The
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (in French:
Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), is a right-of-centre political party in
OntarioOntario 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....
,
CanadaCanada 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...
. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since
ConfederationCanadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985. It currently forms the
Official OppositionThe Leader of the Opposition in Ontario is usually leader of the largest party in the Ontario legislature which is not the government. The current official opposition is formed by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and Tim Hudak is the current Leader of the Opposition.Ontario's first...
in the
Legislative Assembly of OntarioThe Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
.
Origins
The first Conservative Party in
Upper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
was made up of
United Empire LoyalistsThe name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
and supporters of the wealthy
Family CompactFully developed after the War of 1812, the Compact lasted until Upper and Lower Canada were united in 1841. In Lower Canada, its equivalent was the Château Clique. The influence of the Family Compact on the government administration at different levels lasted to the 1880s...
that ruled the colony. Once
responsible government was granted in response to the 1837 Rebellions, the Tories emerged as moderate reformers who opposed the radical policies of the
ReformThe Reform movement, sometimes referred to as the Reform Party, began in the 1830s as the movement in the English speaking parts of British North America . It agitated for responsible government....
ers and then the
Clear GritsClear Grits were reformers in the Province of Upper Canada, a British colony that is now the Province of Ontario, Canada. Their support was concentrated among southwestern Ontario farmers, who were frustrated and disillusioned by the 1849 Reform government of Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte...
.
The modern Conservative Party originated in the Liberal-Conservative coalition founded by Sir
John A. MacdonaldSir 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...
and
George-Étienne CartierSir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, PC was a French-Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.The English spelling of the name, George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling, is explained by his having been named in honour of King George III....
in 1854. It is a variant of this coalition that formed the first government in Ontario with
John Sandfield MacdonaldJohn Sandfield Macdonald, QC was the first Premier of the province of Ontario, one of the four founding provinces created at the confederation of Canada in 1867...
as
PremierThe Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
. Sandfield Macdonald was actually a Liberal and sat concurrently as a
Liberal Party of CanadaThe 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...
MP in the
Canadian House of CommonsThe 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...
but he was an ally of John A. Macdonald. His government was initially a true coalition of Liberals and Conservatives under his leadership but soon the more radical Reformers bolted to the opposition and Sandfield Macdonald was left leading what was essentially a Conservative coalition that included some Liberals under the Liberal-Conservative banner. After losing power in 1871, this Conservative coalition began to dissolve. What was originally a party that included Catholics and Protestants became an almost exclusively English and Protestant party, more and more dependent on the Protestant
Orange OrderThe Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
for support, and even for its leadership. The party became opposed to funding for
separate (Catholic) schoolsIn Canada, separate school refers to a particular type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces and statutory status in three territories...
, opposed to language rights for French-Canadians, and distrustful of immigrants. Paradoxically, an element of the party gained a reputation for being pro-labour as a result of links between the Orange Order and the labour movement.
Until becoming the Progressive Conservatives in 1942, the party was officially known as the
Liberal-Conservative Association of Ontario, reflecting its Liberal-Conservative origins, but became widely known as the Conservative Party.
Pre-war dynasty
After 33 years in Opposition, the Tories returned to power under James P. Whitney, who led a progressive administration in its development of the province. The Whitney government initiated massive
public worksPublic works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
projects such as the creation of
Ontario HydroOntario Hydro was the official name from 1974 of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara...
. It also enacted reactionary legislation (such as
Regulation 17Regulation 17 was a regulation of the Ontario Ministry of Education, issued in July 1912 by the Conservative government of premier Sir James P. Whitney. It restricted the use of French as a language of instruction to the first two years of schooling. It was amended in 1913, and it is that version...
) against the French-Canadian population in Ontario. The Tories were in power for all but five years from 1905 to 1934. After the death of Whitney in 1914, however, they lacked vision and became complacent. The Tories lost power to the
United Farmers of OntarioThe United Farmers of Ontario was a political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century.- Foundation and rise :...
in the
1919 electionThe Ontario general election, 1919 was the 15th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on October 20, 1919, to elect the 111 Members of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
but were able to regain office in
1923 electionThe Ontario general election, 1923 was the 16th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 25, 1923, to elect the 111 Members of the 16th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
due to the UFO's disintegration and divisions in the
Ontario Liberal PartyThe Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
. They were defeated by Mitch Hepburn's Liberals in 1934 due to their inability to cope with the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Post-war dynasty
Late in the 1930s and early in the 1940s, the Conservatives re-organized and developed new policies. Rather than continue to oppose government spending and intervention, a policy which hurt the party politically in the time of the Great Depression, the Conservatives changed their policies to support government action where it would lead to economic growth. It was at this time that the party changed its name to the "Progressive Conservative" party to reflect this change. Seeing that the country could afford the war-time spending levels, meant that governments could afford to spend to support economic growth.
