Neorhino.ca
Encyclopedia
The Rhinoceros Party is a Canadian
federal political party
. Referred to in English Canada as the Second Rhinoceros Party. It was known as neorhino.ca until 2010, when the party changed names and registered a new party logo. Created in Montreal
on May 21, 2006, and recognized by Elections Canada
as being eligible for registration on August 16, 2007, and an official political party on August 23, 2007. It is the successor to the Rhinoceros Party of Canada.
The party was founded by François "Yo" Gourd
, who was involved with the original incarnation of the First Rhinoceros Party. He stated he named the new party (then under the name neorhino) for the Rhinoceros Party and for Neo
, the Matrix
character. The party is currently led by François Gourd
.
It promises, like its predecessor, not to keep any of its promises if elected.
, "Éminence de la Grande Corne du parti Rhinocéros". In the 1970s, a group of artists joined the party and created a comedic political platform to contest the federal election. Ferron (1979), poet Gaston Miron
(1972) and singer Michel Rivard
(1980) ran against then Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau
in his Montreal
seat.
The party claimed to be the spiritual descendants of Cacareco, a Brazil
ian rhinoceros
who was elected member of São Paulo's city council
in 1958, and listed Cornelius the First
, a rhinoceros from the Granby Zoo
, east of Montreal, as its leader. Cornelius is still featured in the party's official logo. It declared that the rhinoceros was an appropriate symbol for a political party since politicians, by nature, are "thick-skinned, slow-moving, dim-witted, can move fast as hell when in danger, and have large, hairy horns growing out of the middle of their faces."
The party abstained from the 1993 federal election
as they questioned the constitutionality of new rules that required the party to run candidates in at least 50 ridings at a cost of $1,000 per candidature. On September 23, 1993, Canada's Chief Electoral Officer
, Jean-Pierre Kingsley
, refused to accept the party's abstention and ordered the removal of the Rhinoceros Party from the Registry of Canadian Political Parties, effectively eliminating them from the Canadian political system. Kingsley also directed the party's official agent, Charlie (le Concierge) McKenzie, to liquidate all party assets and return any revenues to the Receiver General of Canada. On instructions from the party, McKenzie refused. After two years of threatening letters, Ottawa refused to prosecute McKenzie. Within the following year, the Rhinoceros Party of Canada (1963–1993) dissolved.
Sa Tan had planned to run under the Rhino banner in the September 2007 by-election. However, the Liberal government passed a law in 1993 stating registered parties must run candidates in at least 50 ridings, at a cost of $1,000 per riding, to keep their status. In protest of the new law, the party planned to abstain from the election. Canada's then-Chief Electoral Officer, Jean-Pierre Kingsley
, rejected the abstention and ordered the party removed from the Registry of Canadian Political Parties. The lawsuit was filed as a result of the removal from the National Party Registry by Mr. Kingsley. Since Mr. Salmi had legally changed his name, the lawsuit was filed as Sa Tan vs. Her Majesty The Queen.
The lawsuit was dropped after the ruling of the Chief Electoral Officer was reversed in a new law passed in 2004 that said a party only had to run one candidate in a federal election or federal by-election to be considered registered.
and Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot
in the 2007 federal by-elections, Neorhino.ca and the Rhinoceros Party before them had not fielded a candidate since Bryan Gold's failed bid to win a 1990 by-election in the New Brunswick
electoral district of Beauséjour
.
Neorhino.ca candidates did not win any seats in the 2007 by-elections,the 2008 federal election
, or the 2011 federal election.
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...
federal political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. Referred to in English Canada as the Second Rhinoceros Party. It was known as neorhino.ca until 2010, when the party changed names and registered a new party logo. Created in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
on May 21, 2006, and recognized by Elections Canada
Elections Canada
Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...
as being eligible for registration on August 16, 2007, and an official political party on August 23, 2007. It is the successor to the Rhinoceros Party of Canada.
The party was founded by François "Yo" Gourd
François Gourd
François Gourd is a Canadian political figure and entertainer, who has been involved in the Rhinoceros Party of Canada and the entartistes, two satirical political movements...
, who was involved with the original incarnation of the First Rhinoceros Party. He stated he named the new party (then under the name neorhino) for the Rhinoceros Party and for Neo
Neo (The Matrix)
Thomas A. Anderson is a fictional character and the main protagonist in The Matrix franchise, as well as having a cameo in The Animatrix short film, Kid's Story. He was portrayed by Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Trilogy and The Animatrix. Andrew Bowen provided Neo's voice in The Matrix: Path of Neo...
, the Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
character. The party is currently led by François Gourd
François Gourd
François Gourd is a Canadian political figure and entertainer, who has been involved in the Rhinoceros Party of Canada and the entartistes, two satirical political movements...
.
It promises, like its predecessor, not to keep any of its promises if elected.
Origins
The Rhino movement was started in 1963 by Jacques FerronJacques Ferron
Jacques Ferron was a Canadian physician and author.Jacques Ferron was born in Louiseville, Quebec, the son of Joseph-Alphonse Ferron and Adrienne Caron. On March 5, 1931 his mother died. He attended Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf but was expelled in 1936...
