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... t; instant delegates' (Harrison, pg. 117, 1995) to push him over the top. The Manning camp got word of this idea, and subsequently closed delegate registration on the Friday night of the convention (it was supposed to run until Saturday morning). This action sent a Roberts supporter by the name of Francis Winspear into a rage, severely criticising the decision to suspend registration and accusing the Manning camp that some membership money had been unaccounted for. 'With animosities rising, Jo Anne Hillier called a meeting between the two sides on Saturday night to attempt to resolve the disputes. The attempt at reconciliation failed. ' (Harrison, pg. 117, 1995) The next morning, during an emotional speech, Roberts decided to drop out of the race, all the while questioning whether or not the party stood true to its founding principles of integrity and honesty. He referred to Manning's supporters as 'fanatical Albertans' and 'small-minded evangelical cranks. ' (Harrison, pg. 118, 1995) This left Preston Manning as the first (and current) leader of one of Canada's newest political parties, the Reform Party of Canada.
In its short history to date, the Reform Party of Canada has had some success federally, and has weathered its share of criticism. In the last federal election, they won a total of 52 seats, almost beating out the Bloc Quebecois for the title of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, who won 54 seats. The Reform took one seat in Ontario, one seat in Manitoba, four seats in Saskatchewan, 22 seats in Alberta, and 24 seats in British Columbia. (Guy, pg. 434, 1995) There was some debate at the beginning of the Liberals' mandate from the Reform Party whether or not a separatist party (Bloc Quebecois) should be allowed to be the opposition in Parliament, but the Bloc remained as official opposition. Lately, however, a Bloc MP resigned his seat, leaving the Bloc with a one seat lead over the Reform Party in the race for official opposition. The next federal election should be very interesting, as these two parties might battle it out for the right to be opposition again. One moniker that the Reform Party wears that could damage their hopes of ever being the opposition or the government is the fact that many Canadians have the stereotype that Reform MPs and supporters are red-necked hillbillies from out west.
A little while back, a Reform MP by the name of Robert Wringma made comments of a racial nature towards black and aboriginal people. Wringma suggested that if he were a shopkeeper, and if his patrons were offended by blacks or aboriginals working up in the front of his shop, he would make sure that the black or aboriginal person (s) working for him would be in the back of the shop while his racist customers were on the premises. This prompted outrage from minority groups and the general Canadian population, and Preston Manning was eventually pressured into kicking Wringma out of caucus. That particular incident summed up the Reform stereotype of extreme right-wing views, and it should also be interesting whether or not this subject surfaces again during the next federal election campaign. On the Reform Party's web page, the policy section is entitled 'a 6 point plan to build a brighter future together. ' (summary. html, 1997) Their number one priority is to 'create growth, opportunity, and lasting jobs through smaller government, an end to overspending, and lower taxes, to make government smaller by eliminating waste, duplication, and red tape to save $ 15 billion a year, and to balance the budget by March 31, 1999. ' (summary.
html, 1997) The Reform Party also intends to give the public tax relief, by having 'lower taxes for all Canadians: $ 2, 000 by the year 2000 for the average family, an increase in the Basic Personal Amount and Spousal Amount, cut capital gains taxes in half, cut employers' U. I. premiums by 28 %, and eliminate federal surtaxes and last but not least, flatten and simplify the income tax system. ' (Summary. html, 1997) Their plans for the Unemployment Insurance system are not all that extravagant, but on the home page, they are quoted as saying that they are going to: 'return Unemployment Insurance to its original purpose: protection against temporary job loss. ' (summary.
html, 1997) These economic reform policies seem to be related somewhat to the Progressive Conservatives' economic reform policies, but they do not go into nearly as much detail as the Conservatives do. Politics in Canada is an extremely volatile business. One day a party can be on top of the world, and the next day they can be the scourge of the planet. Politics in Canada has a long and interesting history, so much so that this paper has barely even scratched the surface. While the New Democrats and Reform are gathering support in different areas of the country, it must be remembered that the only two parties to ever hold federal office in this country have been the Conservative and Liberal parties.
From examining the various party's web pages, it seems that the Liberals and Conservatives have the most detailed policy platforms, the Reform Party is simply lacking the detail of the Conservatives and Liberals, and the New Democrats have little information to research at all. History tends to repeat itself, especially in elections in this country, and it would not be surprising if the Liberals won another federal mandate this year. The Conservatives look like they are making the long trek back to prominence, but the Reform Party and New Democrats seem to be treading water. The real test that will determine which paths these parties will take during the trek into the 21 st century, however, will be made in the soon-to-be- called Canadian federal election.
Democracy will speak out once again. BIBLIOGRAPHY (1996) A Fresh Start for Canadians [Online]. Available: web [ 1997, Feb. 25 ]. Guy, John J.
People, Politics and Government. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1995. Harrison, Trevor. Of Passionate Intensity. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995. (1996) Liberal Party of Canada [Online]. Available: web book / chapter 1.
html [ 1997, Feb. 25 ]. Macquarie, Heath. The Conservative Party. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1965. McMenemy, John, Winn, Conrad. Political Parties in Canada.
Montreal: McGraw- Hill Ryerson, 1976. Morton, Desmond. The New Democrats, 1961 - 1986. Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman Ltd. , 1986. (1996) New Democrats of Canada [Online]. Available: web [ 1997, Feb. 25 ]. Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
Designing a Blueprint for Canadians. Ottawa, 1997. (1996) Progressive Conservative Youth [Online]. Available: web [ 1997, Feb. 25 ].
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