David Orchard
Encyclopedia
David Orchard is a Canadian
political figure, member of the Liberal Party of Canada
, who was the Liberal Party candidate for the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
in the 2008 federal election
.
Previously, Orchard was a member of the now defunct Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
(PC Party), and opposed the party's merger with the Canadian Alliance
to form the Conservative Party of Canada
. Orchard has never held political office in Canada, but has been involved in leadership conventions and other political activities. He is perhaps best known for his campaign to oppose the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Orchard has become a prominent activist against the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement arguing it would weaken Canada's sovereignty and control of its resources. He also campaigned against the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas
and the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment
(MAI).
Orchard is a fourth-generation organic
grain
farmer, and also the author of the bestselling book The Fight for Canada: Four Centuries of Resistance to American Expansionism
. He was also a co-founder of CCAFT (Citizens Concerned About Free Trade) in 1985.
in nearby Saskatoon, although he did not graduate. He later studied French
at Quebec City
's Université Laval
. Orchard is the fourth-generation on his family farm on which he has farmed organically for over 30 years.
" or moderate Tory
and claims to be ideologically inspired by his political idols former prime ministers
John Diefenbaker
, Lord Richard Bennett, Sir Robert Borden
and Sir John A. Macdonald
. He is passionately opposed to Canadian economic integration with the U.S., including the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he says impedes Canada's economic and cultural sovereignty. He has criticized many aspects of the United States
foreign policy including wars and invasions of small nations.
Orchard supports government social programs, and is a strong supporter of the environment. Orchard is a devoted monarchist, and opposes a weakening of federal powers in favour of the provinces. He also supported the campaign against the Meech Lake
and Charlottetown Accord
s, calling them "The mortal weakening of the central government". He also advocates that 3 to 5 % of the Gross Domestic Product
go to military spending. He is opposed to gun control
. He is a social conservative, and (according to the National Post) opposes same-sex marriage, a charge he has denied.
Orchard describes his own views as being conservative
in the "historical mainstream" and "centrist" of the PC party, and claimed they would appeal to moderate Canadians. Orchard's beliefs are perhaps best likened to that of the traditional, British Tory, which although historically common in Canada, lost much of their relevance since the rise of the so-called neoconservative
faction. He has been shunned by many conservatives, who often accuse him of being out of step with modern conservatism and too far to the left. Such claims were common during his bids for PC leader, when he was accused being an opportunist who tried to practise entryism
, and take over the Progressive Conservative Party and steer it sharply to the left and away from the conservatism of Brian Mulroney
and Margaret Thatcher
.
He has never been elected to the Canadian House of Commons
or to any public office. As a Progressive Conservative, he sought election in the federal riding
of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
in the 2000 federal election
. He placed a distant fourth, although with the highest percentage vote received by a Progressive Conservative candidate in Saskatchewan since 1993. He lost in the 2008 Canadian federal election, placing second in the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, as the Liberal candidate.
on the final ballot but attracted a very different group of supporters to the Tory party in doing so. Many of Orchard's supporters were former members of the other political parties in Canada and two of Orchard's most prominent endorsers in the leadership bid were the leaders of the Green parties of British Columbia
and Ontario
. During the relatively quiet race, Clark famously referred to Orchard as a "tourist" in the Tory party because of his left-leaning economic platform and opposition to the free trade agreements brokered by the Mulroney
government. In one debate, opponent Brian Pallister
quipped that "Mr. Orchard is so left-wing, he thinks Svend Robinson
is a right-wing maniac."
However, Orchard did gain respect from PC circles when he chose to stick with the Tories after Clark's victory. Orchard and his political advisor Marjaleena Repo worked hard after his failed leadership bid to rebuild several Saskatchewan PC constituency associations and improve PC membership sales across Canada. Orchard was one of Clark's staunchest defenders during the lead-up to the August 2002 convention that saw Clark resign as Tory leader after the disintegration of the parliamentary PC-Democratic Representative Caucus
coalition in May 2002.
