View source for Conservative parties in Newfoundland (pre-Confederation)

{{Short description|Former Newfoundland political party}}
{{For|the modern Conservative Party|Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador}}
{{Sections|date=November 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2025}}

The '''Conservative Party of Newfoundland''' was a political party in the [[Dominion of Newfoundland]] prior to [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]] with [[Canada]] in 1949.

The party was formed by members and supporters of the establishment around 1832. In the 1840s, they opposed the proposal for [[responsible government]] which was finally granted in 1855. Since the concept was opposed generally by members of the [[Anglican]] establishment, the early party was almost entirely [[Protestant]]. As politics in Newfoundland developed along sectarian lines, the Conservatives became the Protestant party (with strong links to the [[Orange Institution|Orange Order]]), while the Liberals were the [[Catholic]] party.<ref name=Elinor>{{cite thesis|last=Senior|first=Elinor|title=The Origin and Political Activities of the Orange Order in Newfoundland|url=http://allsaintsparish.ca/data/Orange%20Lodge%20NL%20-%20Elinor%20Senior%201959%20Masters%20Thesis.pdf|year=1959|publisher=University of Newfoundland|access-date=2025-11-18}}</ref>{{Additional citation needed|date= November 2025}}

Under Sir [[Frederick Carter]], the Conservatives supported joining [[Canadian Confederation]], and campaigned on the proposal in the [[1869 Newfoundland general election|1869 general election]]. The party was badly defeated by [[Charles Fox Bennett]]'s [[Anti-Confederation Party]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hiller |first1=James K. |date=1997|title=The Confederation Election of 1869 |url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/election-confederation-1869.php |website=Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador |access-date=18 November 2025}}</ref> The Conservatives returned to power in [[1874 Newfoundland general election|1874]],<ref name=Elinor/> but never proposed joining Canada again.{{cn|date=November 2025}}

The Conservative party later absorbed the rival [[Liberal parties in pre-Confederation Newfoundland|Liberals]], putting an end to sectarian divisions with a 'denominational compromise'.<ref name=Elinor/>

The united party collapsed in the 1880s when members of the Orange Order abandoned the government of [[William Whiteway]], and formed a new '''Reform Party''' under [[Robert Thorburn (politician)|Robert Thorburn]]. The Reform Party won the [[1885 Newfoundland general election|1885 election]] on a platform of 'Protestant Rights'.<ref name=Elinor/>

Whiteway founded a new Liberal Party after the collapse of the Reform Party. Members of the Orange Order formed a new '''Tory Party''', which formed two short-lived administrations in the 1890s before disappearing.<ref name=Elinor/>

Individual Conservatives were elected as Opposition or United Opposition MHAs before being subsumed into the [[Newfoundland People's Party]] (later the Liberal-Labour-Progressive Party) formed by [[Edward Patrick Morris]] in 1907 after he resigned from the [[Liberal parties in Newfoundland (pre-Confederation)|Liberal]] government of Sir [[Robert Bond]].

In 1924, the '''Liberal-Conservative-Progressive Party''' was formed by members of the LLP Party who were largely conservatives and discontented members of the ruling Liberal Reform Party. This new party won the [[1924 Newfoundland general election|1924 general election]], making its leader [[Walter Stanley Monroe]] the new prime minister. In practice, the party was essentially a Tory party.

The party was defeated in [[1928 Newfoundland general election|1928]] under new leader [[Frederick C. Alderdice]]; however, they returned to power in [[1932 Newfoundland general election|1932]] as the [[United Newfoundland Party]] (UNP). The UNP ruled for two years until the suspension of [[responsible government]].

When responsible government was suspended, Newfoundland's status as an independent dominion within the [[British Empire]] was brought to an end. The Government of the [[United Kingdom]] appointed a [[Commission of Government]] to govern Newfoundland, bringing an end to party politics on the island.

Party politics returned to Newfoundland when it joined [[Canadian Confederation]] in 1949. At this time, the modern [[Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador|Liberal]] and [[Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador|Progressive Conservative]] parties were formed. These new parties were unrelated to the parties that existed prior to 1934.

==Leaders==
* [[Frederick Carter]] 1865-1878
* [[William Whiteway]] 1878-1885
* [[Robert Thorburn (politician)|Robert Thorburn]] 1885-1889 - as leader of the Reform Party 
* [[Augustus F. Goodridge]] 1889-1893 - as leader of the Tory Party
* [[James Spearman Winter]] 1893-1900
* [[Walter Stanley Monroe]] 1924-1928 - as leader of the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party
* [[Frederick C. Alderdice]] 1928 - as leader of the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party and [[United Newfoundland Party]] 1928-1934

==See also==
* [[List of Newfoundland Prime Ministers]]
* [[List of political parties in Newfoundland and Labrador]]
* [[General elections in Newfoundland (pre-Confederation)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Parties In Newfoundland (Pre-Confederation)}}
[[Category:Political parties in the Dominion of Newfoundland]]
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador]]