The Conservatives took advantage of Liberal infighting to win a
minority governmentA 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...
in
the 1943 provincial electionThe Ontario general election of 1943 was held on August 4, 1943, to elect the 90 Members of the 21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, reducing the Liberals to third-party status. Drew called another election in
1945The Ontario general election of 1945 was held on June 4, 1945, to elect the 90 members of the 22nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, only two years into his mandate, to get a majority government. The Tories played up
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
tensions to win a landslide majority, though it emerged several years later that the Tory government had set up a secret department of the
Ontario Provincial PoliceThe Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
to spy on the opposition and the media. The party would dominate Ontario politics for the next four decades.
The anti-Catholic, anti-French, anti-immigrant strain of the Tories was evident under Drew and his successor,
Leslie FrostLeslie Miscampbell Frost, was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the 16th Premier from May 4, 1949 to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man Ontario".-Early years:...
, who embodied all those elements. In 1961,
John RobartsJohn Parmenter Robarts, PC, CC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and statesman, and the 17th Premier of Ontario.-Early life:...
became the 17th premier of Ontario. He was one of the most popular premiers in years. Under Robarts' lead, the party epitomized power. He was an advocate of individual freedoms and promoted the rights of the provinces against what he saw as the centralizing initiatives of the federal government, while also promoting national unity against Quebec separatism. He hosted the 1967 "Confederation of Tomorrow" conference in Toronto in an unsuccessful attempt to achieve an agreement for a new Constitution of Canada.
Robarts initially opposed Canadian medicare when it was proposed, but later endorsed it fully. He led the party towards a civil libertarian movement. As a strong believer in the promotion of both official languages, he opened the door to French education in Ontario schools.
Big Blue Machine era
In 1971,
Bill DavisWilliam Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
became party leader and the 18th premier. Anti-Catholicism became an issue again in the
1971 electionThe Ontario general election of 1971 was held on October 21, 1971, to elect the 117 members of the 29th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, when the Tories under campaigned strenuously against a Liberal proposal to extend funding for Catholic
separate schoolIn Canada, separate school refers to a particular type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces and statutory status in three territories...
s until Grade 13. Davis reversed himself in 1985, and enacted the funding extension as one of his last acts before leaving office.
Davis governed until 1985 with a team of advisers known as the "Big Blue Machine" because of their reputed political and strategic skills. Their stamp on the party was so strong that many refer to the Tories' long rule over Ontario as the "Big Blue Machine era."
During Davis's time as leader of the PC Party, the party moved to the centre, and on some issues, moved to the left of the Liberals. However, its base of support remained with socially conservative voters in rural central Ontario. This made him one of the most popular politicians in Ontario's history. Other conservatives in the
federal PC PartyThe 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....
accused him of damaging the conservative image in Canada by moving to the left on some issues.
1980s to 1995: in Opposition
Davis retired in 1985. At a
leadership conventionIn 1985, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party held two leadership elections: one in January, and one in November.-The January Convention:The January convention was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto to choose a replacement for William Davis, who had served as Ontario PC leader and Premier...
, he was succeeded by Industry and Trade Minister
Frank MillerFrank Stuart Miller, was a Canadian politician, who served as the 19th Premier of Ontario for four months in 1985.-Early life and political career:...
. Miller was considerably more conservative than Davis, and began shifting the party back to the right. Soon after taking office, he called an
electionThe Ontario general election of 1985 was held on May 2, 1985, to elect members of the 33rd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada...
in which the Conservatives were reduced to a minority government, and actually finished behind the Liberals in the popular vote for the first time in 42 years.
