Ontario Libertarian Party
The
Ontario Libertarian Party is a political party in
Ontario,
Canada that was founded in 1975 as an offshoot of the Libertarian Party in the USA. It is inspired by the philosophical ideas of such authors and thinkers as
Jan Narveson,
anarcho-capitalist socio-economic ideas of
Murray Rothbard. The party's current leader is
Sam Apelbaum.
It claimed, for a time, to be Ontario's fourth party, but has been surpassed in popularity by the
Freedom Party of Ontario, the
Green Party of Ontario and the
Family Coalition Party of Ontario.
The Ontario Libertarian Party split in 1980 when the
Unparty was formed. In 1984, under the leadership of Marc Emery and Robert Metz, the Unparty's name and nature changed: it became the
Freedom Party of Ontario.
The Ontario Libertarian Party lost support with the rise of
Mike Harris and his
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in the 1990s.
The party is associated with the
Libertarian Party of Canada.
The party's most successful election was the 1990 election, in which the OLP candidates won 24,613 votes or 0.61% of the vote. In the 45 ridings where the OLP ran candidates, the party averaged 547 votes or 1.76% of the total. In eight of the election races, OLP candidates came in fourth behind the PC, Liberal and NDP candidates. Top OLP vote getters were Shapton, 5.1% of the vote in Dufferin-Peel; Galster, 4.5% in Scarborough-Agincourt; McLean, 3.4% in Simcoe East; and Hunt, 3.0% of the vote in Riverdale.
In 1995, under the leadership of
John Shadbolt, the party's total vote declined to 6,085 votes. The top candidate was Robert Ede in York Centre, with 1,792 votes (2.31%). Three other candidates - Party Chairman Jean-Serge Brisson, Vice-Chairman Kaye Sargent, and Paul Barker - topped 1%.
Shadbolt resigned one day after the 1995 election, and was replaced by
George Dance on an interim basis.
Sam Apelbaum was chosen as the party's full-time leader at a convention in late
1996.
| Election | # of Candidates | Candidates elected | Total votes | % of popular vote |
|
| 1985 | ? | 0 | 12,831 | 0.4% |
| 1987 | ? | 0 | 13,514 | 0.4% |
| 1990 | 45 | 0 | 24,613 | 0.6% |
| 1995 | 7 | 0 | 6,085 | 0.2% |
| 1999 | 7 | 0 | 2,337 | 0.1% |
| 2003 | 5 | 0 | 1,991 | 0.04% |
|
Tthe party's executive committee, elected at its November 2005 convention:
* Leader-
Sam Apelbaum * Deputy Leader-
Kaye Sargent* Chairman-
George Dance* Vice-Chair-
Heath Thomas* Secretary-
Nunzio Venuto* Recording Secretary-
Alan Mercer * Treasurer-
Jim McIntosh * Campaign Director-
Paolo Fabrizio * Members at Large-
Philip Bender,
Peter Cuff* Ethics Committee-
Paddy McQuade,
Bob Shapton,
Jan Narveson,
Jean-Serge Brisson*
Paul Mallon (
1977 election)
*
Scott Bell (
1981 and
1985 elections)
*
Kaye Sargent (
1987 election)
*
James Stock (
1990 election)
*
John Shadbolt (?-
June 9,
1995)
*
George Dance (interim) (
June 9,
1995-
1996)
*
Sam Apelbaum (October
1996-)
*
List of Ontario general elections*
List of Canadian political parties*
Libertarian Party candidates, 2003 Ontario provincial election*
What is libertarianism?*
Libertarianism: A Philosophical Introduction, by Jan Narveson*
For a New Liberty: the Libertarian Manifesto, by Murray Rothbard*
Ontario Libertarian Party