Orchard ultimately came in third on the third ballot in the 2003 PC convention, behind Nova Scotia Member of Parliament
(MP) Peter MacKay
and Calgary lawyer Jim Prentice
. Orchard decided to support Peter MacKay over Jim Prentice due to the latter's implicit support for a United Alternative (merger of the party with the Canadian Alliance
(CA) party). However, Orchard's support, which helped Peter MacKay win the leadership, came at price. MacKay signed a written deal, or "gentleman's agreement" to seal support from Orchard's largely loyal delegates on the final ballot.
.
At first MacKay had seemed to be willing to adhere to the deal. In July, MacKay struck up a "Blue Ribbon PC Policy Review Panel", chaired by Tory MP Bill Casey
, in order to reexamine the party's policies on NAFTA. But MacKay soon violated the deal by encouraging talks between high-profile members of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives. In October 2003, the talks culminated in federal conservative leaders Peter MacKay and Stephen Harper
signing an agreement in principle to merge the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance to form the new Conservative Party of Canada
.
values of the Alliance membership.
Orchard opposed the right wing, and in his view slavishly pro-U.S. views of the Canadian Alliance. Orchard argued that before the merger was announced, the Canadian Alliance and its leader, Stephen Harper, were highly unpopular and a moment was fast approaching for the PCs to reemerge as the national alternative to the governing Liberals. Orchard suggested that MacKay's "traitorous" actions put the above scenario in jeopardy. Some other notable Tories such as Joe Clark, Flora MacDonald, Brian Peckford
and Sinclair Stevens
also opposed the merger.
In a last-ditch attempt to stop the merger, Orchard went to court, seeking an injunction
against the merger vote. The case was thrown out of court on the grounds that a merger through a "national convention" did not violate the PC Party constitution. The merger was ratified with 96% support by members of the Canadian Alliance in a one-member-one-vote process on December 5. The PC Party opted for a "virtual convention" in which delegates were selected in ridings and then attended local provincial urban centres in which they voted for or against the merger.
Orchard described the process as fraudulent and undemocratic, as the convention delegates never actually voted together in any fixed location. The convention produced a result in which 90.5% of the Progressive Conservative Party delegates voted in favour of the merger. However, Orchard and other opponents claimed the result was not representative of the true PC membership, pointing out that new memberships in the party were sold almost up to the day of the vote, many of which were card holders of the larger Canadian Alliance and the PC members were being swamped.
were in disarray. Since becoming leader, MacKay and the party's ruling council had done little to facilitate election readiness and preparation which may have been an early signal of MacKay's intentions to not run a full slate of 308 PC candidates in the expected election.
Orchard also faced speculation from some opponents and journalists in regard to his motivations to preserve the Progressive Conservative political name brand. Some critics suggested that he was really attempting to undermine Peter MacKay's merger stance in order to force a resignation and prompt another leadership race, allowing for a "takeover" by Orchard and his supporters.
after the resignation of its leader, Paul Hellyer
, but Orchard declined. There were also rumours that Orchard was in discussions over a future Saskatchewan rural riding candidacy for the Saskatchewan Party
, and Orchard's name was frequently touted as a possible future leadership contender for the Green Party of Canada
.
Shortly before the Conservative Party's March 2005 policy convention, Orchard had his membership revoked by the party and was denied access to the event. "The council decided that it was in the interests of the party that they didn't want him to be a member of the party any longer," said Ian Brodie, the executive director of the Conservative Party.
On January 31, 2006, a Toronto judge ordered the Conservative Party of Canada to pay Orchard $70,000, the funds from his 2003 leadership campaign which he had been owed since then. The CPC had previously insisted on Orchard's signing a pledge not to sue Peter MacKay over issues resulting from the agreement signed at the 2003 PC Leadership Convention in order to settle the affair, which Orchard refused to do.
Orchard continues to write for major newspapers, present lectures in Canada's universities on foreign policy and environmental issues, and continues working in the organic farming business.
reported that the Liberals
were trying to recruit Orchard as a candidate in the 2006 federal election
. According to the report, Orchard would be a Liberal candidate in either Saskatchewan
or rural Ontario
. Orchard did not run as a Liberal in the 2006 federal election
but he announced his support for the Liberals and campaigned for Chris Axworthy
in Saskatchewan, Yves Picard and Isa Gros-Louis in Quebec City, and Susan Whelan
in Ontario. Orchard also officially became a member of the Liberal Party of Canada
during the 2006 election.
