Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Freedom Party of Ontario
The Freedom Party of Ontario is a provincial political party in Ontario, Canada that was founded on 1 January 1984 by Robert Metz and Marc Emery - then of London, Ontario - as a successor to the Unparty.
The Unparty was a political party founded and registered (under Ontario's election finances legislation) by Marilou Gutscher, who had been previously been associated with the Ontario Libertarian Party. Metz and Emery had been most successful in building the Unparty organization, and the party was handed over to them when Gutscher decided not to pursue the Unparty project any further.
Sometimes labelled as "libertarian", the Freedom Party actually opposes libertarianism's tolerance for anarchism, and instead espouses political "freedom", in the sense that term is used by objectivists. The party refers to itself not as libertarian, but as capitalist. Instead of embracing the libertarian motto that "the government that governs least governs best", Freedom Party states that "the purpose of government is to protect every individual's fundamental freedoms, not to restrict them."
From 1984 through to 2002, Fp was most active between elections rather than during them. A partial record of its activities is published in the party newsletter, Freedom Flyer.
Robert Metz was the party's first president, and became its first official leader in 1987. He was succeeded by Jack Plant in 1994; Plant, in turn, stepped down in favour of Lloyd Walker in 1997.
Oshawa, Ontario lawyer Paul McKeever was elected party leader when Walker stepped down in 2002. Since that time, the party has undergone much growth and reorganization. The Freedom Party of Ontario adopted a new objective: to influence government through the election of Fp members of the Ontario provincial legislature "for the better protection in Ontario of every individual's rights of life, liberty and property". The Freedom Party of Ontario moved from a party that advocates the political philosophy of freedom, to a party that seeks governmental power in Ontario.
A new organization, Freedom Party International, took on the Freedom Party of Ontario's previous, non-electoral role of educating and advocating freedom, while co-ordinating and supporting Freedom Parties in all political jurisdictions. Freedom Party International took over, and continues to publish, the Freedom Party's journal of ideas on individual freedom, Consent.
The Freedom Party of Ontario's growth was hindered during the years of the Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris (1994 through 2002): many who might otherwise have supported the Freedom Party believed that Harris' Progressive Conservative Party would be more likely to win seats at that point in time.
In 2002, Mike Harris resigned, and was replaced as PC Party leader and Ontario Premier by his former Minister of Finance, Ernie Eves. Eves was perceived by many on the political right to be more moderate than Harris, and therefore a less effective proponent of the ideals promoted by the Freedom Party.
The Ontario election of October 2, 2003 was the first in which the Freedom Party presented itself as an electoral option, rather than as a source of ideas. It ran candidates in almost 25% of Ontario's ridings, promoted an electoral platform titled "The Right Direction", and argued that the Freedom Party of Ontario was Ontario's only remaining party of common sense.
Political contributions to the party increased in 2003, and the Freedom Party won more votes that it ever had in its history - it received 8,376 votes or 0.2% of all votes cast in the province. It ran candidates in 23 of the provinces 103 ridings with individual results ranging from a low of 0.29% to a high of 1.54%.
The party is affiliated with the Freedom Party of Canada (founded by Paul McKeever and Robert Metz on July 20, 2001).
In June 2003, members of the Freedom Party participated in a demonstration in support of Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel.
| Contents |
Recent election results
| Election | Candidates elected | Total votes | % of popular vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | - | 1,583 | - |
| 1987 | - | 4,735 | - |
| 1990 | - | 6,015 | 0.2% |
| 1995 | - | 4,532 | 0.1% |
| 1999 | - | 4,806 | 0.1% |
| 2003 | - | 8,376 | 0.2% |
Party Leaders
- 1. Robert Metz (1987-1994)
- 2. Jack Plant (1994-1997)
- 3. Lloyd Walker (1997-2002)
- 4. Paul McKeever (2002-)
(Note: The party did not have an official leader from 1984 to 1987. Robert Metz was its President during this period. Lloyd Walker was initially chosen as leader on an interim basis.)
See also
External links
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