View source for Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

{{Short description|Canadian political party (1942–2003)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}}
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{{More citations needed|date=February 2018}}
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{{Infobox political party
| name             = Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
| native_name      = Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada
| logo             = Parti PC Party Canada 1996.svg
| caption          = 
| colorcode        = #9999FF
| abbreviation     = {{hlist|PC|PPC}}
| leader1_title    = Leader
| leader1_name     = [[#Party leaders|Full list]]
| founder          = 
| founded          = {{start date and age|df=y|10 December 1942}}
| registered       = 
| dissolved        = {{end date and age|2003|12|7|df=y}}{{efn|However, Joe Clark continued to be recognized in parliament as a Progressive Conservative until 2 February, 2004.<ref>[https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/People/Profile?personId=6804 https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/People/Profile?personId=6804]</ref>}}
| merger           = 
| split            = 
| predecessor      = [[Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)|Conservative (1867)]]
| merged           = [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative (2003)]]
| successor        = [[Progressive Canadian Party]] (claimed, not legal successor)
| headquarters     = 806-141 [[Laurier Avenue|Laurier Avenue West]], [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]]
| newspaper        = 
| think_tank       = 
| student_wing     = 
| youth_wing       = 
| womens_wing      = 
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| membership_year  = 2003
| membership       = 40,000 {{decrease}} {{efn|Party members that were [[Elections in Canada|eligible to vote]].<ref>{{Cite news |first=David |last=Orchard |title='A blatant swindle' |url= |date=October 23, 2003 |work=[[Toronto Star]] }}</ref>}}
| ideology         = {{ubl|class=nowrap|
 |[[Conservatism]] ([[Conservatism in Canada|Canadian]])
 |[[Progressive conservatism]]
 |[[Economic liberalism]]
}}
| position         = [[Centrism|Centre]] to [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]]
| national         = 
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| continental      = 
| international    = [[International Democracy Union|International Democrat Union]]
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| colours          = {{colorbox|#9999FF|border=grey}} [[Shades of blue|Blue-purple]]
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| flag             = 
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| website          = {{web archive|title=pcparty.ca|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981212020328/http://pcparty.ca/}}
| country          = Canada
}}
The '''Progressive Conservative Party of Canada''' ('''PC'''; {{langx|fr|Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada}}) was a [[Centrism|centre]] to [[centre-right]] [[List of federal political parties in Canada|federal political party]] in [[Canada]] that existed from 1942 to 2003.

From [[Canadian Confederation]] in 1867 until 1942, the [[Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)|original Conservative Party of Canada]] participated in numerous governments and had multiple names. In 1942, its name was changed to the Progressive Conservative Party under the request of newly elected party leader [[Premier of Manitoba|Premier]] [[John Bracken]] of [[Manitoba]], a former member of the [[Progressive Party of Manitoba]]. In the [[1957 Canadian federal election|1957 federal election]], [[John Diefenbaker]] carried the party to their first victory in 27 years and [[1958 Canadian federal election|the following year]], led the party to the largest federal electoral landslide in history. During his tenure, human rights initiatives were achieved, most notably the [[Canadian Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]]. In the [[1963 Canadian federal election|1963 federal election]], the party lost power and would not regain it until [[1979 Canadian federal election|1979]], when [[Joe Clark]] led the party to a [[minority government]] victory. The party lost power just [[1980 Canadian federal election|nine months later]] and in 1983, Clark [[1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election|lost his leadership role]] to [[Brian Mulroney]], who helped the PC Party gain popularity in [[Quebec]]. Mulroney won back-to-back [[majority]] [[government]]s in [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984]] and [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988]], and during his tenure, major economic reforms such as the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] and the [[goods and services tax (Canada)|goods and services tax]] (GST) were introduced. 

