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| Current Leader: | Paul Martin, Jr |
| Founded: | Pre-Confederation |
| Headquarters: | Suite 400 81 Metcalfe Street Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6M8 |
| Colours: | Red |
| Political ideology: | liberal |
The Liberal Party is the party of the current federal government in Canada. It is often called "Canada's governing party" due to the fact that it has governed Canada for most of the past century. It is one of only two parties that have alternately governed Canada since Confederation, the other being the Conservativess. In its early history it was the party of free trade, Quebec, and opposition to excessive imperialism. For many years, however, the Liberal party has been accused of, or credited with, not having any great vision but rather reflecting whatever policies could best get them elected. In the period just before and after the Second World War, the Liberal Party became a champion of social goals.
Canada's welfare state was created under its longest serving Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. These efforts were followed by Lester B. Pearson's introduction of universal health care. Under Pierre Trudeau this mission evolved into the goal of creating a "just society". In recent years, however, the party has been accused of "campaigning on the left and ruling on the right".
Known colloquially as the "Grits" (originally "Clear Grits"), the Liberal Party has held power for a substantial majority of the past century -- in fact, in the entire history of the Liberal Party, there has only been one non-interim leader, Edward Blake, who was never Prime Minister of Canada.
The Liberal Party is a member of the Liberal International.
Leaders of the Liberal Party:
1 Herb Gray served as Leader of the Opposition from June 23 until Chrétien was re-elected to Parliament in December 1990, though he was never the leader, nor even the interim leader, of the Liberal party.
Each province in Canada has its own Liberal Party. Though most of these are not linked to the federal Liberals, relations are often close.
Officially, most provinces only have provincial wings of the federal party, much like the NDP, but the Parti libéral du Québec, the Ontario Liberal Party, the BC Liberal Party, and the Alberta Liberal Party are all officially separate.
Provincial Liberal Parties