Topic summary

Progressive Party of Canada

Progressive Party of Canada

The Progressive Party of Canada, formally the National Progressive Party, was a federal-level political party in Canada in the 1920s until 1930. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces, and it spawned the Progressive Party of Saskatchewan, and the Progressive Party of Manitoba, which formed the government of that province. The Progressive Party was part of the farmers' political movement that included federal and provincial Progressive and United Farmers' parties.

The United Farmers movement in Canada rose to prominence after World War I. With the failure of the wartime Union government to alter a tariff structure that hurt farmers, various farmers movements across Canada became more radical and entered the political arena. The United Farmers movement was tied to the federal Progressive Party of Canada and formed provincial governments in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba. It rejected the National Policy of the Conservatives, and derided the Liberals for not being strong proponents of free trade and for being too tied to business interests. Generally, farmers groups formed alliances with Labour and socialist groups. However, when in power, they behaved closer to the Liberals; this caused ruptures in several provinces between United Farmer governments and their organizations.