Conservative Party of Canada is a Canadian political party at the national level. It does not have any formal connection with provincial conservative parties. In some form, it has been one of two political parties to govern Canada throughout the nation’s history. The Liberal Party also has formed many national governments. In general, the Conservative Party has promoted traditional social values and funding for the military. It also has promoted a philosophy of smaller government and of reduced public reliance on social programs. The party tends to have strong support in western Canada, but is less popular in Quebec.
The Conservative Party’s roots date back to the middle 1800’s. Since that time, there has been a succession of national conservative parties, including the Liberal-Conservative, Unionist, and Progressive Conservative parties. The present Conservative Party was created in 2003 by a merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance. Stephen Harper, who had led the Canadian Alliance, became the Conservative Party’s first leader.
In federal general elections in 2006 and 2008, the Conservatives won the most seats in Parliament but failed to win a majority. They formed a minority government with Harper as prime minister. A minority government relies upon opposition parties for support in parliamentary votes. The Conservatives won their first majority in 2011, and Harper remained prime minister.
Under Harper, Conservative governments focused on the economy. They reduced the goods and services tax (GST), a type of sales tax; increased spending on the military; and signed a number of international free-trade deals.
The Conservatives lost federal general elections in 2015, 2019, and 2021. Harper resigned as party leader in 2015. Later Conservative leaders have included Andrew Scheer, Erin O’Toole, and Pierre Poilievre.
