The National Party of Canada was considered a

left-wing nationalist Left-wing nationalism or leftist nationalism, also known as social nationalism, is a form of nationalism based upon national self-determination, popular sovereignty, national self-interest, and left-wing political positions such as social equali ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

that was founded in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1979 to promote Canadian independence. The party's leader, Robin Mathews, was an active member and cultural critic for

the Waffle The Waffle (also known as the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada) was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little elec ...

movement in the New Democratic Party (NDP). During the 1980 federal election, held on February 18, 1980, of that year, Mathews ran as the National Party candidate in

Ottawa Centre Ottawa Centre (french: Ottawa-Centre) is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. While the riding's boundaries (mainly to the south and west as the north a ...

. He placed fifth in a field of 10 candidates, following the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, Progressive Conservative, NDP and

Rhinoceros Party The Rhinoceros Party (sometimes referred to in English as the Second Rhinoceros Party), officially the Parti Rhinocéros Party, is a Canadian federal-level political party. It was known as neorhino.ca until 2010, when the party changed its na ...

candidates but ahead of three independents:

John Turmel John C. Turmel (born February 22, 1951) is a perennial candidate for election in Canada, and according to the ''Guinness World Records'' holds the records for the most elections contested and for the most elections lost, having contested 105 el ...

, a Communist, and a

Marxist–Leninist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...

.) Mathews collected 171 votes, or 0.39% of the total. Don Hayward was the party's candidate in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

riding of Broadview—Greenwood. He received 53 votes (0.17%), finishing seventh against New Democratic Party candidate Bob Rae. A 33-year-old factory worker, he expressed concern about American dominance of Canadian industry.Bill Dampier, "Broadview-Greenwood: Inflation, Jobs Major Worries for Residents", ''Toronto Star'', 25 January 1980, A13. The party dissolved during the later part of the 1980s. It should not be confused with the National Party that nominated candidates in the 1993 election.

Footnotes

Federal political parties in Canada Political parties established in 1979 1979 establishments in Canada Nationalist parties in Canada Social democratic parties in Canada Left-wing nationalist parties {{Canada-party-stub

See also

Footnotes