Soon afterward, the
Ontario New Democratic PartyThe Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
of
Bob RaeRobert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
reached an agreement with
David PetersonDavid Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the 20th Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
's Liberals in which the NDP would support a Liberal minority government. Miller was defeated in a no-confidence motion on June 18. Peterson was asked to form a government later in the day, ending the longest period of one-party rule in Canadian provincial history. Miller was replaced as leader by
Larry GrossmanLawrence "Larry" Sheldon Grossman was a politician in Ontario, Canada.-Early years:Born in Toronto, Grossman was the son of Allan Grossman, who had represented a downtown Toronto riding in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for twenty years after defeating Ontario's last Communist Member of...
at a second
leadership conventionIn 1985, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party held two leadership elections: one in January, and one in November.-The January Convention:The January convention was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto to choose a replacement for William Davis, who had served as Ontario PC leader and Premier...
.
When the Liberal-NDP Accord expired, an
election was held in 1987The Ontario general election of 1987 was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by David Peterson, was returned to power with a large majority...
in which the Tories were reduced to third place in the
Legislative Assembly of OntarioThe Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
. Grossman was personally defeated in his downtown Toronto
ridingAn electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
and resigned immediately.
Andy BrandtAndrew S. "Andy" Brandt is a former politician and public administrator who has served in a number of roles in the province of Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Progressive Conservative from 1981 to 1990, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Bill...
was the party's
interim leaderAn interim leader, in Canadian politics, is a party leader appointed by the party's legislative caucus or the party's executive to temporarily act as leader when a gap occurs between the resignation or death of a party leader and the election of a formal successor...
until a
leadership election was held in 1990This page lists the results of leadership elections within the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario .Before 1920, leaders of the Conservative Party were usually chosen by caucus...
in which
Mike HarrisMichael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
defeated
Dianne CunninghamDianne Cunningham is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1988 to 2003, and a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves....
.
The Tories failed to improve their standing in the
1990 electionThe Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
under Harris, in which Peterson was defeated by Rae's NDP.
Mike Harris and the "Common Sense Revolution"
In the
1995 electionThe Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...
, Harris catapulted his party from third place to an election victory, running on a neoliberal platform known as the "
Common Sense RevolutionThe phrase Common Sense Revolution has been used as a political slogan to describe common sense conservative platforms in Australia and the U.S. state of New Jersey in the 1990s. Based on the Singapore Model of economics, its main goal is to reduce taxes while balancing the budget by reducing the...
" that highlighted a number of "wedge issues" and promised significant
tax cutA tax cut is a reduction in taxes. The immediate effects of a tax cut are a decrease in the real income of the government and an increase in the real income of those whose tax rate has been lowered. Due to the perceived benefit in growing real incomes among tax payers politicians have sought to...
s, cuts to welfare, the introduction of
workfareWorkfare is an alternative model to conventional social welfare systems. The term was first introduced by civil rights leader James Charles Evers in 1968; however, it was popularized by Richard Nixon in a televised speech August 1969...
, and privatization of social services. Harris went on to win a second majority in
1999An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
despite the strikes and protests that plagued his first term in office.
The Harris government was criticized on issues such as health care, the environment, education, and its tax policies, though it remained generally popular until Harris's departure as party leader.
The slide in Conservative support began in early 2000, according to the Ipsos-Reid polling company (
Ipsos-Reid website), when the Tories fell behind the Liberals in the public opinion polls for the first time since the 1999 election, with 36% support of those polled, compared to 42% for the Liberals and 17% for the NDP. Later in 2000, Liberal support rose to about half of those polled, while Conservative support remained in the low 30s. This pattern held through to the 2002 leadership campaign, when Conservative support rose to 37%, while the Liberals retained the support of about half of those polled.
Ernie Eves: distancing the party from the "Common Sense Revolution"
With the resignation of Mike Harris in 2002, the PCs held a
leadership electionThe 2002 Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election was a leadership election called in the fall of 2001 when Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Premier Mike Harris announced his intention to resign....
.
Ernie EvesErnest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
, who had been Harris' Minister of Finance, and who had the backing of almost all PC MPPs, won the campaign, defeating his successor as Minister of Finance,
Jim FlahertyJames Michael "Jim" Flaherty, PC, MP is Canada's Minister of Finance and he has also served as Ontario's Minister of Finance. From 1995 until 2005, he was the Member of Provincial Parliament for Whitby—Ajax, and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus...
