Canadian Alliance, former Canadian political party that had its origins in the
Reform party of Canada, which was founded in 1987 in Winnipeg, Man., as a W Canada–based conservative alternative to the Progressive Conservative party Progressive Conservative party, former Canadian political party, formed in 1942 by the merger of the Progressive and Conservative parties. Beginning with the first Canadian prime minister, John A.
..... Click the link for more information. . Fiscally conservative and strongly in favor of tax cuts, the Alliance was also strongly federalist. The Reform party's formation was spurred in part by reaction against Prime Minister Brian Mulroney Mulroney, Brian (Martin Brian Mulroney) , 1939–, Canadian prime minister (1984–93). Raised in Quebec in a working class family, Mulroney was a successful bilingual lawyer who became active in provincial politics in the 1970s.
..... Click the link for more information. 's attempts to negotiate a special status for Quebec Quebec , Fr. Québec , province (2001 pop. 7,237,479), 594,860 sq mi (1,553,637 sq km), E Canada.
Geography
Quebec is bounded on the N by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, on the E by the Labrador area of Newfoundland and Labrador and the
..... Click the link for more information. within the Canadian confederation (see also Meech Lake Accord Meech Lake Accord, set of constitutional reforms designed to induce Quebec to accept the Canada Act. The Accord's five basic points, proposed by Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa, include a guarantee of Quebec's special status as a "distinct society" and a commitment to
..... Click the link for more information. ). Led by Preston Manning Manning, Preston, 1942–, Canadian political leader. Although he is the son of Ernest C. Manning, a leader of the Social Credit party who was premier of Alberta for 25 years, Preston Manning headed a management consulting firm for many years before he entered
..... Click the link for more information. , the party campaigned strongly against the Charlottetown Accord (see Canada Canada , independent nation (2001 pop. 30,007,094), 3,851,787 sq mi (9,976,128 sq km), N North America. Canada occupies all of North America N of the United States (and E of Alaska) except for Greenland and the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon.
..... Click the link for more information. ) in 1992, and in the 1993 elections it won 52 parliamentary seats, siphoning many votes from the Progressive Conservatives. In 1997, Reform won 60 seats, becoming the largest opposition party. The party re-formed as the Canadian Alliance in 2000 in an attempt to create a broad national conservative coalition to oppose the Liberal party Liberal party, Canadian political party. Prior to confederation in 1867, reform parties advocating greater local participation in provincial governments, free trade, and increased separation of church and state existed in Canada West, Canada East, and the Maritime
..... Click the link for more information. ; in July, Stockwell Day Day, Stockwell, 1950–, Canadian political leader, b. Barrie, Ontario. He grew up in Montreal, attended (1970–71) the Univ. of Victoria, and held such jobs as auctioneer, deckhand, lumberjack, contractor, Christian educator, and evangelical lay pastor
..... Click the link for more information. defeated Manning in a campaign for the leadership of the Alliance. Although the Alliance was the largest opposition party by far in the 2000 elections, a conservative coalition failed to coalesce, limiting the number of seats the Alliance won to 66. The Alliance remained a largely western party. Stephen Harper Harper, Stephen, 1959–, Canadian politician, prime minister (2006–) of Canada, b. Toronto. A founding member of the conservative Reform party (later the Canadian Alliance), he won a seat in the federal parliament in 1993, but broke with party leader
..... Click the link for more information. replaced Day as party leader in 2002, and in 2003 the party and the Progressive Conservative party agreed to merge as the Conservative party Conservative party, in Canada.
1 Former Canadian political party that merged with the Progressive party to form the Progressive Conservative party.
..... Click the link for more information. of Canada. Harper became the leader of the new party in 2004.
Canadian Alliance
French
Alliance CanadienneFormer conservative Canadian political party. It was created in 2000 from the merger of the Reform Party of Canada with other conservative groups in an effort to mount a united challenge to the ruling Liberal Party of Canada. By 1997 the Reform Party, whose support had been concentrated in the western Canadian provinces, held 60 seats in the Canadian House of Commons and was the official opposition party. The new Canadian Alliance gained 66 seats in the 2000 election and became the official opposition, though it was unable to make significant inroads in eastern Canada. In 2003 the party merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to form the Conservative Party of Canada. The party's platform generally favoured a reduction in the size of government, lower taxes, and conservative positions on social issues.