Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the organization of the Liberal Party could be considered central to the Canadian political spectrum, with an amalgamation of liberal social policy and corresponding modern economic policies. It examines how, back in the formative years of the liberal party of Canada, the political parties during those times were largely scattered and unstable, as compared to the modern political parties of today's times, and coalesced into a cohesive organization only as late as the 1880s. The paper also looks at how the governing coalition of liberal - conservatives under the leadership of Sir John A. McDonald in Canada West and his French - Canadian counterpart, George - Etienne Cartier in Canada East, encompassed a number of distinct groups, many of which had potentially conflicting interests - Catholic and Protestants, English and French, urban and rural. The paper concludes with a look at the reasons for the success of this party.

Outline:
Organization
Base of Support
Political Ideology
Changes in the Party's Political Ideology Over a Period of Time - History
Reasons for its Success in the Federal Elections

From the Paper:

"Right and left are shorthand labels for conflicting belief systems. These beliefs include basic notions about how society, the economy, and politics operate, as well as ideas about how these matters should be arranged. Generally speaking to be on the right in Anglo - American societies mean that one subscribes to an individualistic belief system. Such a person is likely to believe that what one achieves in life is due principally to his or her own efforts - that the welfare of the society is best promoted by allowing individuals to pursue their own interests and that modern government is too expensive and too intrusive. To be on the left, however, is to prefer a set of beliefs that may be described as collectivist. A leftist is likely to attribute greater weight to social and economic circumstances as determinants of ones opportunities and achievements than does someone on the right. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Stephen Brooks, Canadian Democracy, 5th edition, 2005.
• Howard Rae Penniman, Canada at the Polls, 1984 General Elections, Duke University Press, 1988
• Penny Bryden, Planners and Politicians: Liberal Politics and Social Policy, 1957 - 1968, McGill Queen's Press, 1997.
• James Laxer, Robert Laxer, The Liberal Idea of Canada, Pierre Trudeau and the Question of Canada's Survival, James Lorimer & Company,1977
• Patrick Malcolmson, Richard Myers, The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Parliamentary Government in Canada, Broadview Press, 2005

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