Conservative Party of Canada facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Conservative Party of Canada Parti conservateur du Canada

Abbreviation	CPC
Leader	Pierre Poilievre
President	Stephen Barber
Deputy leaders	Melissa Lantsman Tim Uppal
Senate leader	Don Plett
House leader	Andrew Scheer
Founders	Stephen Harper Peter MacKay
Founded	December 7, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-12-07)
Merger of	PC, Canadian Alliance
Headquarters	1800–66 Slater Street Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H1
Membership (2022)	678,708
Ideology	Conservatism (Canadian) Economic liberalism
Political position	Centre-right to right-wing
Regional affiliation	Asia Pacific Democracy Union
Continental affiliation	Union of Latin American Parties (associate party)
International affiliation	International Democracy Union
Colours	Blue
Senate	12 / 105
House of Commons	120 / 338
Political parties

The Conservative Party of Canada (often called the CPC) is a major political party in Canada. People sometimes call its members "Tories" or simply "Conservatives." The party was created in 2003. It formed when two other big parties, the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance, joined together.

The Conservative Party is generally seen as a centre-right to right-wing party in Canadian politics. This means their ideas are often more traditional and focus on things like lower taxes and individual freedom. They are different from the Liberal Party of Canada, which is usually seen as more left-leaning. The Conservatives are known as a "big tent" party. This means they welcome many different kinds of members with various ideas.

Before 2003, there was an older Conservative Party that existed from 1867. It changed names over time. By 1942, it was known as the Progressive Conservative Party. In the 1993 election, many voters in Western Canada started supporting the Reform Party instead. Since neither the Progressive Conservatives nor the Reform Party (or its later version, the Canadian Alliance) could beat the Liberals, they decided to join forces. This led to the creation of the modern Conservative Party of Canada in 2003.

From 2006 to 2015, the Conservative Party was in charge of Canada. Their economic plans included lowering sales and income taxes. They also worked to balance the national budget. They created special savings accounts called TFSAs. In social areas, they removed the long-gun registry. They also made rules for tougher sentences for violent crimes. The government also supported Israel and worked on big trade deals with other countries.

The first leader of the party was Stephen Harper. He led the party to win two minority governments in 2006 and 2008. A minority government means they had the most seats, but not enough to make decisions without support from other parties. In 2011, they won a majority government. This means they had enough seats to pass laws easily. But in 2015, they lost to the Liberal Party. Since then, the Conservatives have been the main opposition party. Their leaders after Stephen Harper were Andrew Scheer and Erin O'Toole. In 2022, Pierre Poilievre became the new leader.

What the Conservative Party Believes In

The Conservative Party is still quite new, but it has a mix of different ideas. It's called a "big tent" party because it includes many different viewpoints. These views are generally on the centre-right to right-wing side of politics. They focus on Canadian conservatism and careful spending of money.

When the party was formed, they set out their main beliefs. These include:

Being responsible with money.
Protecting individual rights and freedoms.
Supporting Canada's constitutional monarchy and democratic system.
Having a strong national defense.
Believing in law and order.
Respecting Canada's history and traditions.
Treating all Canadians equally.

Party Ideas and Plans

In recent years, the Conservative Party has often talked about these plans:

Culture

Supporting bilingualism (having two official languages, English and French).

Canada's Constitution

Supporting federalism (different levels of government working together).
Being against Quebec separatism (Quebec leaving Canada).
Wanting to keep Canada's constitutional monarchy.
Wanting Senators to be elected by people, not chosen.
Protecting freedom of speech, religion, and the press.
Respecting agreements with Indigenous Canadians.
Allowing Indigenous communities more control over their own lands.

Money Matters

Supporting supply management for some farm products like dairy and poultry.
Encouraging the extraction of petroleum and natural gas.
Building more pipelines.
Believing in the right to own private property.

Protecting the Environment

Giving money for carbon capture technology.
Stopping raw sewage from being dumped into rivers.
Creating protected areas in the ocean.
Setting limits on pollution for industries.

