The North-West Territories Liberal Party was a short-lived branch of the Liberal Party of Canada in the North-West Territories.

History

The party existed between 1898 and 1905. In 1905, the provinces of

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 Ter ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

were created from the heavily populated areas of the North-West Territories. The members of the NWT Liberal Party joined the

Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral de l'Alberta) is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest active political party in Alberta and was the dominant political party until the 1921 election ...

or the

Saskatchewan Liberal Party The Saskatchewan Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was the provincial affiliate of the Liberal Party of Canada until 2009. It was previously one of the two largest parties in the provi ...

. With almost no voting population in the remaining parts of the North-West Territories, its political parties disbanded when the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

returned to its former policy of appointing members of the Territories' legislative assembly The assembly went back to the consensus model of government. The consensus model of government that had been used prior to the election of 1898 had its influences in the party system: Conservative leader and Government Leader Frederick W. A. G. Haultain appointed two Liberals to his cabinet and one Conservative, even though they formed the opposition, from 1898 to 1905. This led Conservatives to accuse the government of being a "grit hive", after the election of 1902. To appease party supporters, Haultain appointed one Liberal and two Conservatives to the cabinet. The '' Calgary Herald'' attacked the Territorial Liberals in October 1902, after they held a convention in which they failed to adopt policies towards the creation of a provincial government. This set off a bitter editorial war against the Liberal and Conservative media. Robert Brett was the Leader of the party from the beginning until, he made a surprise move to drop out of the race just days before the election of 1902. Donald H. McDonald, filled his place, and became leader of the opposition, until the provinces were created in 1905. Leaders of the Party *

Robert Brett Robert George Brett (November 16, 1851 – September 16, 1929) was a politician and physician in the North-West Territories and Alberta, Canada and served as the second Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. Early life Robert George Brett was born on ...

(1897–1902) * Donald H. McDonald (1902–1905)

Modern era

Under the current consensus government, political parties are not currently recognized in Northwest Territories law, but a few scattered candidates have run in recent elections claiming to represent the Liberal party. The most notable of which is

Lynda Sorenson Lynda Sorenson, is a politician in Northwest Territories, Canada. She was elected twice to the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories. She was elected in the 1979 Northwest Territories general election and again in the 1983 Northwest Terri ...

, Northwest Territories MLA from 1979 - 1983. There are plans to reestablish a Northwest Territories Liberal Party in time for elections in 2015.

References

External links

Personnel of the Northwest Territories Assembly 1888 - 1905Calgary Herald attacks the Liberals October 8, 1902
{{Saskatchewan Liberal Party leaders

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 ...

Liberal parties in Canada Political parties established in 1898 Political parties disestablished in 1905 Defunct political parties in Canada 1898 establishments in the Northwest Territories 1905 disestablishments in the Northwest Territories

History

Modern era

See also

References

External links