, "Éminence de la Grande Corne du parti Rhinocéros". In the 1970s, a group of artists joined the party and created a comedic political platform to contest the federal election. Ferron (1979), poet Gaston Miron
Gaston Miron
Gaston Miron, was an important poet, writer, and editor of the Quebec post Quiet Revolution. His masterpiece, L'homme rapaillé has sold over 100 000 copies, in Quebec and overseas, ensuring Miron as one of the most widely read authors of...
(1972) and singer Michel Rivard
Michel Rivard
Michel Rivard , is a singer-songwriter and musician from Quebec. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His father was an actor, Robert Rivard...
(1980) ran against then Prime Minister
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...
Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
in his Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
seat.
The party claimed to be the spiritual descendants of Cacareco, a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
who was elected member of São Paulo's city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
in 1958, and listed Cornelius the First
Cornelius the First
Cornelius the First was a Canadian black rhinoceros from the Granby Zoo in Granby, Quebec, who was the nominal leader of the federal political party, the Rhinoceros Party of Canada from 1965 to 1993...
, a rhinoceros from the Granby Zoo
Granby Zoo
The Granby Zoo is a zoo in Granby, Quebec and is one of Quebec's major tourist attractions.It was founded in 1953 by the mayor of Granby at the time, Pierre-Horace Boivin. There are currently more than 1000 different animals grouped into 200 species. The zoo has 516,000 visitors per year and...
, east of Montreal, as its leader. Cornelius is still featured in the party's official logo. It declared that the rhinoceros was an appropriate symbol for a political party since politicians, by nature, are "thick-skinned, slow-moving, dim-witted, can move fast as hell when in danger, and have large, hairy horns growing out of the middle of their faces."
The party abstained from the 1993 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
as they questioned the constitutionality of new rules that required the party to run candidates in at least 50 ridings at a cost of $1,000 per candidature. On September 23, 1993, Canada's Chief Electoral Officer
Chief Electoral Officer (Canada)
The Chief Electoral Officer is the person responsible for overseeing elections in Canada.The position of Chief Electoral Officer was created in 1920 by the Dominion Elections Act. The Chief Electoral Officer is appointed by a resolution of the Canadian House of Commons...
, Jean-Pierre Kingsley
Jean-Pierre Kingsley
Jean-Pierre Kingsley was the President and CEO of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. He was the Chief Electoral Officer of Elections Canada, before he stepped down in December 2006. On April 28, 2009 he announced his resignation as President of IFES. He was succeeded by Bill...
, refused to accept the party's abstention and ordered the removal of the Rhinoceros Party from the Registry of Canadian Political Parties, effectively eliminating them from the Canadian political system. Kingsley also directed the party's official agent, Charlie (le Concierge) McKenzie, to liquidate all party assets and return any revenues to the Receiver General of Canada. On instructions from the party, McKenzie refused. After two years of threatening letters, Ottawa refused to prosecute McKenzie. Within the following year, the Rhinoceros Party of Canada (1963–1993) dissolved.
Neorhino.ca
On August 7, 2007, Sa Tan — born Brian (Godzilla) Salmi, then-president of the Rhinoceros Party — announced a $50-million lawsuit contesting an election reform law that had stripped his party of its registered status in 1993.Sa Tan had planned to run under the Rhino banner in the September 2007 by-election. However, the Liberal government passed a law in 1993 stating registered parties must run candidates in at least 50 ridings, at a cost of $1,000 per riding, to keep their status. In protest of the new law, the party planned to abstain from the election. Canada's then-Chief Electoral Officer, Jean-Pierre Kingsley
Jean-Pierre Kingsley
Jean-Pierre Kingsley was the President and CEO of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. He was the Chief Electoral Officer of Elections Canada, before he stepped down in December 2006. On April 28, 2009 he announced his resignation as President of IFES. He was succeeded by Bill...
, rejected the abstention and ordered the party removed from the Registry of Canadian Political Parties. The lawsuit was filed as a result of the removal from the National Party Registry by Mr. Kingsley. Since Mr. Salmi had legally changed his name, the lawsuit was filed as Sa Tan vs. Her Majesty The Queen.
The lawsuit was dropped after the ruling of the Chief Electoral Officer was reversed in a new law passed in 2004 that said a party only had to run one candidate in a federal election or federal by-election to be considered registered.
Electoral record
To date, candidates of Neorhino.ca and the Rhinoceros Party have not recorded any electoral victories. Before the Neorhino.ca candidates that stood for the ridings of OutremontOutremont (electoral district)
Outremont is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949, and since 1968...
and Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot
Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot
Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot is a federal electoral district that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935. It is located in Quebec, Canada. Its population in 2006 was 95,983.-Geography:...
in the 2007 federal by-elections, Neorhino.ca and the Rhinoceros Party before them had not fielded a candidate since Bryan Gold's failed bid to win a 1990 by-election in the New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
electoral district of Beauséjour
Beauséjour (electoral district)
Beauséjour riding is a federal electoral district in eastern New Brunswick, Canada, which has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988...
