The Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP; french: Parti libertarien de l'Ontario) is a minor

libertarian party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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 ...

. Founded in 1975 by Bruce Evoy and Vince Miller, the party was inspired by the 1972 formation of the

United States Libertarian Party The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, ''laissez-faire'' capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party was conceived in August 1971 at m ...

. The party is guided by a charter of principles, and its own Ontario charter of rights and freedoms. In the

2018 Ontario general election The 2018 Ontario general election was held on June 7, 2018, to elect the 124 members of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, led by Doug Ford, won 76 of the 124 seats in the legislature and formed a majo ...

, the Libertarian Party, under the leadership of Allen Small, was one of only five such organizations running a candidate in a majority of the province's electoral districts. Jacques Boudreau was appointed interim party leader in March 2021, replacing elected leader Keith Komar after he stepped down. In October 2021, Mark Snow was elected leader at the Party's convention. Under Snow, the party promotes an Ontario charter of rights which includes a section on immigration restrictions based on the eligibility of obtaining a job at an English speaking workplace. The party fielded onl
16 candidates
in the

2022 Ontario general election The 2022 Ontario general election will be held on or before June 2, 2022, to elect Members of Provincial Parliament to serve in the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. As of December 2016, Ontario elections are held on the first Thursday in June in th ...

, over 100 fewer candidates than the province's previous election held in 2018.

Election results

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, under the leadership of John Shadbolt, the party's total vote declined to 6,085 votes. Shadbolt resigned one day after the 1995 election, and was replaced by George Dance on an interim basis.

Sam Apelbaum Sam Apelbaum is a politician in Ontario, Canada. A lawyer and real estate agent, he was leader of the Ontario Libertarian Party from 1996 to 2011. Like many other members of the Libertarian Party, Apelbaum believes in reducing government partici ...

was chosen as the party's full-time leader at a convention in October 1996. Changes to the Ontario Election Act, enabling fixed election dates at four-year intervals, allowed the party to prepare well in advance for the 2007 general election. As a result, the party fielded 25 candidates and obtained a total of 9,249 votes. In the 2011 general election, the party ran 51 candidates and won a total of 19,387 votes, 0.45% of the popular vote. This was more than double the number of candidates and votes received in the 2007 general election. The party's most successful election was in the 2014 general election, with Libertarian candidates receiving 0.81% of the vote. The party failed to win any seats in the 2022 Ontario general election.

Party leaders

* Terry Coughlin (elected at founding meeting, July 24, 1975) * Paul Mollon ( 1977 election) * Scott Bell (

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

elections) * Kaye Sargent ( 1987 election) * Clarke Slemon (elected October 22, 1988) * James Stock ( 1990 election) * John Shadbolt (? – June 9, 1995) * George Dance (interim) (June 9, 1995 – October 1996) *

(October 1996 – November 5, 2011) * Allen Small (November 5, 2011 – July 20, 2018) * Rob Ferguson (interim) (July 21, 2018 – November 2, 2019) * Keith Komar (November 2, 2019 – March 7, 2021) * Jacques Boudreau (interim) (March 7, 2021 – October 24, 2021) * Mark Snow (October 24, 2021 – Present)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1975 establishments in Ontario Libertarianism in Canada Libertarian parties Political parties established in 1975 Provincial political parties in Ontario