Reform Party
Quick Summary
The Reform Party was a Canadian political movement that emerged in Canada West and the Maritime Provinces around 1837. It advocated for elected legislative councils and executive councils accountable to elected assemblies. Some Reformers participated in the rebellions of 1837, while others did not. The party held power in the Province of Canada in the mid-19th century but later split into moderate and radical factions, influencing the formation of the Liberal Party.1
A later Reform Party, formed in 1987, was a populist conservative movement primarily based in western Canada. It focused on reducing government size and debt, opposing special status for Quebec, and generally rejecting minority rights. This party gained significant parliamentary representation in the 1990s, becoming the official opposition. It eventually merged with the Progressive Conservative Party in 2003 to form the Conservative Party of Canada.2
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