The GST, the government's failed attempts to revise the [[Constitution of Canada|Constitution]] with the [[Meech Lake Accord|Meech Lake]] and [[Charlottetown Accord|Charlottetown]] accords, and the [[early 1990s recession]], led to the party's increasing unpopularity and eventual collapse in the [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993 federal election]] where they won just two seats. In [[Western Canada]] the bulk of the party's support transferred to the [[right-wing politics|right-wing]] [[populism|populist]] [[Reform Party of Canada|Reform Party]] (which later became the [[Canadian Alliance]]), while in Quebec support shifted to the [[Quebec sovereignty movement|sovereigntist]] [[Bloc Québécois]]. The Progressive Conservatives failed to recover much lost ground in the subsequent [[1997 Canadian federal election|1997]] and [[2000 Canadian federal election|2000]] federal elections. When it became clear that neither the Progressive Conservatives nor the Canadian Alliance could on their own defeat the incumbent Liberals, an effort to [[Unite the Right (Canada)|unite the right-of-centre parties]] emerged. Eventually, in 2003 the party membership voted to dissolve the party and merge with the Canadian Alliance to form the current [[Conservative Party of Canada]].

Like their British counterparts, members and supporters of the Progressive Conservative Party were known as "Tories". Provincial variants of the Progressive Conservative Party continue to exist in a number of provinces.

==Predecessors==
{{See also|Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)}}
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The party pre-dates Confederation in 1867, when it accepted many conservative-leaning former members of the Liberal Party into its ranks. At Confederation, the [[Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)|Conservative Party]] became Canada's first governing party under [[John A. Macdonald|Sir John A. Macdonald]]. The federal Tories governed Canada for over 40 of the country's first 70 years of existence.

However, the party spent the majority of its history in opposition as the nation's number-two federal party, behind the [[Liberal Party of Canada]]. From 1896 to 1993, the Tories formed government six times—from 1911 to 1921, briefly in 1926, from 1930 to 1935, from 1957 to 1963, from 1979 to 1980 and from 1984 to 1993. It stands as the only Canadian party to have won more than 200 seats in an election—a feat it accomplished twice: in [[1958 Canadian federal election|1958]] and [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984]].

The party adopted the "Progressive Conservative" name in 1942 when Manitoba [[Premier (Canada)|Premier]] [[John Bracken]], a long-time leader of that province's [[Progressive Party of Canada|Progressive Party]], agreed to become leader of the federal Conservatives on condition that the party add ''Progressive'' to its name. Despite the name change, most former Progressive supporters continued to support the [[Liberal Party of Canada]] or the [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]], and Bracken's leadership of the Conservative Party came to an end in 1948. Many Canadians simply continued to refer to the party as "the Conservatives".

A major weakness of the party since 1885 was its inability to win support in [[Quebec]], estranged significantly by that year's execution of [[Louis Riel]]. The [[Conscription Crisis of 1917]] exacerbated the issue. Even though the [[Conservative Party of Quebec (historical)|Conservative Party of Quebec]] dominated politics in that province for the first 30 years of Confederation at both the federal and provincial levels, in the 20th century the party was never able to become a force in provincial politics, losing power in 1897, and dissolving in 1935 into the [[Union Nationale (Quebec)|Union Nationale]], which took power in 1936 under [[Maurice Duplessis]].

In 20th-century federal politics, the Conservatives were often seen{{by whom|date=November 2012}} as insensitive to French-Canadian ambitions and interests and seldom succeeded in winning more than a handful of seats in Quebec, with a few notable exceptions:
* the [[1930 Canadian federal election|1930 federal election]], in which [[R. B. Bennett|Richard Bedford Bennett]] surprisingly led the party to a thin majority government victory by securing 24 seats in rural Quebec;
* the [[1958 Canadian federal election|1958 federal election]], in which [[John Diefenbaker]] rode the backing of the right-leaning Union Nationale provincial government in Quebec to 50 of the province's 75 seats; and
* the federal elections of [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984]] and [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988]], when party leader [[Brian Mulroney]], a fluently bilingual Quebecois, built an electoral coalition that included Quebec nationalists.

The party never fully recovered from the fragmentation of Mulroney's broad coalition in the late 1980s, resulting in part from the failure of two provinces to ratify the [[Meech Lake Accord]]. The party suffered a decade-long decline following the [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993 federal election]], during which it did not hold more than 20 seats in the House of Commons. It formally dissolved on December 7, 2003, when it merged with the [[Canadian Alliance]] to form the modern-day [[Conservative Party of Canada]].

