Which political party do you most identify with?

Liberal

The Liberal Party of Canada is the oldest and longest-serving political party in Canada. The party has dominated federal politics for much of Canada’s history, holding power for almost 69 years in the 20th century—more than any other party in a developed country—and as a result, it is sometimes referred to as Canada’s "natural governing party". The principles of the party are based on liberalism as defined by various liberal theorists and include individual freedom for present and future generations, responsibility, human dignity, a just society, political…  Read more freedom, religious freedom, national unity, equality of opportunity, cultural diversity, bilingualism, and multilateralism. In the present times, the Liberal party has favoured a variety of "big tent" policies from both right and left of the political spectrum. When it formed the government from 1993 to 2006, it championed balanced budgets, and eliminated the budget deficit completely from the federal budget in 1995 by reducing spending on social programs or delegating them to the provinces, and promised to replace the Goods and Services Tax in the party’s famous Red Book. It also legalized same-sex marriage.

New Democratic

The New Democratic Party is a social-democratic federal political party in Canada. The party was founded in 1961 out of the merger of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation with the Canadian Labour Congress. On the Canadian political scene, the party sits to the left of the Liberal Party. The NDP evolved in 1961 from a merger of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). The CCF grew from populist, agrarian and socialist roots into a modern social democratic party. Although the CCF was part of the Christian left and the Social Gospel movement, the NDP is secular and pluralistic. It has broadened to include concerns of the New Left, and advocates issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, international peace, and environmental stewardship.

People’s Party

The People’s Party of Canada or simply the People’s Party is a federal political party in Canada. The party was formed by Maxime Bernier, on September 14, 2018, shortly after his resignation from the Conservative party. Bernier stated that his party is "a coalition of people who are disenchanted with traditional politicians who say one thing one day, and another the next". He mentioned that his platform would be based around the principles of freedom, responsibility, fairness, and respect. Bernier has stated that these principles are non-negotiable, but that members woul…  Read mored have input on policies as they are refined, and that a candidate questionnaire asks potential candidates about which policies they want in the platform. In addition to these principles, the party would advocate for "smart populism", which Bernier defines as "populism without emotions", speaking for "all Canadians", and not appeasing "special interest groups". Bernier has described the party as a "grassroots party". He has also stated that the party is neither left-wing or right-wing, but the difference between being free and not free. Bernier told Vassy Kapelos that the party will debate discussions that "the leadership and the caucus" did not want to have while he was a Conservative Party member, also stating that people who espouse racist, antisemitic, or xenophobic positions "are not welcome" in the party. A spokesperson has stated that the party does not debate the science of climate change. The party has been referred to as conservative, libertarian, populist,, and classical liberal, while being seen on the right part of the spectrum. At the time of its formation the party indicated that its formal platform would be gradually unveiled, but it would generally follow the platform that Bernier ran on during his 2017 Conservative leadership campaign. Bernier stated that the platform "will be built on facts". Prominent platform planks include ending corporate welfare and phasing out supply management over a number of years to allow farmers to adapt through compensation yet "save Canadians billions of dollars annually" through lower prices. Following the launch of the party, Bernier stated in a TV interview with BNN Bloomberg that the telecom industry deregulation, increasing airline competition, reducing tax brackets and having a discussion about the privatization of Canada Post, which were key components of his original 2017 Conservative leadership platform, are all areas that he has an interest in. He said that socially conservative policies such as abortion and gender identity would not be part of the party platform.

