The Freedom Party of Ontario (FPO, french: Parti de la Liberté – Ontario) is a provincial political party in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It was founded on January 1, 1984, in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

by Robert Metz and

Marc Emery Marc Scott Emery (born February 13, 1958) is a Canadian cannabis rights activist, entrepreneur and politician. Often described as the "Prince of Pot", Emery has been a notable advocate of international cannabis policy reform, and has been active ...

. The Freedom Party has fielded candidates in every provincial election since 1985, and in several by-elections. It has also participated in numerous public policy debates, often on contentious social issues. In 1980 a schism occurred in the libertarian movement in Ontario, with several members of the Libertarian Party, unhappy with its direction and democratic structure, left to follow the

Objectivist Objectivism is a philosophical system developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement ...

Unparty The Unparty was a political party in Ontario, Canada, in the early 1980s. In 1980, some former members of the Ontario Libertarian Party left the party because of fundamental disagreements and founded the Unparty. They included Lisa Butler, fo ...

. In 1984, the Unparty changed its name to the ''Freedom Party of Ontario''.

Ideology

The Freedom Party's founding principle is that "every individual, in the peaceful pursuit of personal fulfillment, has an absolute right to his or her own life, liberty, and property." The Freedom Party membership's stated objectives are four-fold: encouraging voters to vote for FPO candidates in provincial elections and by-elections, influencing government through the election of FPO candidates to the Ontario legislature, protecting every Ontarian's right to life, liberty and property, and lastly building and supporting the FPO by becoming a network of individuals dedicated to carrying out the aforementioned principles, described in detail above. The party has, from its inception in 1984, explained that "the Freedom Party believes that the purpose of government is to protect our freedom of choice, not to restrict it." The party advocates government that takes into account only claims backed by evidence. It submits that all government laws and decisions must be logical, and must at all times serve the purpose of ensuring that no person's life, liberty, or property is taken without his consent.

History

Founding

The Freedom Party of Ontario was founded by a number of people based in the London, Ontario area, including Robert Metz and

of London, who had founded ''The London Tribune'' (a broadsheet daily newspaper) in London in 1980 and, later published the ''London Metrobulletin'' (beginning in March 1983). Toward the end of 1983, Metz assumed the registration of the Toronto-based

which folded and closed its Toronto office. Elections Ontario approved the party's name change on October 19, 1983. Because Metz and Emery were turning their attention to electoral politics, the final issue of the ''London Metrobulletin'' was published in December 1983. Freedom Party of Ontario was officially launched on January 1, 1984, with its head office in London. Freedom Party of Ontario's founding platform was summarized in the statement: "Freedom Party believes that the purpose of government is to protect our freedom of choice, not to restrict it."

1984–2002

The FPO was best known during the 1980s for its campaigns against

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

and provincial laws that restricted

Sunday shopping Sunday shopping or Sunday trading refers to the ability of retailers to operate stores on Sunday, a day that Christian tradition typically recognises as a day of rest. Rules governing shopping hours, such as Sunday shopping, vary around the worl ...

. Robert Metz, the party's first president, spoke for the FPO in 1987 when he argued that the Sunday shopping debate was fundamentally about freedom of choice for the retailer and consumer. Leading FPO members also opposed legal restrictions on

pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

that depicts consensual sex between consenting adults, and opposed the prohibition of marijuana, arguing that the state did not have the right to legislate in such matters. On economic issues, the FPO supported tax reductions and opposed provincial

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

programs. It was also critical of the

Ontario Human Rights Commission The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961, to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OHRC is an arm's length agency of government accountable to the legislature through ...

and of affirmative action programs. Some prominent former members of Voice of Canadians (VOC), a now-defunct group that opposed official

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

and

official bilingualism An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

, have affiliated with the FPO since the 1990s. Metz became the first leader of the party in 1987, and served until 1994 when he was replaced by Jack Plant. Plant stepped down in 1997, and was replaced by Lloyd Walker. All of the party's leaders between 1987 and 2002 were from London, and the party's activities were organized primarily from that city. The party newsletter, ''Freedom Flyer'', was published on an occasional basis, and back copies are available online. The Freedom Party has opposed government restrictions on free speech and freedom of expression throughout its existence, arguing that the state has no right to intervene except in cases of fraud, defamation, or the commission of crimes such as sex with children.

