Reform Party was a conservative political party in Canada. Based in Alberta, it gained much support in Canada’s Western provinces. In general, the Reform Party favored extensive federal budget cuts to reduce the national debt, greater equality among Canada’s provinces, and lower immigration. It also supported amending Canada’s constitution to provide for an elected and more powerful Senate.
The Reform Party was established in 1987. Preston Manning, an Alberta business consultant and son of a former premier of Alberta, became its leader. Manning claimed Canada’s traditional parties had lost touch with voters’ concerns. The Reform Party received strong support from Alberta’s oil industry, which claimed it had been hurt by federal government policies.
Reform ran 72 candidates in the 1988 federal election but failed to win any seats. Then in 1989, one Reformer won a seat in Canada’s House of Commons. In 1990, a Reformer was appointed to the Canadian Senate. In 1992, the Reform Party helped defeat the Charlottetown accord, a set of constitutional amendments proposed by leaders of the federal and provincial governments. The plan included recognizing French-speaking Quebec as a distinct society within Canada. In 1993, Reformers captured 52 seats in the House of Commons. In the 1997 general election, the Reform Party won 60 of 301 seats in the Commons—more than any other party except the Liberal Party—and became Canada’s official opposition party. In 2000, Reform members voted to dissolve their party and join a new national conservative party called the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance. The new party was commonly known as the Canadian Alliance. In 2003, the Canadian Alliance merged with the national Progressive Conservative Party to form the Conservative Party of Canada.
See also Day, Stockwell ; Manning, Preston .