Green

The Green Party of Canada is a federal political party in Canada that was founded in 1983. Since its founding, the party has supported policies strengthening participatory democracy, nonviolence, social justice, sustainability, respect for diversity and ecological wisdom. The Greens have always had leftist and centrist factions that have been ascendant at different times in the party’s history. Many Greens also claim that this traditional left-right political spectrum analysis does not accurately capture the ecological orientation of the Green Party that is neither pragmatic or principl…  Read moreed. The ecumenical approach (expressing affinities with all Canadian political tendencies and making cases to voters on all parts of the left-right spectrum) has been advocated by those who believe their success can also be measured by the degree to which other parties adopt Green Party policies. By this measure of success, the adoption of a revenue-neutral carbon tax at the British Columbia government level, greenhouse gas emission reduction programs, and the promotion of the Green (Tax) Shift by the federal Liberal Party under former leader Stéphane Dion, indicate that Green Party policies are gaining traction in Canada. An emphasis on a green tax shift in the 2004 platform, which favoured partially reducing income and corporate taxes (while increasing taxes on polluters and energy consumers), created questions as to whether the Green Party was still on the left of the political spectrum, or was taking a more eco-capitalist approach by reducing progressive taxation in favour of regressive taxation. Green Party policy writers have challenged this interpretation by claiming that any unintended "regressive" tax consequences from the application of a Green Tax Shift would be intentionally offset by changes in individual tax rates and categories as well as an ’eco-tax" refund for those who pay no tax. Under Elizabeth May’s leadership, the Green Party has begun to receive more mainstream media attention on other party policy not directly related to the environment — for example, supporting labour rights and poppy legalization in Afghanistan.

Communist

The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it is now a political party without any parliamentary representation, the party’s candidates have been elected to the Parliament of Canada, the Ontario legislature, the Manitoba legislature, and various municipal governments across the country. The party has also contributed significantly to trade union organizing and labour history in Canada, peace and anti-war activism, and many other social movements. The Communist Party of Canada is the second oldest active…  Read more party after the Liberal Party of Canada. In 1993 the party was deregistered and had its assets seized, forcing it to begin a successful thirteen-year political and legal battle to maintain registration of small political parties in Canada. The campaign culminated with the final decision of Figueroa v. Canada, changing the legal definition of a political party in Canada. Despite its continued presence as a registered political party, the CPC places the vast majority of its emphasis on extra-parliamentary activity what it terms "the labour and people’s movements", as reflected in its programme "Canada’s Future is Socialism".

Libertarian

The Libertarian Party of Canada is a federal political party in Canada founded in 1973. The party subscribes to classical liberal tenets of the libertarian movement across Canada. The mission of the party is to reduce the size, scope and cost of government.

Rhinoceros

The Rhinoceros Party is a Canadian federal-level satirical political party, referred to in English Canada as the Second Rhinoceros Party. It was created in Montreal on May 21, 2006, and recognized by Elections Canada as being eligible for registration on August 16, 2007, and an official political party on August 23, 2007. It is the successor to the Rhinoceros Party of Canada. The party was founded by François "Yo" Gourd, who was involved with the original incarnation of the First Rhinoceros Party. He stated he named the new party (then under the name "neorhino") for…  Read more the Rhinoceros Party and for Neo, the Matrix character. The party is led by Sébastien Corriveau. It promises, like its predecessor, not to keep any of its promises if elected. In addition to the national platform promises released by the party leadership, individual candidates also had considerable freedom to campaign on their own ideas and slogans. Bryan Gold of the Rhinoceros Party described the party platform as two feet high and made of wood: "My platform is the one I’m standing on". A candidate named Ted "not too" Sharp ran in Flora MacDonald’s Kingston and the Islands riding with the campaign slogan "Fauna, not flora", promising to give fauna equal representation. He also took a stand on abortion (promising, if elected, never to have an abortion) and capital punishment: "If it was good enough for my grandfather, then it’s good enough for me". To strengthen Canada’s military, Sharp planned to tow Antarctica north to the Arctic Circle: "Once we have Antarctica, we’ll control all of the world’s cold. If another Cold War starts, we’ll be unbeatable". In the 1988 election, the Rhinoceros Party ran a candidate named John Turner in the same riding as Liberal leader John Turner, and received 760 votes. Penny Hoar, a safe sex activist, distributed condoms in Toronto while running under the slogan: "Politicians screw you — protect yourself".