Several loosely associated provincial Progressive Conservative parties continue to exist in [[Manitoba]], [[Ontario]], [[New Brunswick]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Prince Edward Island]] and [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]. As well, a small [[Rump organization|rump]] of senators opposed the merger, and continued to sit in the [[Parliament of Canada]] as Progressive Conservatives. The last one of them rescinded their party status in 2016. The [[Yukon]] association of the party renamed itself as the [[Yukon Party]] in 1990. The [[British Columbia]] Progressive Conservative Party changed its name to the [[British Columbia Conservative Party]] in 1991. [[Saskatchewan]]'s Progressive Conservative Party effectively ceased to exist in 1997, when the [[Saskatchewan Party]] formed – primarily from former PC [[Member of the Legislative Assembly|Members of the Legislative Assembly]] (MLAs) with a few [[Saskatchewan Liberal Party|Saskatchewan Liberal]] MLAs joining them.

==Ideology==
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{{Conservatism Canada|historical}}

The Progressive Conservative Party was generally on the [[centre-right politics|centre-right]] on the political spectrum. From 1867 on, the party was identified with [[Protestant]] and, in Quebec, [[Roman Catholic]] social values, [[British Empire|British imperialism]], [[Canadian nationalism]], and constitutional centralism. This was highly successful until 1920, and to that point in history, the party was the most successful federal party in the Dominion.

As such, Canadian conservatism historically initially more closely resembled that which was practiced in the [[United Kingdom]] and, to an extent, [[Europe]], than in the [[United States]]. The "Tory" approach worked well for the party until 1917, when, as was common among 19th-century conservative movements, Canadian Tories opposed the rollback of government intervention in social and economic matters advocated by the [[liberalism|liberals]] of the era. In contrast to "American conservative" counterparts, however, they did not undertake as dramatic an ideological turnaround in the first half of the 20th century by continuing to follow [[mercantilism]]{{dubious|date=April 2015}} and nascent notions of the [[welfare state]].

Like their federal Liberal rivals, the party defined itself as a "[[big tent]]", welcoming a broad variety of members who supported relatively loosely defined goals. Unlike the Liberal Party, there was a long history of ongoing factionalism within this tent. This factionalism arose from the party's lack of electoral success, and because the party often reached out to particular political groups in order to garner enough support to topple the Liberals. These groups usually remained semi-autonomous blocs within the party, such as Quebec nationalists and western Canadian Reformers in the 1980s. In later years, observers generally grouped the PC Party's core membership into two camps, "[[Red Tory|Red Tories]]" and "[[Blue Tory|Blue Tories]]".

Red Tories tend to be traditionally conservative, that is, "Tory" in the [[Benjamin Disraeli|Disraelian]] sense in social policy, placing a high value on the principles of ''[[noblesse oblige]]'', [[communitarianism]], and [[one nation conservatism]]—and were thus seen as moderate (in the context of classical economic thought) in their economic policy. For most of their history they were trade [[protectionists]], engaging in free-trade economics in only a limited fashion, as in [[British Empire Economic Conference|Empire Free-Trade]]. Historically they comprised the largest bloc of the original Canadian Conservative party. Notable Red Tories include [[John Farthing]], [[George Grant (philosopher)|George Grant]], [[John Diefenbaker]], [[E. Davie Fulton]], [[Robert Stanfield]], [[Dufferin Roblin]], [[Dalton Camp]], [[W. L. Morton]], [[George A. Drew]], [[Leslie Frost]], [[John Robarts]], [[Bill Davis|William Davis]], [[Peter Lougheed]], [[Joe Clark]] and [[Flora MacDonald (politician)|Flora MacDonald]].