After the Liberals were defeated, and leader Paul Martin
stepped down, there was some media speculation that Orchard would seek the Liberal Party leadership. Instead, on August 17, 2006 Orchard endorsed Stéphane Dion
to be the next leader of the federal Liberal Party. At the 2006 leadership convention, Orchard led a group of approximately 150 delegates, including 32 from Saskatchewan, in support of Dion. Those delegates ended up being pivotal in helping Dion pass Gerard Kennedy
for third place on the first convention ballot, and eventually win the leadership when Kennedy swung his own support behind Dion after the second ballot.
Subsequently, Orchard declared that he would be seeking the nomination in the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
as a Liberal candidate in the forthcoming by-election in that riding. Again, however, Orchard's ambitions created political controversy. Orchard's nomination fight was ultimately terminated on January 3, 2008 when Dion announced via a news release that Joan Beatty
would be appointed as the candidate for that riding, a decision that was the subject of some controversy.
Métis
leader Jim Durocher, an Orchard supporter, wrote a letter to Dion complaining about his decision to appoint a candidate rather than allow for party members to vote in a nomination meeting. He argued that "the people of this riding resent, and I personally resent mightily, the attitude of certain southerners that they know what's best for our riding."
Durocher, a former Liberal candidate, also told Dion "If you impose Joan Beatty, the Liberals will lose this riding."
National Liberal campaign co-chair David Smith, however, defended Beatty's appointment by saying that Dion had made getting more women into politics a priority, saying that the party is "prepared to bite the bullet to demonstrate that our commitment to increasing our number of women candidates - particularly well-qualified ones - is very real." The media also reported that Liberal party House Leader
and Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale
, a former finance minister
, was opposed to Orchard's candidacy in the by-election.
Beatty lost the ensuing byelection to Conservative candidate Rob Clarke
. On August 14, the Vancouver Sun reported that David Orchard would challenge Beatty for the Liberal nomination in Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River for the forthcoming 40th Canadian federal election
. Orchard won the nomination and placed second in the election, losing to Clarke by 3,148 votes.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
political figure, member of the Liberal Party of Canada
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...
, who was the Liberal Party candidate for the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.-Demographics:...
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...
.
Previously, Orchard was a member of the now defunct Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
(PC Party), and opposed the party's merger with 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...
to form the Conservative Party of Canada
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...
. Orchard has never held political office in Canada, but has been involved in leadership conventions and other political activities. He is perhaps best known for his campaign to oppose the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Orchard has become a prominent activist against the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement arguing it would weaken Canada's sovereignty and control of its resources. He also campaigned against the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA), the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas
Free Trade Area of the Americas
The Free Trade Area of the Americas , , ) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas but Cuba. In the last round of negotiations, trade ministers from 34 countries met in Miami, United States, in November 2003 to discuss the proposal...
and the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment
Multilateral Agreement on Investment
The Multilateral Agreement on Investment was a draft agreement negotiated between members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1995–1998. Its ostensible purpose was to develop multilateral rules that would ensure international investment was governed in a more...
(MAI).
Orchard is a fourth-generation organic
Organic farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
farmer, and also the author of the bestselling book The Fight for Canada: Four Centuries of Resistance to American Expansionism
The Fight for Canada: Four Centuries of Resistance to American Expansionism
The book The Fight for Canada: Four Centuries of Resistance to American Expansionism, was written by David Orchard. First published in 1993, a revised edition with five new chapters was released in 1998. It details the history of Canada and the many attempts of annexation, by military or political...
. He was also a co-founder of CCAFT (Citizens Concerned About Free Trade) in 1985.
Early life
Educated in Borden, Orchard went on to study arts and science and then law at the University of SaskatchewanUniversity of Saskatchewan
The University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...
in nearby Saskatoon, although he did not graduate. He later studied French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
at Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
's Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
. Orchard is the fourth-generation on his family farm on which he has farmed organically for over 30 years.