.
Eves was a Red Tory, unlike Harris. He'd tried to blunt some of the edges of the more radical elements of Harris' platform while in Cabinet. His rejection of the "Common Sense Revolution" continued after he became premier. He killed plans to sell off Hydro One when deregulation of energy prices resulted in a dramatic increase in energy rates and threatened a consumer revolt. This led him to re-impose retail price controls on electricity, capping the price at 4.3 cents per kilowatt/hour, and vowing to keep it capped until at least 2006. The result was a quickly escalating public debt that made up for shortfalls in the price of electricity.
During the summer after Eves’ election as leader, the Conservatives closed the gap in popular support considerably, placing only two percentage points behind the Liberals in two summer public opinion polls. By the autumn of 2002, however, Eves’ ‘honeymoon’ with the voters was over, and the party fell back in the polls, hovering in the mid-to-high 30s, while the Liberals scored in the mid-to-high 40s.
2003 election defeat
Despite his attempt to recast the Tory government as a moderate one, Eves was unable to reverse the slide in the polls the Tories had suffered in the last years of Harris' tenure.
Eves asked Flaherty's campaign chairman,
Jaime WattJaime Watt is a Canadian political strategist who was most notable for playing an important role in the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario's two election victories under the leadership of Mike Harris....
, to co-manage the Conservative election campaign, along with the rest of the "Whiz Kids" team that had previously worked for Harris. Only Tom Long, the central organizer in Harris' campaigns, refused to work for Eves.
The "Whiz Kids" reputation for competence was marred by publicity stunts such as handing down his government's second budget at the headquarters of
Magna InternationalMagna International Inc. , is an automotive supplier headquartered in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's largest automobile parts manufacturer, and one of the country's largest companies. It owns the Magna Steyr automobile production company of Austria....
instead of in the provincial legislature. Voter backlash against this break with parliamentary tradition forced the delay of a planned spring election in 2003.
In May 2003, Eves released the party's platform, "The Road Ahead". The document promoted an aggressive hard-right agenda, and was closer in spirit to Harris and Flaherty's agenda than to Eves' own. In releasing this document, Eves reversed his earlier positions on banning teacher's strikes, jailing the homeless, private school tax credits and
same-sex marriageOn July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
. The platform also called for mortgage interest deductibility.
The Conservative election campaign was riddled with mistakes and miscues, and Eves appeared very uncomfortable trying to sell a platform he had opposed only a year earlier. In contrast, the Liberals had spent the last four years positioning themselves as the government in waiting, and ran on the simple platform of "Choose Change". Conservative television ads which attacked Liberal leader
Dalton McGuintyDalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
as "still not up to the job" were received poorly by the voting public, and allowed the Liberal campaign to portray the Tories as needlessly confrontational.
A critical point in the campaign was when members of the Eves team jokingly referred to McGuinty as an "evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet", a comment that made the Conservatives appear desperate to vilify their opponents. In the final days leading up to the vote, Eves was further criticized for saying that McGuinty just says "whatever comes into his pointy little head". On election day, the Conservatives were routed, falling to 24 seats.
John Tory's Tories (2004 to 2009)
In early 2004, Eves announced his intention to step down as leader. A leadership convention to replace him was called for the fall.
Jim FlahertyJames Michael "Jim" Flaherty, PC, MP is Canada's Minister of Finance and he has also served as Ontario's Minister of Finance. From 1995 until 2005, he was the Member of Provincial Parliament for Whitby—Ajax, and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus...
was the first to enter the race, campaigning on the same right wing platform as in 2002. He was soon opposed by
John ToryJohn Howard Tory is a Canadian businessman, political activist, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, former Member of Provincial Parliament and broadcaster...
, a former executive with
Rogers CableRogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...
and a
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
mayoral candidate in 2003, sometimes viewed as a
Red ToryA 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...
due to his association to former Ontario Premier Bill Davis. Member of Provincial Parliament
Frank KleesFrank Klees is a Canadian politician and the Progressive Conservative member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Newmarket—Aurora north of Toronto. He was a candidate in the 2009 Progressive Conservative leadership election placing second behind victor Tim Hudak.-Early life:Klees was born...