frequently challenged Canada's censorship laws during his years as an FPO organizer, via the private bookstore he operated in London. He continued to do so after resigning from FPO in 1990. The FPO took a

civil libertarian Civil libertarianism is a strain of political thought that supports civil liberties, or which emphasizes the supremacy of individual rights and personal freedoms over and against any kind of authority (such as a state, a corporation, social no ...

stance on

hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...

and the rights of individuals to express political opinions, whether those opinions are rational or irrational, unoffensive or offensive, popular or unpopular. In 1999, the London police wrote to Raphael Bergmann and Tyler Chilcott alleging that they were members of the Northern Alliance. The letter stated that, as they belonged to an "

extreme right-wing Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

" group they were "required" to report to the police to explain their opinions. The FPO's then leader, Lloyd Walker requested that Solicitor-General

David Tsubouchi (born August 20, 1951) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. H ...

provide a list of "extreme" political beliefs that could result in such police action. No response was provided by the government, and nothing more came of the matter
here
Bergmann and Chilcott were never FPO members and the party did not support their views, simply their right to express them.

Since 2002 under leadership of Paul McKeever

The party was partly restructured in 2002, when

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

lawyer Paul McKeever replaced Walker as party leader. McKeever argues that the FPO is now targeted toward building an electoral base and that a new organization, Freedom Party International, has taken on its prior advocacy role. FPI now publishes the former FPO journal, ''Consent''. McKeever (born 1966) has been the party's leader since 2002. He graduated from

Trent University Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Trent is known for its Oxbridge college system and small class sizes.

with an Honours Bachelor of Science in 1989 and a Master of Arts from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

in 1991 and a law degree from the same university in 1995. He currently practises civil litigation and employment law. McKeever became a member of the Freedom Party of Ontario in 1992, joined its executive in 1999, and became party leader in 2002 following the resignation of Lloyd Walker. He is the party's first leader not to reside in

. McKeever is also owner and operator of the "Mondo Politico" website, which reviews the political positions of various parties, including his own. McKeever was a candidate for the Freedom Party of Ontario in the 1999 election in Toronto Centre-Rosedale, where he received 344 votes, or 0.8% of all votes cast. In the 2003 provincial in the riding of

, he came in fifth out of six candidates with 518 votes or 1.3% of all votes cast. McKeever was the Freedom Party's candidate in the March 30, 2006

Whitby—Ajax Whitby—Ajax was a federal and provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2003, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2007. ...

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

and received 198 votes, 0.6% of all ballots cast. During the 2007 provincial election McKeever ran in

London West London West (french: London-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in London, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Geography The district includes the northwest part of the City of London. I ...

where he received 234 votes, 0.5% of all ballots cast. He was a candidate in the September 17, 2009 provincial by-election in the Toronto riding of St. Paul's and received 61 votes (0.2%). Under McKeever's leadership, the Freedom Party of Ontario nominated 24 candidates in the 2003 provincial election and 15 candidates in the 2007 provincial election. 56 Freedom Party candidates contested the 2011 provincial election and 42 Freedom Party candidates contested the 2014 provincial election. The Freedom Party of Canada has not nominated any candidates in federal elections. The FPO promoted an electoral platform entitled "The Right Direction" for the 2003 election, arguing that with the PCs turning away from

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...

Common Sense Revolution The phrase Common Sense Revolution (CSR) has been used as a political slogan to describe conservative platforms with a main goal of reducing taxes while balancing the budget by reducing the size and role of government. It has been used in places ...

, the FPO was the only remaining party with "common sense". On October 4, 2005, the FPO released its 2007 election platform. It focused on competition in health care and education, repealing price controls on electricity, the replacement of property taxes with

consumption tax A consumption tax is a tax levied on consumption spending on goods and services. The tax base of such a tax is the money spent on Consumption (economics), consumption. Consumption taxes are usually indirect, such as a sales tax or a value-added ta ...

es, and the elimination of the provincial income tax. The party failed to win any seats in the 2022 Ontario general election.

