The Christian Heritage Party of Canada (french: Parti de l'héritage chrétien du Canada), also referred to as CHP Canada, is a minor

social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social instituti ...

and

Christian right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with ...

federal political party in Canada; it was founded in 1987, the brainchild of two couples in British Columbia, namely Bill and

Heather Stilwell Heather Stilwell (January 26, 1944 – December 4, 2010) was a Canadian political activist and former school trustee in Surrey, British Columbia. A staunch Roman Catholic, she was well known for her opinions opposing homosexuality, abortion, an ...

who were Roman Catholics and Ed Vanwoudenberg and his wife, Reformed Protestants. CHP advocates for Canada to be governed according to Christian principles and ethics. The party's stated principle is that "the purpose of civil government is to ensure security, freedom, and justice for all its citizens from conception till natural death, by upholding just laws". CHP states that, if the party forms government, it hopes to "apply proven

Judeo-Christian The term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's borrowing of Jewish Scripture to constitute the "Old Testament" of the Christian Bible, o ...

principles of justice and compassion to Canada's contemporary public policy needs". Ed Vanwoudenberg was elected its first leader at the 1987 founding convention in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

Jim Hnatiuk Jim Hnatiuk (19 August 1950 – 18 August 2018) was the leader of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada. He was elected to that post in November 2008. As a youth, he attended a boarding school run by Oblate priests. He joined the Canadian Armed ...

led the party from 2008 to early 2014, and Rod Taylor is the leader as of November 7, 2014. The party nominated candidates for the first time in the 1988 federal election, and ran numerous candidates in the

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

and 1997 elections. It was unable to field 50 candidates in the 2000 election and was consequently de-registered by

Elections Canada Elections Canada (french: Élections Canada)The agency operates and brands itself as Elections Canada, its legal title is Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (). is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering Canadian federal electio ...

, the government elections agency. The party was re-registered in time for the 2004 election. and has run candidates in every subsequent election to that. Many of its founders had been members of the

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

movement. The majority of its members are

Dutch Canadians Dutch Canadians are Canadians with full or partial Dutch ancestry. According to the Canada 2006 Census, there were 1,035,965 Canadians of Dutch descent, including those of full or partial ancestry. This increased to 1,111,655 in 2016. History ...

who attend

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

Churches.

Platform

Some of the key goals and principles of the CHP are: * Promoting the right to life from conception to

natural death In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

* Protecting life for vulnerable Canadians (Seniors, Handicapped, etc) * Protecting parental rights * Protection of

traditional marriage Traditional marriage may refer to: *Marriage and its customs and practices in a particular culture *Christian views on marriage From the earliest days of the Christian faith, Christians have honored ''holy matrimony'' (as Christian marriages are ...

* Provide Family Care Allowance when one parent is providing full-time care in the home for children or dependent family members * Use the Bank of Canada to overhaul the economy and the infrastructure of Canada by providing interest-free loans to municipalities, provinces and

crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government ...

s * Eliminate

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Ta ...

, and replace it with a "

fair tax FairTax was a single rate tax proposal in 2005, 2008 and 2009 in the United States that includes complete dismantling of the Internal Revenue Service. The proposal would eliminate all federal income taxes (including the alternative minimum ta ...

" * Pay off the

national debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit oc ...

"like a

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

and institute balanced budget protocols" * Support responsible firearms ownership * Restrict immigration to preserve equality and freedom, including a "moratorium on immigration from any Sharia based countries"

Electoral activity

Electoral results

''The party did not have official status for the 2000 election, but 46 candidates were nominated, listed on the ballot without any affiliation information. These figures represent the 46 "non-affiliated" candidates known to be nominees of the CHP.''

Party leaders

Edward John Vanwoudenberg (November 1987 – 1991)

Vanwoudenberg was head of the CHP from the party's founding convention in 1987 until 1991. From 1991 to 1994, he served as the Executive Director, and from 1994 to 1998, he served as the party's vice-president. A resident of

Hope, British Columbia Hope is a district municipality at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern en ...

, he ran in the Canadian federal elections of

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

Charles Cavilla (1991–1993)

Cavilla, of

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to t ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, was leader of the CHP from the convention at

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

in October 1991 until March 1993. A difference of vision on leadership between Cavilla and the party board resulted in the transfer of leadership on an interim basis to

Heather Stilwell (1993–1994) (interim)

Jean Blaquière (1994–1995)

Blaquière, a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movementCanadian federal election of 1993, and won the party leadership in March 1994 at a

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

convention, in a race with two other contenders. Blaquière stepped down at the next convention in November 1995 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, approximat ...

Ron Gray (1995–2008)

Gray was the leader of the CHP from 1995 to 2008. Born and educated in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, Gray has worked in journalism, public relations, and the federal public service. He began his career at ''

The Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published si ...

'' newspaper, and has also worked at community newspapers in BC and in Suva, Fiji; and the '' BC Report'' magazine. He was a public information officer for a major public utility in BC, and for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...

. He was a Trade and Commerce Officer attached to the Canadian Consulate in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

. He later managed store-front

Federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

public information services in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

and

. He became Public Information Officer for one of BC's first community colleges, and later served 10 years in a similar capacity at

Trinity Western University , mottoeng = A Mighty Fortress Is Our God , established = Trinity Junior College (1962–1972), Trinity Western College (1972–1985), Trinity Western University (1986–present) , type = Privat ...

. In the 1988 federal election, Gray ran in his first election under the Christian Heritage Party banner in the electoral district of Fraser Valley East. On election night, he placed fourth out of six candidates with over eight percent of the popular vote, finishing well behind Progressive Conservative incumbent

Ross Belsher Douglas Ross Belsher (19 January 1933 – 12 December 2003) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada. His career included managing Eaton's stores at various British Columbia locatio ...

