Ontario Libertarian Party
Ontario Libertarian Party Parti libertarien de l'Ontario | |
|---|---|
| Active provincial party | |
| File:OLP Logo square 100.png | |
| Leader | Allen Small |
| President | Gene Balfour[1] |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Ideology | Libertarianism |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| Colours | Yellow |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP; French: Parti libertarien de l'Ontario) is a minor libertarian political party in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1975 by Bruce Evoy, Vince Miller, and others, the party was inspired by the 1972 formation of the US Libertarian Party.[2] The party is guided by a Statement of Principles and the philosophical ideas of Austrian School of Economics.[3][4] It is influenced by authors and thinkers like Jan Narveson and Murray Rothbard. The party's leader is Allen Small.
Election results
In 1995, under the leadership of John Shadbolt, the party's total vote declined to 6,085 votes. Shadbolt resigned one day after the 1995 election, and was replaced by George Dance on an interim basis. Sam Apelbaum was chosen as the party's full-time leader at a convention in October 1996.[5]
Changes to the Ontario Election Act, enabling fixed election dates at four-year intervals, allowed the party to prepare well in advance for the 2007 general election. As a result, the party fielded 25 candidates and obtained a total of 9,249 votes.[6]
In the 2011 General Election, the party ran 51 candidates and won a total of 19,387 votes, 0.45% of the popular vote. This was more than double the number of candidates and votes received in the 2007 general election.[7]
The party's most successful election was in the 2014 general election, with Libertarian candidates receiving 0.8% of the vote.[8]
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall total |
# of candidates run |
# of seats won |
+/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 4,752 | 17 | 0 | New Party | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1977 | 9,961 | 31 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1981 | 7,087 | 12 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1985 | 12,831 | 0.4% | 17 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1987 | 13,514 | 0.36% | 25 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1990 | 24,613 | 0.61% | 45 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1995 | 6,085 | 0.15% | 7 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1999 | 2,337 | 0.05% | 7 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2003 | 1,991 | 0.04% | 5 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2007 | 9,249 | 0.21% | 25 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2011 | 19,447 | 0.45% | 51 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2014 | 37,696 | 0.8% | 74 | 0 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2018 | TBD | TBD | 120 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Executive committee
Conventions are held every three years to elect the Leader, Deputy Leader, Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and Campaign Director for a three-year term. All of these positions, except Leader and Deputy Leader, may be replaced by election at a General Meeting. Members-at-Large are elected for a one-year term at a Convention or Annual General Meeting.[9]
The party's Executive Committee, elected at its November 2017 Convention in Markham, includes:
- Leader – Allen Small
- Deputy Leader – Rob Ferguson
- Chair – Gene Balfour
- Vice-Chair – Mark Snow
- Secretary – Jim McIntosh
- Recording Secretary – Bart Skala
- Treasurer – G.J. Hagenaars
- Campaign Director – Scott Marshall
- Members at Large – Mark "Wojo" Wrzesniewski, Jacob Currier[10]
Party leaders
- Terry Coughlin (elected at founding meeting, July 24, 1975)
- Paul Mollon (1977 election)
- Scott Bell (1981 and 1985 elections)
- Kaye Sargent (1987 election)
- James Stock (1990 election)
- John Shadbolt (? – June 9, 1995)
- George Dance (interim) (June 9, 1995 – 1996)
- Sam Apelbaum (October 1996 – November 2011)
- Allen Small (November 2011 – )
See also
- List of Ontario general elections
- List of Canadian political parties
- List of libertarian political parties
- Libertarian Party candidates, 2003 Ontario provincial election
References
- ^ "Party Officers: Ontario Libertarian Party". Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- ^ Miller, Vince. "Taking Liberty Global Archived 2008-07-02 at the Wayback Machine", August 4, 2005. Retrieved on December 25, 2007.
- ^ "Statement of Principles". Retrieved May 17, 2014.
- ^ "Think like a libertarian in 30 days or less!". Retrieved May 17, 2014.
- ^ Bulletin 18:1 Spring 1997
- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast" (PDF). Elections Canada. October 21, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ McLarty, Jeffrey (2011). "Candidates, Vote Tally Doubled over 2007". libertarian.on.ca. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "The 1995 Provincial Election". libertarian.on.ca. 1995. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.libertarian.on.ca/content/party-officers
- ^ http://www.libertarian.on.ca/content/party-officers