Chuck Cadman
Encyclopedia
Charles "Chuck" Cadman (February 21, 1948 July 9, 2005) was a Canadian politician
and Member of Parliament
from 1997 to 2005, representing the riding
of Surrey North
in Surrey
, British Columbia
.
and grew up in North Bay, Ontario
. He was a guitarist with a band called The Fringe, which toured Canada. He also played backup to The Guess Who
on CBC Television
. He eventually settled in British Columbia, where he attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology
and became a certified electrical and electronics engineering technician. He worked for ten years as a microfiche camera technician for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
.
created the group CRY — Crime Responsibility and Youth — and counselled teens likely to become violent. He also campaigned for a tougher Young Offenders Act
. His activism against youth violence propelled him into politics, first to carry on his fight against youth violence and for victims' rights. He was first elected to Parliament for Surrey North in the 1997 election
as a member of the Reform Party of Canada
. He introduced a private members bill which proposed to raise the maximum jail term for parents whose children commit crimes while under their supervision. This bill was later incorporated into Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act in November 2000. He was also known for wearing a ponytail
and blue jeans
in Parliament.
He was re-elected under the banner of the Canadian Alliance
in the 2000 election
, and was appointed Justice Critic. However, prior to the 2004 election
Cadman lost the nomination for the Conservative Party
to Jasbir Singh Cheema
, a former television news anchor who brought a very large number of new party members to the vote. Cadman was also diagnosed with cancer in early May 2004 and underwent surgery to remove a tumour from his groin. He then ran as an independent in that election and was elected. He heard about the election call from his hospital bed.
He was the only candidate not affiliated with a party to win a seat in the 2004 election, and remained an independent, refusing offers to rejoin the Conservatives. Originally sitting as the only independent in a minority government
, Cadman held considerable power. (Carolyn Parrish, David Kilgour
, and Pat O'Brien
all previously Liberals
, sat as independents as well.)
treatment for malignant melanoma
, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Cadman voted with the government on the 2005 budget, which had incorporated amendments proposed by the NDP, and forced a tie in the House of Commons
. The tie was broken by Peter Milliken
the Speaker of the House of Commons
, who voted in favour of the Liberal budget. The budget was later passed in Cadman's absence on June 23, 2005. In an interview after the budget vote, Cadman said he voted in favour of the budget simply because he was obeying the wishes of constituents who did not want to face another election a year after giving the minority Liberals their shaky mandate.
says that her husband told her that prior to the vote, two Conservative Party
officials, later suggested to be Tom Flanagan
and Doug Finley
, offered her husband a million-dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his vote against the Liberal budget in May 2005, the rationale being replacement of the life insurance that is part of an MP's compensation package (since Cadman was not running for re-election and would thus not die an MP if he voted down the government). An audio tape suggests then-opposition leader Stephen Harper
was not only aware of a financial offer to Chuck Cadman but gave it his personal approval. According to Dona Cadman, Harper "looked me straight in the eyes and told me he had no knowledge of an insurance policy offer. I knew he was telling me the truth; I could see it in his eyes." Cadman's daughter also acknowledged that her father had been disturbed by the offer. However Harper later admitted in a August 2008 court deposition that he personally authorized an offer made to Cadman in 2005. The Conservative Party, based upon analysis by forensic experts who concluded that the tape was edited, asked an Ontario court to order to Liberals to stop using the tape. But neutral expert testimony showed that the tape has not been edited.
Under section 119 of the Criminal Code of Canada
, it is illegal to bribe an MP. Accordingly, Opposition Liberal party Intergovernmental Affairs critic Dominic LeBlanc
asked the RCMP in February 2008 to investigate this allegation, that the Conservatives had offered Mr. Cadman a million-dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his support on the budget vote. In May 2008, the RCMP announced that there was no evidence to support charges.
James Moore
, Conservative MP for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam
told a news conference June 4, 2008 that two top audio specialists found that the tape in which PM Stephen Harper confirms financial considerations had been offered to Chuck Cadman had been altered. But Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc
, the critic for intergovernmental affairs, said on June 5, 2008 that the Tories have not been clear about what they claim was doctored on the tape. He said the Tories have also forgotten a huge part of the allegations—the testimony of Cadman's widow, Dona Cadman
. In her affidavit, Dona Cadman "repeats very clearly her recollection of her husband's words to the effect that two Conservative operatives... offered him a million dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his vote," said LeBlanc.
Tom Zytaruk, the reporter who made the recording said "I know I didn't doctor any tape. So in a sense all this stuff that [Conservative MP] James Moore is saying is meaningless. I know what happened."