Firearms

Keeping the system for licensing gun owners.
Keeping bans on certain types of handguns and fully automatic firearms.
Opposing bans on long-barreled handguns and semi-automatic firearms.

Fairness for Everyone

Believing in equal opportunities for men and women.

Healthcare and Social Programs

Supporting publicly funded healthcare for everyone.
Keeping the Canada Pension Plan program.
Reducing funding for the CBC (Canada's public broadcaster).

Immigration

Connecting immigration levels to how many homes and jobs are available.
Wanting to end birthright citizenship (being a citizen just because you were born in Canada).
Being against illegal immigration.

Military

Wanting to spend more money on Canada's military.

Taxes and Spending

Reducing income taxes.
Allowing families to split their income for tax purposes.
Reducing business taxes.
Reducing taxes on investments.
Being against a carbon tax.
Making taxes simpler.
Having laws to make sure the government's budget is balanced.
Reducing the national debt.
Reducing money given to businesses by the government.

How the Party is Organized

National Council

The National Council is the top governing group of the Conservative Party. Stephen Barber has been its President since 2023. This council has 21 members from different parts of Canada.

Where the Party is Strongest

The Conservative Party has historically been strongest in Western Canada and in rural parts of Ontario. They are especially strong in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. They tend to be less strong in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, especially Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.

Youth Involvement

The Conservative Party does not have an official youth group. However, young people can become members and vote in party matters from age 14. The party also has clubs at various universities.

Party Leaders

The leader of the Conservative Party is a very important role. They often become the Prime Minister if their party wins enough seats.

Leader		Start Date	End Date	Notes
Temporary	John Lynch-Staunton	December 8, 2003	March 20, 2004	Was a Senator, served as temporary leader.
	Stephen Harper	March 20, 2004	October 19, 2015	Was Prime Minister from 2006 to 2015.
Temporary	Rona Ambrose	November 5, 2015	May 27, 2017	Served as temporary leader.
	Andrew Scheer	May 27, 2017	August 24, 2020	Served as Leader of the Official Opposition.
	Erin O'Toole	August 24, 2020	February 2, 2022	Served as Leader of the Official Opposition.
Temporary	Candice Bergen	February 2, 2022	September 10, 2022	Served as temporary leader.
	Pierre Poilievre	September 10, 2022	Current Leader	Serves as Leader of the Official Opposition.

Deputy Leaders

The Deputy Leader is chosen by the party leader. Currently, Melissa Lantsman and Tim Uppal are the Deputy Leaders.

Party Presidents

The party president helps manage the party's operations.

Don Plett (2003–2009)
John Walsh (2009–2016)
Scott Lamb (2016–2021)
Robert Batherson (2021–2023)
Stephen Barber (2023–present)

Conservative Members in Parliament

House of Commons

The Conservative Party has many members in the House of Commons. When they are not the government, they form the Official Opposition. This means they challenge the government and offer different ideas.

Senate Members

The Conservative Party also has members in the Senate. These senators are part of the larger Conservative group in Parliament. When the party is in power, the Prime Minister chooses the Senate leader. When they are not in power, the Conservative senators elect their own leader. Don Plett is the current Conservative Senate leader.

Election Results

The Conservative Party has taken part in many federal elections since 2004. The graph and table below show how many votes and seats they won in each election.

Election	Leader	Votes	% of Votes	Seats Won	Change in Seats	Position	Government Type
2004	Stephen Harper	4,019,498	29.63	99 / 308 (32%)	21	2nd	Official Opposition
2006		5,374,071	36.27	124 / 308 (40%)	25	1st	Minority Government
2008		5,209,069	37.65	143 / 308 (46%)	19	1st	Minority Government
2011		5,832,401	39.62	166 / 308 (54%)	23	1st	Majority Government
2015		5,578,101	31.89	99 / 338 (29%)	67	2nd	Official Opposition
2019	Andrew Scheer	6,239,227	34.34	121 / 338 (36%)	22	2nd	Official Opposition
2021	Erin O'Toole	5,747,410	33.74	119 / 338 (35%)	2	2nd	Official Opposition