Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance Alliance réformiste-conservateur Canadienne
Former Federal Party
Founded	March 27, 2000
Dissolved	December 7, 2003 Merged with PC into the modern Conservative Party
Leader	Stockwell Day (2000-01) Stephen Harper (2002-03)
President	n/a
Headquarters	n/a
Political ideology	Conservatism, Neoconservatism, Social conservatism
International alignment	n/a
Colours	Green and Blue
Website	n/a

The Canadian Alliance (in French Alliance Canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (or in French Alliance réformiste-conservateur Canadienne), was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ( PC) ( Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) ( 1867 – 2003) was a Canadian The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative Stockwell Burt Day Jr, PC, MP (born August 16, 1950 in Barrie Ontario) is a Canadian Politician and WikipediaManual of Style (biographies#Honorific prefixes --> Stephen Joseph Harper PC Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Neoconservatism (or Neocon is a Right-wing political philosophy that emerged in the United States from the rejection of the Social liberalism, Moral relativism Social conservatism is a political or moral ideology that affirms the government's role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or behaviors in the belief that these are what Green is a Color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a Wavelength of roughly 520–570- nm. Blue is a Colour, the Perception of which is evoked by Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined 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 it throughout its existence. The Reform Party of Canada ( Parti réformiste du Canada) was a Canadian federal Political party that existed from 1987 to 2000 In Canada Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition ( French: L'Opposition Loyale de Sa Majesté) commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually The House of Commons (Chambre des communes is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and The party supported policies that were both fiscally and socially conservative, seeking reduced government spending on social programs and reductions in taxation. Fiscal conservatism (also known as economic conservatism is a political phrase term used in North America to describe advocacy of lower governmental spending practices and a Social conservatism is a political or moral ideology that affirms the government's role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or behaviors in the belief that these are what

The Alliance was created out of the United Alternative initiative launched by the Reform Party and several provincial Tory parties as a vehicle to merge with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Unite the Right, also called the United Alternative, was a Canadian Political movement from 1997 to 2003 The Reform Party of Canada ( Parti réformiste du Canada) was a Canadian federal Political party that existed from 1987 to 2000 The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ( PC) ( Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) ( 1867 – 2003) was a Canadian The federal PC Party under Joe Clark rebuffed the initiative to "unite the right". Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark PC CC AOE (born June 5 1939 is a Canadian Journalist, Politician, Statesman In December 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative parties voted to disband and merge into the Conservative Party of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative

Background

Logo of the Canadian Alliance's predecessor, the Reform Party of Canada.

The Canadian Alliance's origins were in the Reform Party of Canada, which was founded in 1987 as a populist party supporting Western Canadian interests. The Reform Party of Canada ( Parti réformiste du Canada) was a Canadian federal Political party that existed from 1987 to 2000 Western Canada, commonly referred to as the West, is a region of Canada normally including all parts of Canada west of the province However, soon after its formation it moved sharply to the right and became a populist conservative (largely socially conservative) party. Social conservatives in the European and North American context believe in Natural law, and traditional Family values and policies Initially, the Reform Party was motivated by the need for democratic reforms and by profound Western Canadian discontent with the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney. Martin Brian Mulroney PC CC GOQ (predominantly known as Brian Mulroney) (born March 20, 1939) was the eighteenth Led by its founder Preston Manning, the Reform Party rapidly gained momentum in western Canada and sought to expand its base in the east. Ernest Preston Manning, CC (born June 10, 1942, in Edmonton Alberta) is a Right-wing populist Canadian politician Manning, son of longtime Alberta Premier Ernest Manning, gained support partly from the same political constituency as his father's old party, the Social Credit Party of Canada. The Premier of Alberta is the First minister for the Canadian province of Alberta. Ernest Charles Manning PC, CC, AOE, LLD ( September 20, 1908 - February 19, 1996) a Canadian The Social Credit Party of Canada ( French: Parti Crédit social du Canada) was a conservative - Populist political party in