Positions
Orchard sees himself as a "RedRed Tory
A red Tory is an adherent of a particular political philosophy, tradition, and disposition in Canada somewhat similar to the High Tory tradition in the United Kingdom; it is contrasted with "blue Tory". In Canada, the phenomenon of "red toryism" has fundamentally, if not exclusively, been found in...
" or moderate Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
and claims to be ideologically inspired by his political idols former prime ministers
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
, Lord Richard Bennett, Sir Robert Borden
Robert Borden
Sir Robert Laird Borden, PC, GCMG, KC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the eighth Prime Minister of Canada from October 10, 1911 to July 10, 1920, and was the third Nova Scotian to hold this office...
and Sir John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
. He is passionately opposed to Canadian economic integration with the U.S., including the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he says impedes Canada's economic and cultural sovereignty. He has criticized many aspects of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
foreign policy including wars and invasions of small nations.
Orchard supports government social programs, and is a strong supporter of the environment. Orchard is a devoted monarchist, and opposes a weakening of federal powers in favour of the provinces. He also supported the campaign against the Meech Lake
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
and Charlottetown Accord
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October 26 of that year, and was defeated.-Background:...
s, calling them "The mortal weakening of the central government". He also advocates that 3 to 5 % of the Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
go to military spending. He is opposed to gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
. He is a social conservative, and (according to the National Post) opposes same-sex marriage, a charge he has denied.
Orchard describes his own views as being conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
in the "historical mainstream" and "centrist" of the PC party, and claimed they would appeal to moderate Canadians. Orchard's beliefs are perhaps best likened to that of the traditional, British Tory, which although historically common in Canada, lost much of their relevance since the rise of the so-called neoconservative
Neoconservatism
Neoconservatism in the United States is a branch of American conservatism. Since 2001, neoconservatism has been associated with democracy promotion, that is with assisting movements for democracy, in some cases by economic sanctions or military action....
faction. He has been shunned by many conservatives, who often accuse him of being out of step with modern conservatism and too far to the left. Such claims were common during his bids for PC leader, when he was accused being an opportunist who tried to practise entryism
Entryism
Entryism is a political tactic by which an organisation or state encourages its members or agents to infiltrate another organisation in an attempt to gain recruits, or take over entirely...
, and take over the Progressive Conservative Party and steer it sharply to the left and away from the conservatism of Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
and Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
.
He has never been elected to the Canadian 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...
or to any public office. As a Progressive Conservative, he sought election in the federal 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 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Prince Albert (electoral district)
Prince Albert is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1908 to 1988, and since 1997.-Geography:...
in the 2000 federal 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....
. He placed a distant fourth, although with the highest percentage vote received by a Progressive Conservative candidate in Saskatchewan since 1993. He lost in the 2008 Canadian federal election, placing second in the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, as the Liberal candidate.
1998 Progressive Conservative leadership campaign
Orchard ran twice for the PC leadership: in 1998 and in 2003. In his first attempt, he finished a distant second to Joe ClarkJoe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
on the final ballot but attracted a very different group of supporters to the Tory party in doing so. Many of Orchard's supporters were former members of the other political parties in Canada and two of Orchard's most prominent endorsers in the leadership bid were the leaders of the Green parties of British Columbia
Green Party of British Columbia
The Green Party of British Columbia is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is led by former Esquimalt municipal councillor, university professor and businessperson Jane Sterk, she was elected by the party in 2007. Penticton realtor and columnist Julius Bloomfield serves as the deputy...
and Ontario
Green Party of Ontario
The Green Party of Ontario is a political party in Ontario, Canada. The party is led by Mike Schreiner. It has never held any seats in the Ontario Legislative Assembly; however, the party did see significant gains in the 2007 provincial election, earning 8% of the popular vote with some candidates...
. During the relatively quiet race, Clark famously referred to Orchard as a "tourist" in the Tory party because of his left-leaning economic platform and opposition to the free trade agreements brokered by the Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
government. In one debate, opponent Brian Pallister
Brian Pallister
Brian William Pallister is a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Portage—Lisgar in the Canadian House of Commons from 2000 to 2008. He previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1992 to 1997, and was a cabinet minister in the provincial government of Gary Filmon...
quipped that "Mr. Orchard is so left-wing, he thinks Svend Robinson
Svend Robinson
Svend Robinson is a former Canadian politician. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 2004, representing the suburban Vancouver-area constituency of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party...
is a right-wing maniac."
