Beginnings of the Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party founded in 1987 in Winnipeg. The first and only leader of the Reform Party was Preston Manning. Stephen Harper was an early policy adviser.
The Reform Party began as a voice of Western Canadian discontent, advocating fiscal responsibility, provincial equality and parliamentary reform. Right-wing and socially conservative, the Reform Party put an emphasis on the decentralization of the federal government, reducing the size of government, cutting social and cultural programs, such as bilingualism, and opposing any special deals for Quebec.
Growth of the Reform Party of Canada
Although shut out in the 1988 federal general election, the Reform Party elected its first member of parliament, Deborah Grey, in a 1989 by-election in Alberta.
In the 1993 general election, the Progressive Conservatives were nearly wiped out, due to a country tired of constitutional wrangling, fed up after nine years of Brian Mulroney government, and a weak new Progressive Conservative Prime Minister in Kim Campbell. The Reform Party was a beneficiary, winning 52 out of 301 seats. Although the Reform Party billed itself as a national party, it was really a western regional voice. It also served as a counterbalance to the Bloc Québécois, which won 54 seats.
In the 1997 general election, the Reform Party won 60 seats and became the Official Opposition.
Reform Party Problems
The Reform Party was facing a number of difficulties however. None of Reform's seats were east of Manitoba and their opposition to Quebec effectively shut them out of a large part of the country. Their extreme conservative positions on social issues brought accusations of intolerance and racism. The Progressive Conservatives were rebounding, and the right-wing vote in Canada was split. Also, Liberal Finance Minister Paul Martin was implementing major fiscal reforms, weakening one of the Reform Party's issues.
The Reform Party Becomes the Canadian Alliance
In 1998 Preston Manning began informal talks with Progressive Conservatives about the possibility of merging the Reform Party and Progressive Conservative Party to unite the right and form an effective conservative party capable of defeating the Liberal Party. Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark was not interested in merging the two parties. However, by 2000, a new Canadian federal political party, the Canadian Alliance, was formed. The Reform party adopted the Canadian Alliance name, constitution and policies.