In early July 2008, Dona Cadman swore an affidavit that challenged some of Tom Zytaruk's assertions. She denied specific public accounts by Zytaruk of how he came to meet Harper that day, and he professed himself "extremely surprised, disappointed and deeply distressed" by her statement.
. Neither of these allegations were made through official channels.
However, the bald statement that "Harper knew of Conservative bribery" did appear as the title of a press release. In a rare political libel
case, Prime Minister Harper filed a libel lawsuit against the Liberal Party over statements on the party's website regarding the Chuck Cadman affair published under this title.
With the filing of the suit, open political comment on the case effectively stopped, an example of libel chill.
The suit was settled in February 2009 after Michael Ignatieff
took over leadership of the Party.
, BC MLA Kevin Falcon
, BC MLA Dave Hayer
, Surrey Councillor Penny Priddy
and several others. His wife, Dona
, ran for the Conservative Party of Canada in the Surrey North riding in the 2008 federal election
and won. She was nominated as the Conservative candidate on December 20, 2006.
On 15 March 2008, Vancouver journalist Tom Zytaruk published a biography of Cadman entitled Like A Rock: The Chuck Cadman Story, in which the bribery allegations are explored in depth.
* Note: Chuck Cadman's share of the popular vote as an independent candidate declined by -12.31% from his share as the Canadian Alliance candidate in the 2000 election.
Note: Conservative Party vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative vote in the 2000 election.
Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform Party vote in the 1997 election.
Politics of Canada
The politics of Canada function within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is head of state...
and Member of Parliament
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
from 1997 to 2005, representing the riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Surrey North
Surrey North
Surrey North is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. It covers the northern part of Surrey....
in Surrey
Surrey, British Columbia
Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Early life
He was born in Kitchener, OntarioKitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
and grew up in North Bay, Ontario
North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...
. He was a guitarist with a band called The Fringe, which toured Canada. He also played backup to The Guess Who
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...
on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
. He eventually settled in British Columbia, where he attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology
British Columbia Institute of Technology
The British Columbia Institute of Technology , is a public, coeducational, academic institution of higher education in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The polytechnic has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with the main campus in Burnaby...
and became a certified electrical and electronics engineering technician. He worked for ten years as a microfiche camera technician for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia is a provincial crown corporation in British Columbia created in 1973 by the NDP government of British Columbia. The original purpose of ICBC was to provide universal public auto insurance in British Columbia...
.
Political career
On October 18, 1992, Cadman's 16-year-old son Jesse was stabbed to death in a random street attack by a group of young people. In response to Jesse's death, Cadman and his wife DonaDona Cadman
Dona Cadman is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Surrey North in the Canadian House of Commons from 2008 to 2011, as well as the widow of Chuck Cadman, a former Member of Parliament for the same district. She served in the Conservative Party of Canada...
created the group CRY — Crime Responsibility and Youth — and counselled teens likely to become violent. He also campaigned for a tougher Young Offenders Act
Young Offenders Act
The Young Offenders Act was an act of the Parliament of Canada, granted Royal Assent in 1984, that regulated the criminal prosecution of Canadian youths...
. His activism against youth violence propelled him into politics, first to carry on his fight against youth violence and for victims' rights. He was first elected to Parliament for Surrey North in the 1997 election
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
as a member of the Reform Party of Canada
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
. He introduced a private members bill which proposed to raise the maximum jail term for parents whose children commit crimes while under their supervision. This bill was later incorporated into Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act in November 2000. He was also known for wearing a ponytail
Ponytail
A ponytail is a hairstyle in which most or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip or similar device, and allowed to hang freely from that point. It gets its name from its resemblance to the undocked tail of a...
and blue jeans
Blue Jeans
"Blue Jeans" is a sentimental popular song written by Harry D. Kerr and Lou Traveller in 1920. In the song, the singer is reminiscing about a long-ago young love that happened somewhere in the "hills of the old Cumberland." The chorus echoes the singer's longing:* The Parlor Songs Collection.* by...
in Parliament.
He was re-elected under the banner of the Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
in the 2000 election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, and was appointed Justice Critic. However, prior to the 2004 election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
Cadman lost the nomination for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
to Jasbir Singh Cheema
Jasbir Singh Cheema
Jasbir Singh Cheema is a Canadian television personality and politician.In the 2004 federal election, he ran for and won the Conservative Party of Canada nomination against Chuck Cadman, the sitting Member of Parliament for the riding of Surrey North...