However, Orchard did gain respect from PC circles when he chose to stick with the Tories after Clark's victory. Orchard and his political advisor Marjaleena Repo worked hard after his failed leadership bid to rebuild several Saskatchewan PC constituency associations and improve PC membership sales across Canada. Orchard was one of Clark's staunchest defenders during the lead-up to the August 2002 convention that saw Clark resign as Tory leader after the disintegration of the parliamentary PC-Democratic Representative Caucus
Democratic Representative Caucus
The Democratic Representative Caucus was a group of Canadian Members of Parliament who left the Canadian Alliance in 2001 in protest against the leadership of Stockwell Day...
coalition in May 2002.
2003 Progressive Conservative leadership campaign
Respect for Orchard grew in the Red Tory wing of the PC Party: roughly one-quarter of the party membership supported him during the 2003 PC leadership campaign, including Joe Clark's wife, Maureen McTeerMaureen McTeer
Maureen Anne McTeer is a Canadian author and a lawyer, married to Joe Clark, the 16th Prime Minister of Canada.-Life and career:...
Orchard ultimately came in third on the third ballot in the 2003 PC convention, behind Nova Scotia Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) Peter MacKay
Peter MacKay
Peter Gordon MacKay, PC, QC, MP is a lawyer and politician from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for Central Nova and currently serves as Minister of National Defence in the Cabinet of Canada....
and Calgary lawyer Jim Prentice
Jim Prentice
James "Jim" Prentice, PC, QC is a Canadian lawyer, and politician. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a candidate of the Conservative Party of Canada...
. Orchard decided to support Peter MacKay over Jim Prentice due to the latter's implicit support for a United Alternative (merger of the party with 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...
(CA) party). However, Orchard's support, which helped Peter MacKay win the leadership, came at price. MacKay signed a written deal, or "gentleman's agreement" to seal support from Orchard's largely loyal delegates on the final ballot.
The MacKay-Orchard deal
The deal promised a review of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, no joint candidates with the Canadian Alliance, and a promise to redouble efforts to rebuild the national status of the Progressive Conservative Party. The agreement also included reexamining the PC Party's policies on government subsidies for national railways and preserving the environment. This agreement was controversial, and some time passed before it was released to the public. Many in the PC Party approved of the deal, including leadership candidate Scott BrisonScott Brison
Scott A. Brison, PC, MP is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia, Canada. Brison has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Kings-Hants since the 1997 federal election. Brison was originally elected as a Progressive Conservative but crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party in 2003...
.
At first MacKay had seemed to be willing to adhere to the deal. In July, MacKay struck up a "Blue Ribbon PC Policy Review Panel", chaired by Tory MP Bill Casey
Bill Casey
William D. "Bill" Casey is a Canadian politician. He is a former Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons.-Life and career:...
, in order to reexamine the party's policies on NAFTA. But MacKay soon violated the deal by encouraging talks between high-profile members of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives. In October 2003, the talks culminated in federal conservative leaders Peter MacKay and 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...
signing an agreement in principle to merge the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance to form the new Conservative Party of Canada
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...
.
Anti-merger activist
Orchard unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the merger. In a high-profile news conference in early November he suggested that the new Conservative Party of Canada was "an abomination, conceived in deception, born in betrayal." He urged PC Party members to vote "no" on any referendum and also encouraged "loyal members" to express their frustrations with Peter MacKay. Orchard argued that his efforts were not based on self-promotion but rather on preserving Canada's founding party and preventing a takeover of the moderate values and membership of the PCs by the neoconservativeNeoconservatism
Neoconservatism in the United States is a branch of American conservatism. Since 2001, neoconservatism has been associated with democracy promotion, that is with assisting movements for democracy, in some cases by economic sanctions or military action....
values of the Alliance membership.