. Gray ran for the CHP in every general election until stepping down as leader in 2008, with the exception of 1993. He has also contested four byelections, including one in

Calgary Southwest Calgary Southwest was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015. The district was in the southwest part of the City of Calgary, south of Glenmore Trail and west of t ...

against

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed ...

leader

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

. In a 1999 byelection, he finished one vote ahead of the Reform Party candidate in the Quebec riding of

Hull—Aylmer Hull—Aylmer (formerly known as Hull) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It was created as "Hull" in 1914 from parts of Labelle and Wright ridings. It ...

. Gray became the party leader in 1995. His leadership was confirmed at three subsequent CHP conventions. He stepped down in November 2008. Near the end of 2006, a human rights complaint was filed against Ron Gray alleging communication via the Internet messages likely to expose homosexuals to hatred or contempt. By October 24, 2008, the complaint had been dropped and the file closed by the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Jim Hnatiuk (2008–2014)

Hnatiuk was elected leader of the CHP in November 2008. As a youth, he attended a boarding school run by

Oblate In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally liv ...

priests. He joined the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

and served with them for 25 years in the Combat Systems Engineering Department in the Canadian Forces attaining the rank of

Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Chief petty officer, 1st class, CPO1, is the most senior non-commissioned member (NCM) rank of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). It is equivalent to a chief warrant officer (CWO) in the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. It is immediately ...

. He has been involved with various churches and is a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

at Emmanuel Baptist Church. Hnatiuk joined the Christian Heritage Party in 2002 and has run as a candidate for the party in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

in the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

and 2008 federal elections. He became deputy leader of the party in 2005 and was elected leader at the party's November 2008 convention in

defeating Harold Ludwig and Rod Taylor on the first ballot of the party's

leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, leaders of a party generally rem ...

. Hnatiuk was a candidate in the November 9, 2009 by-election in the riding of Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, to replace

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

Bill Casey William D. Casey (born February 19, 1945) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada. First elected as a Progressive Conservative in 1988, he later sat as Conservative ...

. He came in fifth, losing to Scott Armstrong of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Co ...

. Because of a difference in understanding on the leader's mandate to innovate in membership qualifications, and a motion by the national board to ask that the leader put promotion of his vision on hold until a full board meeting could discuss the vision, Hnatiuk submitted his resignation as leader effective February 1, 2014, though choosing to continue as a party member. In his professional life, he operates the largest hunting, fishing and taxidermy business in Nova Scotia.

David J. Reimer (March 2014 – November 2014) (interim)

David J. Reimer became a member of the CHP in 1987 while serving as a Pastor in Wetaskiwin, AB. He became active in his riding association and has served the party as candidate in each election since 1988. He served as candidate in the 2014 by-election in Macleod, Alberta. Until early 2014, Reimer served as interim provincial president for Manitoba, and was appointed as interim national leader to succeed Hnatiuk until the fall 2014 national convention.

Rod Taylor (2014–present)

Rod Taylor was born in 1951 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His family was involved in the US civil rights movement in the 1960s and various other social justice issues. He graduated from high school in California and moved with his parents and siblings to British Columbia (BC) in 1968.https://www.chp.ca/about/leader CHP Party Leader Biography Taylor has worked maintaining track and roadbed for the Canadian National Railway, on farms, in the oil and gas fields in Alberta, and in sawmills and forestry work in BC. From 1987 until 2009, Taylor was involved in lumber grading and lumber quality control in Smithers, BC. In 2000 Taylor won the BC Interior Lumber Grading Championship. In 2001, Taylor ran as a provincial candidate for the

British Columbia Unity Party The British Columbia Unity Party was a political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party was founded as an attempted union of five conservative parties: the Reform Party of British Columbia, the British Columbia Social Credit Party, the Brit ...

, and in 2004, 2006 and 2008 he represented the CHP in the federal riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley. Taylor has served the CHP nationally as Interim President for CHP BC, BC Provincial President, Deputy Leader, Western Regional Development Director and National Development Director. He was named party leader at the 2014 convention in Hamilton, Ontario.

Provincial branches

The British Columbia Heritage Party voted to become the BC provincial wing of CHP in 2011, and was renamed as the Christian Heritage Party of British Columbia (CHP-BC) after signing a formal affiliation agreement in 2012. Members of the CHP in Manitoba began efforts around the same time to form a branch in their province, but as of 2015 little progress has been made. While the parties were not formally connected, the membership of the deregistered provincial

New Reform Party of Ontario The New Reform Party of Ontario (NRP; french: Nouveau Parti réformiste de l'Ontario) was a minor provincial political party in Ontario, Canada, that promoted a populist, fiscally conservative, socially conservative, libertarian, and localist i ...

(formerly the Family Coalition Party of Ontario) overlapped significantly with CHP as the parties shared many socially conservative policies.

References

Sources

* * *

Bibliography

* Robert K. Burkinshaw. ''Pilgrims in Lotus Land: Conservative Protestantism in British Columbia 1917-1981'' (Mcgill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion, 1995) * Paul Freston. ''Protestant political parties: a global survey'' (2004)

External links

*
Christian Heritage Party - Canadian Political Parties and Political Interest Groups
- Web Archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries {{Authority control 1987 establishments in Canada Christian political parties Conservative parties in Canada Dutch Canadian Dutch Reformed Church Federal political parties in Canada Organizations based in Ottawa Political parties established in 1987 Protestant political parties Social conservative parties