, a former television news anchor who brought a very large number of new party members to the vote. Cadman was also diagnosed with cancer in early May 2004 and underwent surgery to remove a tumour from his groin. He then ran as an independent in that election and was elected. He heard about the election call from his hospital bed.
He was the only candidate not affiliated with a party to win a seat in the 2004 election, and remained an independent, refusing offers to rejoin the Conservatives. Originally sitting as the only independent in a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
, Cadman held considerable power. (Carolyn Parrish, David Kilgour
David Kilgour
David Kilgour, PC is a former Canadian politician.Kilgour graduated from the University of Manitoba in economics in 1962 and the University of Toronto law school in 1966. From crown attorney in northern Alberta to Canadian Cabinet minister, Kilgour ended his 27 year tenure in the Canadian House of...
, and Pat O'Brien
Pat O'Brien (politician)
Patrick Wayne "Pat" O'Brien, is a former member of the Canadian House of Commons. Elected as a Liberal, he ended his career in 2005 as the independent Member of Parliament for London—Fanshawe in London, Ontario....
all previously Liberals
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
, sat as independents as well.)
2005 Budget vote
On May 19, 2005, Cadman flew to Ottawa for a confidence vote not long after undergoing chemotherapyChemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
treatment for malignant melanoma
Melanoma
Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye...
, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Cadman voted with the government on the 2005 budget, which had incorporated amendments proposed by the NDP, and forced a tie in the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
. The tie was broken by Peter Milliken
Peter Milliken
Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken, UE is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House for 10 years beginning in 2001. Milliken represented the Ontario riding of Kingston and the Islands as a...
the Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
, who voted in favour of the Liberal budget. The budget was later passed in Cadman's absence on June 23, 2005. In an interview after the budget vote, Cadman said he voted in favour of the budget simply because he was obeying the wishes of constituents who did not want to face another election a year after giving the minority Liberals their shaky mandate.
Allegations of bribery, the tape, the lawsuit
Dona CadmanDona Cadman
Dona Cadman is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Surrey North in the Canadian House of Commons from 2008 to 2011, as well as the widow of Chuck Cadman, a former Member of Parliament for the same district. She served in the Conservative Party of Canada...
says that her husband told her that prior to the vote, two Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
officials, later suggested to be Tom Flanagan
Tom Flanagan (political scientist)
Thomas Eugene Flanagan is an American-born political science professor at the University of Calgary, author, and conservative political activist. He also served as an advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper until 2004. Flanagan's scholarship has focused on Native and Metis rights in...
and Doug Finley
Doug Finley
Michael Douglas Finley is a Canadian Senator and was formerly campaign manager for the Conservative Party of Canada during the 2006 and 2008 federal elections and the party's director of political operations. He is described often as Harper's "number two man" who vets and disciplines candidates...
, offered her husband a million-dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his vote against the Liberal budget in May 2005, the rationale being replacement of the life insurance that is part of an MP's compensation package (since Cadman was not running for re-election and would thus not die an MP if he voted down the government). An audio tape suggests then-opposition leader Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
was not only aware of a financial offer to Chuck Cadman but gave it his personal approval. According to Dona Cadman, Harper "looked me straight in the eyes and told me he had no knowledge of an insurance policy offer. I knew he was telling me the truth; I could see it in his eyes." Cadman's daughter also acknowledged that her father had been disturbed by the offer. However Harper later admitted in a August 2008 court deposition that he personally authorized an offer made to Cadman in 2005. The Conservative Party, based upon analysis by forensic experts who concluded that the tape was edited, asked an Ontario court to order to Liberals to stop using the tape. But neutral expert testimony showed that the tape has not been edited.
Under section 119 of the Criminal Code of Canada
Criminal Code of Canada
The Criminal Code or Code criminel is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is "An Act respecting the criminal law"...
, it is illegal to bribe an MP. Accordingly, Opposition Liberal party Intergovernmental Affairs critic Dominic LeBlanc
Dominic LeBlanc
Dominic A. LeBlanc, PC, MP , is a Canadian lawyer and politician from New Brunswick, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for the riding of Beauséjour and sits in the Canadian House of Commons as the Liberal Party's Foreign Affairs Critic. He was first elected in the 2000 federal election and has...
asked the RCMP in February 2008 to investigate this allegation, that the Conservatives had offered Mr. Cadman a million-dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his support on the budget vote. In May 2008, the RCMP announced that there was no evidence to support charges.