, the third candidate in the race, was a supporter of the
Common Sense RevolutionThe phrase Common Sense Revolution has been used as a political slogan to describe common sense conservative platforms in Australia and the U.S. state of New Jersey in the 1990s. Based on the Singapore Model of economics, its main goal is to reduce taxes while balancing the budget by reducing the...
and campaigned for a parallel private health care system.
The
2004 leadership electionOn January 23, 2004, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leader Ernie Eves announced his intention to step down as leader before the fall of 2004. Eves was elected party leader in the party's 2002 leadership election, and became Premier of Ontario...
was held on September 18, 2004, electing John Tory as the party's new leader. Tory, a longtime backroom player in the PC Party, was elected to the Ontario legislature in a by-election in March, 2005, in the seat that Eves held.
In polling prior to the
2007 general electionThe Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...
, the PCs' support rose after the first Liberal budget in 2004. The party was virtually tied with the Liberals, as Tory has experimented with several different orientations. During his first year as leader, Tory attempted to rise above partisan politics, openly contemptuous of partisan moves and pledging to improve decorum in the legislature. In his second year as leader, Tory adopted a more traditional approach to the issues, sharply opposing the Liberal plans on taxes, spending, deficits and cuts. Heading into the election year, Tory put most of his emphasis on criticizing the government's handling of a standoff with
IroquoisThe Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
aboriginals in
CaledoniaCaledonia is a small riverside community and former town located on the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. Haldimand County is in the western part of the Niagara Peninsula, and had a population of 43,280 in 2001. The current mayor of Haldimand County is Ken Hewitt; Caledonia is...
in order to portray the government as weak. He also emphasized traditional right-wing issues like taxes, crime and government spending.
During the 2006 PC Policy Convention, Tory introduced his plan for shaping up the PCs' platform for the
2007 electionThe Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...
campaign. His ideas were stated in what have been called "The White Papers".
The party experienced a drop in popularity, however, after Tory pledged to provide government funding for faith-based schools. The proposal, which proved to be unpopular with voters, contributed largely to the party's loss. The Liberals won a second
majority governmentA majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
, and the PCs made and negligible gains in the legislature (one more seat, but a 3 per cent drop in the popular vote). Tory, who had left his
Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—GreyDufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey is a former provincial electoral district in southwestern Ontario, Canada that elected one Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. It was created in 1999 from Wellington, Grey and Dufferin—Peel...
seat to run in
Don Valley WestDon Valley West is a provincial electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It elects one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.It was created in 1999 from parts of Don Mills, York Mills, York East and Eglinton....
, would lose to Liberal incumbent
Kathleen WynneKathleen O. Wynne is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Don Valley West for the Liberal Party.-Background:...
.
2008 party convention and the leadership review question
As a result of the
electionThe Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...
loss, the party decided to hold a leadership review vote at its 2008 General Party Meeting in London. The Ontario PC Party's constitution requires that the Party hold a leadership review vote at the first party convention after an election defeat.
From the election day until the 2008 General Meeting, party members were divided into two "camps": those who supported John Tory's position as Party Leader and those who opposed his leadership. Several campaigns to oust John Tory as leader of the party, most notably by a party activist group led by former party president Rueben Devlin called
Grassroots PC. John Tory had the public support of the PC legislative caucus, and most notably, support from former premiers and predecessors
Ernie EvesErnest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
and
Bill DavisWilliam Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
.
The lead-up to the review vote was marked by high emotions on both sides of the debate and allegations of rule breaking. Such allegations were risen when caucus members sent letters on party letterhead seeking support for Tory. The letters signed by Tory MPPs Bob Runciman and Toby Barrett were a clear violation of the rules of the party, as the party in general is supposed to be neutral on the leadership review question. Tory responded by stating that he and his supporters will reimburse the party for the letters that the caucus members had sent in support of Tory's position as leaders. As a result, the party's president,
Blair McCreadieBlair Wilson McCreadie is the past president of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. He was unopposed in his bid for the position, and was consequently acclaimed for a two year term on October 27, 2002 at the party's convention of that year....
, had stated that the matter is closed. A supporter of Mr. Tory's, PC Youth President Andrew Brander, launched a series of last-minute challenges of delegates on the grounds that they are representing ridings where they neither live nor work.
