olive (2015). The Canadian Environment in Political Context. University of Toronto Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-4426-0871-9.
  7. David Rayside (2011). Faith, Politics, and Sexual Diversity in Canada and the United States. UBC Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-7748-2011-0.
  8. Richard Collin; Pamela L. Martin (2012). An Introduction to World Politics: Conflict and Consensus on a Small Planet. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-4422-1803-1.
  9. "Liberal Party of Canada Welcomes Liberal International to 2009 Convention". Liberal Party of Canada. March 6, 2009. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  10. Spencer, Christina (29 January 2014). "Justin Trudeau kicks all 32 Liberal senators out of caucus in bid for reform". National Post. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  11. Dyck, Rand (2012). Canadian Politics: Concise Fifth Edition. Nelson Education. pp. 217, 229. ISBN 978-0176503437.

Other websites

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