Libertarian Party of Canada

Leader: Dennis Young

http://www.libertarian.ca We have assembled the content for this political party platform summary from the sources listed at the bottom of the page. If you notice any incorrect information or have any questions, please get in touch with us using our contact us form - we welcome all feedback!

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Accountability	Stands firmly against government interference in society and believes governmental powers need to be much more limited. Supports more accountability through the right of citizens to recall MPs for unethical behaviour.
Agriculture/Fisheries	No official position.
Armed Forces/Military	Opposes the use of Canada’s military in foreign conflicts. Believes the only justification for war is to defend Canadians from invasion. Opposes nuclear proliferation and the weaponization of space, but would not go to war over it.
Arts/Culture	No official position.
Childcare	Believes families should decide how to raise their children and rejects any government involvement.
Democratic Reform	Supports a major reduction in the size and power of the Canadian government. Opposes limits on political advertising and campaign donations.
Economy	The party is opposed to trade agreements because it believes that they do not actually encourage free trade. Proposes abolishing the Bank of Canada and is against any government involvement in the monetary system. Supports voluntary free market regulation by consumer information agencies instead of government. Supports the right of private citizens to own gold and to produce and issue currency.
Environment	Blames environmental degradation on public ownership of land, and proposes selling all public land to Canadians to remedy the situation. Opposes the Kyoto accord and all other attempts to regulate free markets in the name of fighting global warming.
Gun Registry	Wants to scrap the gun registry and supports the right of individuals to own firearms for self-defence or recreation.
Healthcare	Opposes laws that prevent individuals from having private health insurance and thus would repeal the Canada Health Act. Opposes all compulsory or tax-supported health plans.
International Policy	Opposes all forms of intervention in the affairs of other countries, be it  for economic, military or political reasons. In favour of withdrawing from NATO, the IMF, the World Bank, and the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) because the party believes they interfere with the lives of Canadians.
Immigration	Believes that immigrants and refugees should be granted entry to Canada, but should only be able to access government welfare or services by paying for them.
Marijuana	Views the prohibition on all drugs as damaging to society and supports legalization.
Post Secondary Education	The party is opposed to government subsidies and therefore to government funding colleges and universities.
Same-Sex Rights	Recommends that government does not regulate marriage at all.
Seniors/Low Income	Believes that government welfare is detrimental to people because they become dependent on it.
Taxation	The party’s ultimate goal is to create a society free  from financial regulation or coercion. Would eliminate or substantially reduce GST, excise taxes, and personal and corporate income tax. Proposes moving to a fees-for-service system.

Sources:
www.libertarian.ca






The Libertarian Party of Canada’s was founded on the principle that government should have minimum interference in the lives of the people. It was founded by a group of eight people on July 7, 1973 and made its headquarters in Embrun, Ontario. The party struggled for a support base throughout the 1980s, as the former Reform Party and Progressive Conservatives gained in prominence. As the Libertarians could not field at least fifty candidates, the party lost its registered status in 1997 under the now defunct electoral law requiring fifty candidates. They were re-registered in 2004 under the leadership of Jean-Serge Brisson. The party has since been trying to regain a foothold on the electoral scene, increasing its vote share in small increments.
 
Reducing government bureaucracy, complete deregulation & free markets, strengthen property rights, and a non-interventionist foreign policy.
 

Bruce Evoy was one of the party founders, and its first party chairman. He ran in the 1974 election, one of the party’s first candidates.

Jean-Serge Brisson led the party as interim leader from 1997-2000, until he was officially elected to the position. He stayed on as leader until 2008. He has been an anti-seatbelt law activist since 1988, arguing that liberty dictates personal discretion in these matters.

The highest percentage of the vote ever earned by a Libertarian member went to former leader (1982-1983) Neil Reynolds to the tune of 13.4%.

He was a prominent Ontario journalist and returned to his career after his brief stint in politics. Currently, the party is led by newly chosen Dennis Young.

Along with Deputy Leader Savannah Linklater, he is trying to restore the party’s success in the new millennium.
 

In the 1980s, before the Bloc Québecois and Green Party had arrived on the scene, the Libertarian Party considered itself “Canada’s fourth party”.

Former leader Brisson has long campaigned against seatbelt laws. In 2000, he was jailed for not paying seatbelt fines. At this time, his total seatbelt violations fines totaled more than $12,000. He stopped filing income tax in 1991 as well as refusing to collect the Ontario provincial sales tax, as part of his protest against government bureaucracy. He has never collected the GST either.

Sources:
http://www.libertarian.ca/index.html
http://www.politicalparty.ca/ http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/2008-canadian-political-party-profiles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Party_of_Canada