Blue Tories, on the other hand, were originally members of the Tory elite drawn from the commercial classes in [[Montreal]] and [[Toronto]]. Prior to [[World War II]], they were generally conservative in social policy, and [[classically liberal]] in economic policy. From 1964 on, this cadre came to identify more with [[neoliberal]] influences in the US [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], as espoused by [[Barry Goldwater]] and [[Ronald Reagan]], and the [[Thatcherite]] leadership in the British [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], as represented by Sir [[Keith Joseph]] and [[Margaret Thatcher]]. They have come to be termed—in the Canadian lexicon—as [[neoconservatives]]. However, there are also Blue Tories who identify strongly with the [[monarchy in Canada]] and other traditional institutions. In Canada, Blue Tories include [[Ralph Klein]] and [[Mike Harris]].

From 1891 until the party's dissolution, Red Tories generally dominated the highest rungs of the party and its leadership. The emerging neoconservatives of the 1970s were significantly reduced in numbers in the party by the late 1980s, and many of the disaffected drifted towards [[neoliberalism]] and parties with a [[neoconservative]] bent, such as the [[Reform Party of Canada]]. When the PC party held power at the federal level, it never truly embraced [[Reaganomics]] and its crusade against "[[big government]]" as vociferously as was done in the United States.

Canadian neoconservatives lean more towards [[individualism]] and [[economic liberalism]]. Support for the Canadian Alliance and its predecessor the Reform Party of Canada derived principally from this group, and that support carried forward into the new Conservative Party of Canada. The success of the neoconservative movement in using the label "Conservative" has brought into debate the very definition of [[conservatism]] in Canada today. Although adhering to economic philosophies similar to those originally advanced by 19th-century liberals (known confusingly as both neoliberalism and neoconservatism), the Canadian Alliance agreed to the name "Conservative Party of Canada" for the new party.

==History==
{{See also|Port Hope Conference}}
{{Unsourced|section|date=April 2025}}

After a by-election defeat in 1942, a group of younger Conservatives from the [[Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)|Conservative Party of Canada]] met in [[Port Hope, Ontario]], to develop a new Conservative policy they hoped would bring them out of the political wilderness. The participants, known as the Port Hopefuls, developed a program including many Conservative goals such as support for free enterprise and conscription. Yet the charter also included more radical policies, such as full-employment, [[Affordable housing|low-cost housing]], [[trade union]] rights, as well as a whole range of [[social security]] measures, including a government financed medicare system.<ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=0pFYBSaxB_wC&pg=PA57&dq=Port+Hope+Conference&lr=&ei=diPpSKHlzDIyuyASxy-jIAw&sig=ACfU3U0m3aUj8UUlwB-xQVcVRqykru486Q#PPA57,M1 The Essentials of Canadian History: Pre-colonization to 1867-the Beginning ... – Terence Allan Crowley, Rae Murphy – Google Boeken]. Books.google.com. Retrieved on April 12, 2014.</ref>

Although many Conservatives rejected the charter, the charter still influenced party decisions. Delegates at the convention drafted [[John Bracken]] as leader, who was not even a member of the party. Bracken supported the Port Hope Charter and insisted the party register this policy shift by changing its name to the Progressive Conservative Party.<ref name="books.google.com"/>

In the early days of [[Canadian Confederation]], the party supported a [[mercantilism|mercantilist]] approach to economic development: [[export-oriented industrialization|export-led growth]] with high import barriers to protect local industry. The party was staunchly monarchist and supported playing a large role within the [[British Empire]]. It was seen by some [[French Canadian]]s as supporting a policy of cultural assimilation.

The Conservative Party dominated Canadian politics for the nation's first 30 years. In general, Canada's political history has consisted of Tories alternating power with the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberals]], albeit often in minority governments supported by smaller parties.