Other Freedom parties

The FPO is affiliated with the

Freedom Party of Canada Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

(FPC), an unregistered political party which was founded by Paul McKeever and Robert Metz on July 20, 2001. It is also affiliated with Freedom Party International, which is not a political party but an organization founded to advocate and promote the party's philosophy, and to serve as the authority that must be consulted by any persons wishing to form an affiliated political party. FPO, FPC, FPUSA and FPI are not affiliated with the Freedom Party of British Columbia, the

Freedom Party of Manitoba The Freedom Party of Manitoba, founded as the Libertarian Party of Manitoba, is a provincial political party in Manitoba, Canada, advocating cannabis legalization. History The party was created in the mid-1980s and formally changed its name in ear ...

or other parties styled as "Freedom Party".

Election results

* March 31, 1988 provincial

–

London North London North was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It was first created for the 1926 provincial election when the London riding was divided in two sections, and then eliminated prior to the 1934 provincial election when the c ...

, 548 votes (1.7%), fifth of six candidates * November 3, 1988 provincial by-election – Welland—Thorold, 260 votes (0.9%), fourth of five candidates * April 1, 1993 provincial by-election –

Don Mills Don Mills is a mixed-use neighbourhood in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was developed to be a self-supporting " new town" and was at the time located outside Toronto proper. In 1998, North York, including the Don Mills c ...

, 161 votes (0.9%), seventh of eight candidates * November 24, 2005 provincial by-election –

Scarborough—Rouge River Scarborough—Rouge River was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada between 1988 and 2015. However, as of the Fall 2015 federal election, part of this riding has been com ...

, 59 votes (0.4%), sixth of six candidates. * March 31, 2006 provincial by-elections: **

Toronto—Danforth Toronto—Danforth (formerly Broadview—Greenwood) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. It lies to the east of Downtown Toronto. Its best-known MP was New ...

, 93 votes, (0.3%), sixth of nine candidates **

, 198 votes, (0.6%), fifth of seven candidates (FpO candidate was party leader Paul McKeever) **

Nepean—Carleton Nepean—Carleton was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons from 1979 to 1988, and again from 1997 to 2015. It included the southern ...

, 74 votes, (0.2%), sixth of six candidates * September 14, 2006 provincial by-election –

Parkdale—High Park Parkdale—High Park is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. It was created during the 1976 electoral boundaries redistribution from parts of Parkdale, High ...

, 111 votes (0.4%), seventh of eight candidates * September 6, 2012 provincial by-elections: **

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

, 90 votes (0.3%), eighth out of nine candidates. ** Kitchener—Waterloo, 95 votes (0.2%), sixth out of ten candidates. * August 1, 2013 provincial by-elections: **

Scarborough—Guildwood Scarborough—Guildwood is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. It was created in 2003 from parts of Scarborough East, Scarborough Southwest and S ...

(Matthew Oliver), 80 votes (0.3%), ninth out of ten candidates **

Etobicoke—Lakeshore Etobicoke—Lakeshore (formerly known as Lakeshore and Toronto—Lakeshore) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. It covers the southern part of the Etobi ...

(Wayne Simmons), 57 votes (0.2%), last out of eight candidates **

Ottawa South Ottawa South (french: Ottawa-Sud) is a federal electoral district in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is represented in the House of Commons of Canada by David McGuinty, brother of former Premier of Ontario and Ottawa South MPP Dalton McGuinty ...

(Dave McGruer), 85 votes (0.2%), eighth out of nine candidates ** Windsor—Tecumseh (Andrew Brannan), 124 votes (0.5%), last out of seven candidates **

(Al Gretzky), 1,838 votes (5.0%), fourth out of six candidates

Party leaders

# Robert Metz (1987–1994) # Jack Plant (1994–1997) # Lloyd Walker (1997–2002) # Paul McKeever (2002–) (Note: The party did not have an official leader from 1984 to 1987. Robert Metz was its president during this period. Lloyd Walker was initially chosen as leader on an interim basis.)

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom Party Of Ontario Provincial political parties in Ontario Political parties established in 1984 Organizations based in London, Ontario 1984 establishments in Ontario Objectivist organizations Libertarian parties