With the collapse of a fragile Tory coalition composed of westerners, Ontarians and Quebec nationalists, the Reform Party's fortunes rose. Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk It first entered Parliament in 1989 when Deborah Grey won a by-election in an Edmonton-area riding. Deborah Cleland Grey, OC, sometimes called Deb Grey (born July 1, 1952) is a prominent former Canadian Member of Parliament Edmonton (ˈɛdmɨntɨn is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The party achieved major success in the 1993 federal election, when it succeeded in replacing the Progressive Conservative Party as the leading right-wing party in Canada. The Canadian federal election of 1993 (officially the 35th general election) was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons Its platform and policies emphasized, inter alia, the rights and responsibilities of the individual, Senate and other democratic reforms, and smaller more fiscally responsible government. However, the party came under constant attack of being extremist and intolerant due to a number of statements by Reform MPs which were considered to be racist, homophobic, and sexist remarks. List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that BenPhelpsJPG|thumb|right|Westboro Baptist Church picket signs with Ben Phelps grandson of Fred Phelps Sexism is the belief or attitude that one Gender or Sex is inferior to or less valuable than the other and can also refer to a Hatred or distrust towards The party itself never officially advocated any intolerant beliefs. In the 1997 election, the Reform Party made only minor gains, but did manage to become Canada's official opposition. The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of The party still failed to present a true challenge to the Liberal government, since its agenda was seen as too extreme for the liking of central and eastern Canada. The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political Reform actually won a seat in Ontario in 1993, but lost it in 1997.

Demand for unity by the right, encouraged Manning to promote a new movement, the "United Alternative", to create a small-"c" conservative alternative to the Liberals. Unite the Right, also called the United Alternative, was a Canadian Political movement from 1997 to 2003 Manning blamed "conservative" vote splitting for keeping the Liberals in power, although some polls showed that the Liberals were the second choice of many PC voters (especially in Ontario). Manning's efforts created a strong debate in the Reform party, and he would even write a letter to the effect that he didn't want to lead Reform anymore, but would only lead the new party. Manning would win a leadership review with over 75%, and opposition died down.

In 2000, following the second of the two United Alternative conventions, the party voted to dissolve in favour of a new party: the "Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance", a declaration of policy and a new constitution. The new party's platform was a mixture of the PC and Reform platforms, but since former Reform members dominated the party, it was largely seen as merely a renamed and enlarged Reform Party. Former PM Brian Mulroney called the party "Reform in pantyhose", and some opponents referred to the party as the "Reform Alliance" to enforce this perception. The Prime Minister of Canada ( French: Premier ministre du Canada) is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus Martin Brian Mulroney PC CC GOQ (predominantly known as Brian Mulroney) (born March 20, 1939) was the eighteenth

Media covering the convention quickly pointed out that if one added the word "Party" to the end of the party's name, the resulting initials were "CCRAP" (humorously pronounced "see-crap" or just "crap") even though it, like the Bloc Québécois, didn't actually have the word party in its name. The Bloc Québécois ( BQ) is a federal political party in Canada that defines itself as devoted to both the protection of Quebec's interests on a federal When it became clear after a few days that the joke was not going to subside, the party's official name was quickly changed to the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, but was almost always called simply "the Canadian Alliance" or "the Alliance". However, the "CCRAP" nickname was still used by its opponents. Grey, the deputy leader of Reform, was chosen as the new party's interim leader, becoming the first female Leader of the Opposition in Canadian history.

The federal Progressive Conservatives under Joe Clark refused to participate in these talks, but there was strong support from many provincial Tories, especially in Ontario and Alberta. Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark PC CC AOE (born June 5 1939 is a Canadian Journalist, Politician, Statesman Subsequently, at the new party's first leadership convention, Manning was defeated in favour of the younger, more charismatic Stockwell Day, longtime treasurer (finance minister) of Alberta. In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent Stockwell Burt Day Jr, PC, MP (born August 16, 1950 in Barrie Ontario) is a Canadian Politician and Alberta (ælˈbɝtə is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1 1905 One Progressive Conservative senator, Gerry St. Germain, joined the new party in October of 2000, becoming the Alliance's only member of the Senate. Gerry St Germain, PC (born November 6, 1937) is a Canadian Politician.

In the fall of 2000, the Liberals called a snap election that caught the Alliance off-guard. The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of Nonetheless, the party went into the election with great hopes, campaigning on tax cuts, an end to the federal gun registration program, and their vision of "family values". Day was expected to have greater appeal to Ontario voters. At one point, the Alliance was at 30. 5% in the polls, and some thought they could win the election, or at least knock the Liberals down to a minority government. A minority government or a minority cabinet is a Cabinet of a Parliamentary system formed when the governing Political party or However, the Liberals responded by accusing the Alliance of having a "hidden agenda" (introduce two-tier health care, threatening gay rights and abortion rights) which the party denied. Two-tier health care is a form of national Health care system. Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender social movements share related goals of social acceptance of Homosexuality, Bisexuality and Transgenderism Lesbian An