Tory received 66.9% support, lower than internal tracking which showed him more comfortably in the 70 per cent range - appeared to come as a shock to Tory. The percentage of support received by Tory was nearly identical to Joe Clark's 1983 support when he was federal PC leader, which resulted in Clark resigning as leader, and is often seen as the benchmark for Canadian party leaders to get to stay on as leader.
Three hours after the leadership review vote, John Tory announced to the delegates at the Ontario PC's general meeting that he would stay on as leader of the Party. Tory came under heavy criticism from several party members following this delay, with his opponents signalling that they would continue to call for an end to what they called his 'weak' leadership. Other party members, such as former Mike Harris chief of staff Guy Giorno and interim Leader of the Opposition Bob Runciman, supported John Tory, saying that his opponents should accept the results and move on.
2009 leadership election
John Tory announced his pending resignation as leader the day following his defeat in a by-election. On June 27, 2009 party members elected
Tim HudakTimothy Patrick "Tim" Hudak is a politician in Ontario, Canada, and the Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario . He also serves as member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the riding of Niagara West—Glanbrook.-Background:Tim Hudak was born in Fort Erie, Ontario...
as the party's new leader.
Christine ElliottChristine Janice Elliott is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in a byelection on March 30, 2006. Elliott was a candidate in the 2009 Progressive Conservative leadership election and came in third place behind winner Tim Hudak and runner-up Frank...
,
Frank KleesFrank Klees is a Canadian politician and the Progressive Conservative member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Newmarket—Aurora north of Toronto. He was a candidate in the 2009 Progressive Conservative leadership election placing second behind victor Tim Hudak.-Early life:Klees was born...
, and
Randy HillierRandy Hillier is a rural activist and politician in Ontario, Canada. He was elected as a Progressive Conservative MPP for Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington during the 2007 Ontario general election...
were the unsuccessful candidates.
Current leadership and Members of Provincial Parliament
| Party leadership |
| Name |
Position |
| Tim Hudak Timothy Patrick "Tim" Hudak is a politician in Ontario, Canada, and the Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario . He also serves as member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the riding of Niagara West—Glanbrook.-Background:Tim Hudak was born in Fort Erie, Ontario...
|
Party Leader |
| Ken Zeise |
Party President |
See also
Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the 40th Legislative Assembly of OntarioThe Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet are members of the main Opposition party responsible for holding Ministers to account and for developing and disseminating the party's policy positions. In the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario the Official Opposition is formed by the Progressive...
Party leaders
Conservative Party of Canada West (pre-Confederation) |
| Leader | Years in office |
| 1 |
Sir John A. MacdonaldSir 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...
|
1854–1867 |
| 2 |
John Sandfield MacdonaldJohn Sandfield Macdonald, QC was the first Premier of the province of Ontario, one of the four founding provinces created at the confederation of Canada in 1867...
|
1862–1864 |
Liberal-Conservative Association of Ontario |
| Leader | Years in office |
| con't |
John Sandfield MacdonaldJohn Sandfield Macdonald, QC was the first Premier of the province of Ontario, one of the four founding provinces created at the confederation of Canada in 1867...
|
1867–1871 |
| 3 |
Matthew Crooks Cameron Sir Matthew Crooks Cameron, QC was a lawyer, judge and politician in the Canadian province of Ontario.He was born in Dundas in Upper Canada, during his studies at Upper Canada College, he lost one leg after a shooting accident. Cameron later articled in law, was called to the bar in 1849 and...
|
1871–1878 |
| 4 |
William Ralph Meredith The Hon. Sir William Ralph Meredith, Q.C., LL.D. was Leader of the Ontario Conservatives from 1878 to 1894; Chancellor of the University of Toronto from 1900 until his death, and Chief Justice of Ontario from 1913 until his death...
|
1879–1894 |
| 5 |
George Frederick Marter George Frederick Marter was a politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He led the Ontario Conservative Party from 1894 to 1896, and later became manager of the Lancashire Insurance Company of Toronto....
|
1894–1896 |
| 6 |
Sir James P. Whitney |
1896–1914 |
| 7 |
Sir William Hearst |
1914–1919 |
| 8 |
George Howard Ferguson |
1919–1930 |
| 9 |
George Stewart Henry George Stewart Henry was a farmer, businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada.Born in Township of King, York County, Ontario, the son of William and Louisa Henry, Henry was educated at the public schools of Toronto, Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto where he received a B.A. and...