James Moore
James Moore (Canadian politician)
James Moore, PC, MP is the Canadian Member of Parliament for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam. He is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada...
, Conservative MP for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam
Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam
Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-Demographics:Consisting of the following parts of the Greater Vancouver Regional District:...
told a news conference June 4, 2008 that two top audio specialists found that the tape in which PM Stephen Harper confirms financial considerations had been offered to Chuck Cadman had been altered. But Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc
Dominic LeBlanc
Dominic A. LeBlanc, PC, MP , is a Canadian lawyer and politician from New Brunswick, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for the riding of Beauséjour and sits in the Canadian House of Commons as the Liberal Party's Foreign Affairs Critic. He was first elected in the 2000 federal election and has...
, the critic for intergovernmental affairs, said on June 5, 2008 that the Tories have not been clear about what they claim was doctored on the tape. He said the Tories have also forgotten a huge part of the allegations—the testimony of Cadman's widow, Dona Cadman
Dona Cadman
Dona Cadman is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Surrey North in the Canadian House of Commons from 2008 to 2011, as well as the widow of Chuck Cadman, a former Member of Parliament for the same district. She served in the Conservative Party of Canada...
. In her affidavit, Dona Cadman "repeats very clearly her recollection of her husband's words to the effect that two Conservative operatives... offered him a million dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his vote," said LeBlanc.
Tom Zytaruk, the reporter who made the recording said "I know I didn't doctor any tape. So in a sense all this stuff that [Conservative MP] James Moore is saying is meaningless. I know what happened."
In early July 2008, Dona Cadman swore an affidavit that challenged some of Tom Zytaruk's assertions. She denied specific public accounts by Zytaruk of how he came to meet Harper that day, and he professed himself "extremely surprised, disappointed and deeply distressed" by her statement.
Political libel chill
Liberals redoubled their use of the Cadman material - some argued that the RCMP inaction was possibly due to political interference while others argued that the standard of proof for criminal law was too high to satisfy when an official was willing to commit perjuryPerjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
. Neither of these allegations were made through official channels.
However, the bald statement that "Harper knew of Conservative bribery" did appear as the title of a press release. In a rare political libel
Political libel
The criminal statutes protecting nobility from criticism in 16th and 17th century England eventually evolved into various categories of political libel . Cases of political libel and eventually damages actions were handled by the infamous Star Chamber until its abolition in 1641...
case, Prime Minister Harper filed a libel lawsuit against the Liberal Party over statements on the party's website regarding the Chuck Cadman affair published under this title.
With the filing of the suit, open political comment on the case effectively stopped, an example of libel chill.
The suit was settled in February 2009 after Michael Ignatieff
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
took over leadership of the Party.
Death
On July 9, 2005, Cadman died at his home after a two-year long bout of malignant melanoma. Cadman's memorial service was held on July 16, 2005 at Johnston Heights Church, Surrey BC. Over 1,500 people were in attendance: in addition to family, friends, and politicians of all parties in the church itself, Cadman's constituents packed the neighboring assembly hall and courtyard to pay their last respects by watching the service on television screens. Speeches honouring Cadman as a family man, parliamentarian, and advocate for victim's rights were made by Cadman's daughter, Jodi, Prime Minister Paul MartinPaul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, BC MLA Kevin Falcon
Kevin Falcon
Kevin Falcon is a Canadian politician and is the current Deputy Premier of British Columbia, Canada. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the district of Surrey-Cloverdale and is a member of the BC Liberals...
, BC MLA Dave Hayer
Dave Hayer
Dave Hayer is a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. He has represented the riding of Surrey-Tynehead since the 2001 election. He is currently serving as Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism....
, Surrey Councillor Penny Priddy
Penny Priddy
Penny Priddy is a politician from British Columbia, Canada. Originally a nurse, she moved from Ontario to Surrey in 1981 where she worked as a nursing educator...
and several others. His wife, Dona
Dona Cadman
Dona Cadman is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Surrey North in the Canadian House of Commons from 2008 to 2011, as well as the widow of Chuck Cadman, a former Member of Parliament for the same district. She served in the Conservative Party of Canada...
, ran for the Conservative Party of Canada in the Surrey North riding in the 2008 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
and won. She was nominated as the Conservative candidate on December 20, 2006.
On 15 March 2008, Vancouver journalist Tom Zytaruk published a biography of Cadman entitled Like A Rock: The Chuck Cadman Story, in which the bribery allegations are explored in depth.
Electoral record
Note: Conservative Party vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative vote in the 2000 election.
Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform Party vote in the 1997 election.