Though disappointed with the election results in Ontario, it increased its presence to 66 MPs, including two MPs from Ontario. Nationally, the party increased its popular vote to 25%. The Alliance remained the Official Opposition in the House of Commons. The Liberals increased their large majority mostly at the expense of the NDP, and the Tories under Joe Clark lost many seats and remained in fifth place, but Clark held his seat of Calgary Centre in the middle of Alliance country, so the overall political landscape was not significantly changed. Calgary Centre (formerly known as Calgary South Centre) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in

However, the Alliance failure to win more than the two seats in Ontario, along with residual resentments from the Alliance leadership contest and questions about Day's competence, led to caucus infighting. In the spring of 2001, eleven MPs who either voluntarily resigned or were expelled from the party formed the "Independent Alliance Caucus". The group was led by Chuck Strahl and included Grey. Charles Strahl, PC, MP (born February 25, 1957 in New Westminster, British Columbia) is a politician in British Day offered the dissidents an amnesty at the end of the summer, but seven of them, including Grey and Stahl, turned it down and formed their own parliamentary grouping, the Democratic Representative Caucus. The Democratic Representative Caucus was a group of Canadian Members of Parliament who left the Canadian Alliance in 2001 in protest against the leadership The DRC formed a coalition with Clark's Tories in the House, which was widely seen as an attempt by Clark to reunite the Canadian right on his terms. The split forced Day to call a new leadership convention, and, in April 2002, Stephen Harper defeated Day at the subsequent Canadian Alliance leadership election. WikipediaManual of Style (biographies#Honorific prefixes --> Stephen Joseph Harper PC The Canadian Alliance, a conservative political party in Canada, held two leadership elections to choose the party's leader

Once Harper assumed the leadership, most of the rebellious MPs rejoined the Alliance party. Two MPs did not rejoin, however: Inky Mark chose to remain outside of caucus, and eventually joined the Tories, and the scandal-plagued Jim Pankiw was rejected when he applied for readmission to the Alliance caucus. Inky Mark (麥鼎鴻 Pinyin: Mài Dǐnghóng (born November 17 1947) is a Canadian politician and a current member of the Canadian Jim Pankiw (born August 7, 1966) is a Canadian Politician and former Member of Parliament.

Provincial wings

During its short history, the Canadian Alliance never seriously entertained the prospect of forming provincial wings, or forging formal links with existing provincial parties. The vast majority of CA supporters in most provinces supported, and continued to support their provincial Progressive Conservative parties, while most supporters in Saskatchewan remained loyal to the Saskatchewan Party. Saskatchewan (səˈskætʃəwən) is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of 588276 The Saskatchewan Party is a Centre-right Political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

However, an attempt to form a provincial party with clear, if unofficial links with the CA was made in Alberta, where the Alberta Alliance was formed in 2002. Alberta (ælˈbɝtə is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1 1905 The Alberta Alliance was a right wing Political party in Alberta, Canada. Under the leadership of Reform/CA activist Randy Thorsteinson, the new party never sought a formal link with the CA, and had it done so the overture would likely have been rebuffed since many Albertan CA members continued to support the Alberta Progressive Conservatives. Randy Thorsteinson (born November 8, 1956) is a Politician and businessman in Red Deer Alberta, Canada. The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial right-of-centre party in the Canadian province of Alberta. However, the Alberta Alliance copied the colours of the CA and many of its logos bear a striking resemblance to those of the federal party. The Alberta Alliance continued to grow following the federal party's merger, and the provincial party fielded a full slate of candidates for the 2004 provinicial election, on November 22, 2004, and won one seat in the Legislature. The Alberta general election of 2004 was the twenty-sixth general election for the province of Alberta, Canada. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

Conservative Party of Canada

On October 15, 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party (under its new leader Peter MacKay) announced that they would merge to form a new party, called the Conservative Party of Canada. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Peter Gordon MacKay, PC, QC, MP (born September 27, 1965) serves as the Member of Parliament (MP for Central Nova The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative The union was ratified on December 5, 2003, with 96% support of the membership of the Canadian Alliance, and on December 6, 90. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. 04% support of elected delegates in the PC Party. On December 8, the party was officially registered with Elections Canada, and on March 20, 2004, former Alliance leader Stephen Harper was elected as leader of the party. Elections Canada is an independent non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The new Conservative Party would form the government on February 6, 2006.

Party leaders

• Deborah Grey — March 27, 2000 – July 8, 2000 (interim)
• Stockwell Day — July 8, 2000 – December 12, 2001
• John Reynolds — December 12, 2001 – March 20, 2002 (interim)
• Stephen Harper — March 20, 2002 – December 7, 2003

Federal election results 2000

See also

• Canadian Alliance leadership elections
• Canadian Alliance candidates, 2000 Canadian federal election
• List of political parties in Canada
• Politics of Canada