Orchard opposed the right wing, and in his view slavishly pro-U.S. views of the Canadian Alliance. Orchard argued that before the merger was announced, the Canadian Alliance and its leader, Stephen Harper, were highly unpopular and a moment was fast approaching for the PCs to reemerge as the national alternative to the governing Liberals. Orchard suggested that MacKay's "traitorous" actions put the above scenario in jeopardy. Some other notable Tories such as Joe Clark, Flora MacDonald, Brian Peckford
Brian Peckford
Alfred Brian Peckford, PC served as the 3rd Premier of Newfoundland. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservatives from 1979 until his retirement in 1989....
and Sinclair Stevens
Sinclair Stevens
Sinclair McKnight Stevens, PC is a Canadian lawyer, businessman and former parliamentarian.-Early life:He was born in Esquesing Township , the third child of Northern Irish immigrants Robert Murray Stevens and Anna Bailey McKnight...
also opposed the merger.
In a last-ditch attempt to stop the merger, Orchard went to court, seeking an injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against the merger vote. The case was thrown out of court on the grounds that a merger through a "national convention" did not violate the PC Party constitution. The merger was ratified with 96% support by members of the Canadian Alliance in a one-member-one-vote process on December 5. The PC Party opted for a "virtual convention" in which delegates were selected in ridings and then attended local provincial urban centres in which they voted for or against the merger.
Orchard described the process as fraudulent and undemocratic, as the convention delegates never actually voted together in any fixed location. The convention produced a result in which 90.5% of the Progressive Conservative Party delegates voted in favour of the merger. However, Orchard and other opponents claimed the result was not representative of the true PC membership, pointing out that new memberships in the party were sold almost up to the day of the vote, many of which were card holders of the larger Canadian Alliance and the PC members were being swamped.
A lost battle
Many analysts have suggested that Orchard's battle to preserve the PC Party may have been vigorous but ultimately pointless. By the time the agreement in principle was formalized in October, the fate of the PC Party may have been practically sealed. Orchard himself had commented as early as September that the party's preparations for a widely expected 2004 federal electionCanadian 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...
were in disarray. Since becoming leader, MacKay and the party's ruling council had done little to facilitate election readiness and preparation which may have been an early signal of MacKay's intentions to not run a full slate of 308 PC candidates in the expected election.
Orchard also faced speculation from some opponents and journalists in regard to his motivations to preserve the Progressive Conservative political name brand. Some critics suggested that he was really attempting to undermine Peter MacKay's merger stance in order to force a resignation and prompt another leadership race, allowing for a "takeover" by Orchard and his supporters.
Aftermath
At first, Orchard refused to join or work with the new party. In February 2004, he was asked to take over the leadership of the struggling Canadian Action PartyCanadian Action Party
The Canadian Action Party is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1997. It promotes Canadian nationalism, monetary and electoral reform, and opposes neoliberal globalization and free trade agreements.- Background :The Canadian Action Party was founded by Paul T...
after the resignation of its leader, Paul Hellyer
Paul Hellyer
Paul Theodore Hellyer, PC is a Canadian engineer, politician, writer and commentator who has had a long and varied career. He is the longest serving current member of the Privy Council, just ahead of Prince Philip.-Early life:...
, but Orchard declined. There were also rumours that Orchard was in discussions over a future Saskatchewan rural riding candidacy for the Saskatchewan Party
Saskatchewan Party
The Saskatchewan Party is a conservative liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was established in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative and Liberal party members and supporters who sought to remove the Saskatchewan New Democratic...
, and Orchard's name was frequently touted as a possible future leadership contender for the Green Party of Canada
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
.
Shortly before the Conservative Party's March 2005 policy convention, Orchard had his membership revoked by the party and was denied access to the event. "The council decided that it was in the interests of the party that they didn't want him to be a member of the party any longer," said Ian Brodie, the executive director of the Conservative Party.
On January 31, 2006, a Toronto judge ordered the Conservative Party of Canada to pay Orchard $70,000, the funds from his 2003 leadership campaign which he had been owed since then. The CPC had previously insisted on Orchard's signing a pledge not to sue Peter MacKay over issues resulting from the agreement signed at the 2003 PC Leadership Convention in order to settle the affair, which Orchard refused to do.
