Political Parties

Political Parties History

Introduction

Political history in Canada, as distinct from constitutional history, may be described as the history of political parties. In a sense, there have been political parties in Canada ever since, in 1608, some of Champlain’s men plotted to murder him, and hand over the newly founded settlement of Quebec to the Basques. At a later date, there was a widespread division of opinion in New France between those who supported Frontenac’s attitude toward the use of firewater among the Indians and those who supported Laval’s opposition to it; and in the early days of British rule in Canada there was a violent cleavage between those who wished to see French laws and institutions continued in Canada and those who wished to see English laws and institutions introduced. But it was not until the establishment of representative institutions (an event which took place in Nova Scotia in 1758, in New Brunswick in 1784, and in [Upper and Lower] Canada in 1791) that organized political parties began to make their appearance in what is now Canada . The character of the old colonial constitution, with its concentration of power in the hands of the governing class, was such that there sprang up at an early date an organized opposition to the government party. Signs of opposition to the government and its supporters were apparent in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick long before 1800, and in Upper and Lower Canada shortly after that date. The name by which the opposition party came to be known was that of ” Reformers “; though in Lower Canada at a later date, because of the racial twist given to the political struggle, they came to be known as “Anti-bureaucrates” or ” Patriotes “. At various times, the Reformers obtained a majority in the Legislative Assemblies of the various provinces of British North America , and in such cases they were able to elect the speaker of the Assembly ¾ a fact which predicated a certain amount of organization. On the other hand, when the ” Tories ,” or government party, had control of the Assembly, they put a nominee of their own in the speaker’s chair.

Source: W. Stewart WALLACE, “Political History”, in W. Stewart WALLACE, The Encyclopedia of Canada , Toronto , University Associates of Canada , 1948, 396p., pp. 175-186.

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This entry was last updated: November 4, 2014