.
Neorhino.ca candidates did not win any seats in the 2007 by-elections,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...
, or the 2011 federal election.
2007/2008 by-elections
| Candidate | Votes | % | Placement | District | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| François Gourd François Gourd François Gourd is a Canadian political figure and entertainer, who has been involved in the Rhinoceros Party of Canada and the entartistes, two satirical political movements... |
145 | 0.6 | 6/12 | Outremont Outremont (electoral district) Outremont is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949, and since 1968... |
September 17, 2007 |
| Christian Willie Vanasse | 384 | 1.2 | 6/7 | Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot is a federal electoral district that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935. It is located in Quebec, Canada. Its population in 2006 was 95,983.-Geography:... |
September 17, 2007 |
| John Turner | 111 | 0.4 | 5/6 | Vancouver Quadra Vancouver Quadra Vancouver Quadra is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949.... |
March 17, 2008 |
2008 federal election
| Election | # of candidates | # of votes | % of popular vote | % in ridings run | # of seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 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... |
7 | 2,263 | 0.02% | 0.67% | 0 |
2009 by-elections
| Candidate | Votes | % | Placement | District | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabrielle Anctil | 129 | 0.7 | 6/8 | Hochelaga Hochelaga (electoral district) Hochelaga is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1988 and since 2004... |
November 9, 2009 |
Rhinoceros Party
The party changed from neorhino.ca to its new formal name of the Rhinoceros Party in mid 2010. It also registered a new logo with Elections Canada.| Election | # of candidates | # of votes | % of popular vote | % in ridings run | # of seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 14 | 3,800 | 0.026% | 0.57% | 0 |
2011 candidates
| Riding | Province | Candidate | Votes | % | Placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahuntsic Ahuntsic (electoral district) Ahuntsic is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1979 and since 1988... |
Quebec | Jean-Olivier Berthiaume | 299 | 0.64 | 6/6 |
| Berthier—Maskinongé Berthier—Maskinongé Berthier—Maskinongé is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1953, from 1968 to 1988, and since 2004... |
Quebec | Martin Jubinville | 373 | 0.66 | 6/6 |
| Chicoutimi—Le Fjord Chicoutimi—Le Fjord Chicoutimi—Le Fjord is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925.It was created as "Chicoutimi" riding in 1924 from Chicoutimi—Saguenay... |
Quebec | Marielle Couture | 340 | 0.67 | 6/6 |
| Hochelaga Hochelaga Hochelaga may refer to:Hochelaga* Hochelaga , a 16th century village on the Island of Montreal* Hochelaga Archipelago, Montreal and surrounding islands... |
Quebec | Hugo Samson Veillette | 246 | 0.53 | 6/8 |
| Honoré-Mercier | Quebec | Valery Chevrefils-Latulippe | 181 | 0.38 | 6/7 |
| LaSalle—Émard LaSalle—Émard LaSalle—Émard is a federal electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. Its population in 2001 was 99,767. It is represented by New Democrat Hélène LeBlanc... |
Quebec | Guillaume Berger-Richard | 208 | 0.50 | 7/7 |
| Laurier—Sainte-Marie Laurier—Sainte-Marie Laurier—Sainte-Marie is a federal electoral district in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988... |
Quebec | François Yo Gourd François Gourd François Gourd is a Canadian political figure and entertainer, who has been involved in the Rhinoceros Party of Canada and the entartistes, two satirical political movements... |
398 | 0.79 | 6/9 |
| Outremont Outremont Outremont may refer to:*Outremont, Quebec - a borough and former town in Montreal*Outremont - a Canadian federal electoral district*Outremont - a Quebec provincial electoral district... |
Quebec | Tommy Gaudet | 160 | 0.41 | 6/7 |
| Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie | Quebec | Jean-Patrick Berthiaume | 417 | 0.77 | 6/7 |
| Sherbrooke | Quebec | Crédible Berlingot Landry | 233 | 0.45 | 6/6 |
| Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec... |
Quebec | Francis Arsenault | 256 | 0.51 | 7/7 |
| Westmount—Ville-Marie Westmount—Ville-Marie Westmount—Ville-Marie is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Its population in 2001 was 97,226.-Geography:... |
Quebec | Victoria Haliburton | 140 | 0.34 | 6/7 |
| Peace River Peace River (electoral district) Peace River is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925. It is a rural riding in northwest Alberta, representing the counties of Saddle Hills, Birch Hills, Grande Prairie, Northern Lights, Mackenzie, and the municipal... |
Alberta | Donovan Eckstrom | 345 | 0.72 | 6/6 |
| Cariboo—Prince George Cariboo—Prince George Cariboo—Prince George is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-Geography:... |
British Columbia | Jordan Turner | 204 | 0.47 | 7/7 |