|
1930–1936 |
| 10 |
William Earl Rowe William Earl Rowe, PC , was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1963 to 1968. He also had four children, one of which died during labour....
|
1936–1938 |
| 11 |
George Drew |
1938–1942 |
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario |
| Leader | Years in office |
| con't |
George Drew |
1942–1948 |
| 12 |
Thomas Kennedy Thomas Laird Kennedy was a politician in Ontario, Canada and served briefly as the 15th Premier of Ontario. He was first elected as the Conservative member for Peel in the 1919 provincial election...
|
1948-1949 (interim An interim leader, in Canadian politics, is a party leader appointed by the party's legislative caucus or the party's executive to temporarily act as leader when a gap occurs between the resignation or death of a party leader and the election of a formal successor...
) |
| 13 |
Leslie FrostLeslie Miscampbell Frost, was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the 16th Premier from May 4, 1949 to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man Ontario".-Early years:...
|
1949–1961 |
| 14 |
John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts, PC, CC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and statesman, and the 17th Premier of Ontario.-Early life:...
|
1961–1971 |
| 15 |
William (Bill) Davis William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
|
1971–1985 |
| 16 |
Frank Miller |
1985–1986 |
| 17 |
Larry Grossman Lawrence "Larry" Sheldon Grossman was a politician in Ontario, Canada.-Early years:Born in Toronto, Grossman was the son of Allan Grossman, who had represented a downtown Toronto riding in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for twenty years after defeating Ontario's last Communist Member of...
|
1986–1987 |
| 18 |
Andy Brandt Andrew S. "Andy" Brandt is a former politician and public administrator who has served in a number of roles in the province of Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Progressive Conservative from 1981 to 1990, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Bill...
|
1987-1990 (interim) |
| 19 |
Mike Harris Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
|
1990–2002 |
| 20 |
Ernie Eves Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
|
2002–2004 |
| 21 |
John ToryJohn Howard Tory is a Canadian businessman, political activist, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, former Member of Provincial Parliament and broadcaster...
|
2004–2009 |
| 22 |
Bob Runciman Robert William "Bob" Runciman is a veteran Canadian politician and former provincial Leader of the Opposition in the Ontario Legislature. First elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1981, he held the seat continuously for Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario for the next 29 years...
|
2009 (interim) |
| 23 |
Tim Hudak Timothy Patrick "Tim" Hudak is a politician in Ontario, Canada, and the Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario . He also serves as member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the riding of Niagara West—Glanbrook.-Background:Tim Hudak was born in Fort Erie, Ontario...
|
2009–present |
Recent election results
| Election |
Seats won |
Seats available |
Popular vote |
Popular vote (%) |
Legislative role |
Party leader |
| 1985 The Ontario general election of 1985 was held on May 2, 1985, to elect members of the 33rd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada...
|
52 |
125 |
1,343,044 |
37.0% |
Official opposition
Initially in Government |
Frank Miller Frank Stuart Miller, was a Canadian politician, who served as the 19th Premier of Ontario for four months in 1985.-Early life and political career:...
|
| 1987 The Ontario general election of 1987 was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by David Peterson, was returned to power with a large majority...
|
16 |
130 |
931,473 |
24.7% |
Third party |
Larry Grossman Lawrence "Larry" Sheldon Grossman was a politician in Ontario, Canada.-Early years:Born in Toronto, Grossman was the son of Allan Grossman, who had represented a downtown Toronto riding in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for twenty years after defeating Ontario's last Communist Member of...
|
1990The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
|
20 |
130 |
944,564 |
23.5% |
Mike Harris Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
|
1995The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...
|
82 |
129 |
1,870,110 |
44.8% |
Majority
Government |
Mike Harris Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
|
| 1999 An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
|
59 |
103 |
1,978,059 |
45.1% |
Mike Harris Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
|
2003The Ontario general election of 2003 was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
|
24 |
103 |
1,559,181 |
34.7% |
Official opposition |
Ernie Eves Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
|
2007The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...
|
26 |
107 |
1,398,857 |
31.64% |
John ToryJohn Howard Tory is a Canadian businessman, political activist, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, former Member of Provincial Parliament and broadcaster...
|
See also
External links