Orchard continues to write for major newspapers, present lectures in Canada's universities on foreign policy and environmental issues, and continues working in the organic farming business.
Orchard joins the Liberals
On November 19, 2005, CBC Radio NewsCBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
reported that the 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...
were trying to recruit Orchard as a candidate in the 2006 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
. According to the report, Orchard would be a Liberal candidate in either Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
or rural Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Orchard did not run as a Liberal in the 2006 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
but he announced his support for the Liberals and campaigned for Chris Axworthy
Chris Axworthy
Christopher S. Axworthy is a Canadian politician.After teaching law at the University of New Brunswick and Dalhousie Law School, Chris Axworthy came to Saskatoon in 1984 as the founding Executive Director of the and as a Professor of Law at the University of Saskatchewan...
in Saskatchewan, Yves Picard and Isa Gros-Louis in Quebec City, and Susan Whelan
Susan Whelan
Susan Elizabeth Whelan, PC is a former Canadian Member of Parliament with the Liberal Party of Canada. Whelan, a lawyer, first won a seat in the Canadian House of Common in the 1993 election representing Essex—Windsor. In 1997 and 2000 she was elected to represent Essex...
in Ontario. Orchard also officially became a member of the Liberal Party of Canada
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...
during the 2006 election.
After the Liberals were defeated, and leader Paul Martin
Paul 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....
stepped down, there was some media speculation that Orchard would seek the Liberal Party leadership. Instead, on August 17, 2006 Orchard endorsed Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
to be the next leader of the federal Liberal Party. At the 2006 leadership convention, Orchard led a group of approximately 150 delegates, including 32 from Saskatchewan, in support of Dion. Those delegates ended up being pivotal in helping Dion pass Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Michael Kennedy is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's Minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada...
for third place on the first convention ballot, and eventually win the leadership when Kennedy swung his own support behind Dion after the second ballot.
Subsequently, Orchard declared that he would be seeking the nomination in the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.-Demographics:...
as a Liberal candidate in the forthcoming by-election in that riding. Again, however, Orchard's ambitions created political controversy. Orchard's nomination fight was ultimately terminated on January 3, 2008 when Dion announced via a news release that Joan Beatty
Joan Beatty
Joan Beatty is a Canadian politician. She was the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the constituency of Cumberland...
would be appointed as the candidate for that riding, a decision that was the subject of some controversy.
Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
leader Jim Durocher, an Orchard supporter, wrote a letter to Dion complaining about his decision to appoint a candidate rather than allow for party members to vote in a nomination meeting. He argued that "the people of this riding resent, and I personally resent mightily, the attitude of certain southerners that they know what's best for our riding."
Durocher, a former Liberal candidate, also told Dion "If you impose Joan Beatty, the Liberals will lose this riding."
National Liberal campaign co-chair David Smith, however, defended Beatty's appointment by saying that Dion had made getting more women into politics a priority, saying that the party is "prepared to bite the bullet to demonstrate that our commitment to increasing our number of women candidates - particularly well-qualified ones - is very real." The media also reported that Liberal party House Leader
House Leader
In Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a House Leader who is a front bench Member of Parliament and an expert in parliamentary procedure...
and Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale
Ralph Goodale
Ralph Edward Goodale, PC, MP was Canada's Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006 and continues to be a Liberal Member of Parliament...
, a former finance minister
Minister of Finance (Canada)
The Minister of Finance is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget...
, was opposed to Orchard's candidacy in the by-election.
Beatty lost the ensuing byelection to Conservative candidate Rob Clarke
Rob Clarke
Robert G. "Rob" Clarke is a politician and career Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. He was the Conservative Party of Canada's candidate in Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River for the March 17, 2008 federal by-election in which he defeated Liberal candidate Joan Beatty.A member of the Muskeg...
. On August 14, the Vancouver Sun reported that David Orchard would challenge Beatty for the Liberal nomination in Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River for the forthcoming 40th Canadian federal election
40th Canadian federal election
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...
. Orchard won the nomination and placed second in the election, losing to Clarke by 3,148 votes.