[[File:John G. Diefenbaker (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[John Diefenbaker]], the 13th prime minister of Canada (1957–1963)]]
After a long period of Liberal dominance following the Tories ill-fated Depression-era mandate from 1930 to 1935, [[John Diefenbaker]] won a minority government in [[1957 Canadian federal election|1957]], followed by a sweeping electoral victory for the Tories in [[1958 Canadian federal election|1958]]. Diefenbaker was able to win most of the parliamentary seats in Western Canada, much of those in Ontario, and, with the support of the [[Union Nationale (Quebec)|Union Nationale]] provincial government, a large number in Quebec. Diefenbaker attempted to pursue a policy of distancing Canada from the United States. His cabinet split over Diefenbaker's refusal of American demands that Canada accept nuclear warheads for Bomarc missiles based in [[North Bay, Ontario]], and [[La Macaza, Quebec]]. This split contributed to the Tory government's defeat at the hands of [[Lester B. Pearson]]'s Liberals in the [[1963 Canadian federal election|1963 election]].

Diefenbaker remained Progressive Conservative leader until 1967, when increasing unease at his erratic behaviour, authoritarian leadership, and perceived unelectability led party president [[Dalton Camp]] to call for and win a motion for a [[leadership review]] which resulted in the [[1967 Progressive Conservative leadership election|1967 leadership convention]] where Nova Scotia Premier [[Robert Stanfield]] was elected out of a field of eleven candidates that included Diefenbaker and Manitoba Premier [[Dufferin Roblin|Duff Roblin]]. Despite being personally well-regarded, Stanfield struggled to make an impact against [[Pierre Trudeau]], who became Prime Minister the following year. The [[1972 Canadian federal election|1972 election]] saw the party come within two seats of toppling the Liberal government, with their historical weakness in Quebec keeping them from victory, but a gaffe-ridden Tory campaign at the [[1974 Canadian federal election|following election]] two years later saw the Liberals regain their parliamentary majority, leading to Stanfield's resignation.

=== Clark–Mulroney era ===
[[File:Joe Clark being interviewed 1979 crop.jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Joe Clark]], the 16th prime minister of Canada (1979–1980)]]
[[File:PC Party logo, 1968-1988.svg|thumb|Logo of the Progressive Conservative Party during the 1970s and 1980s]]

[[Joe Clark]] took the [[1976 Progressive Conservative leadership election|leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party]] in 1976. He came to power in the [[1979 Canadian federal election|1979 election]], defeating the Liberal government of [[Pierre Trudeau]] and ending sixteen years of continuous Liberal rule. Taking office the day before his 40th birthday, Clark is the youngest person to become prime minister. His tenure was brief as he only won a minority government, and it was defeated on a [[Motion of no confidence|motion of non-confidence]] pertaining to his [[1979 Canadian federal budget|1979 budget]]. Clark's Progressive Conservative Party lost the [[1980 Canadian federal election|1980 election]] and Clark lost the [[1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election|leadership of the party]] to [[Brian Mulroney]] in 1983.

[[File:Brian Mulroney (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[Brian Mulroney]], the 18th prime minister of Canada (1984–1993)]]
[[File:PC Party logo 1984.png|left|thumb|Logo of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1988]]

In the late 1960s and 1970s, following Quebec's [[Quiet Revolution]], the Progressive Conservatives recognized the need to increase their appeal to Canada's [[francophone]] population. At the same time, the Tories moved away from [[economic nationalism]] towards a [[neoliberalism|neoliberal]] platform. Both movements culminated with Brian Mulroney becoming prime minister after the [[1984 Canadian federal election|election of 1984]]. He led the Tories to a record 211 seats, and a majority of seats in every province.

Mulroney had declared himself an opponent to free trade with the United States during the [[1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election|1983 leadership campaign]]. But a growing continentalist sentiment among Canadian business leaders and the impact of the "Reagan Revolution" on Canadian conservative thought led Mulroney to embrace free trade. His government endorsed the recommendation of the 1985 Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada that Canada pursue a free trade deal with the United States.

Traditionally, it had been the Liberal Party that held a position of [[continentalism]] and the Conservatives who had opposed free trade with the [[United States]] in favour of economic links with the [[United Kingdom]]. With the dissolution of the [[British Empire]] and the economic nationalism of the Liberal Party under Pierre Trudeau, the traditional positions of the two parties became reversed. It was with this background that Mulroney fought and won the [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988 election]] on the issue of the [[Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement]].

Mulroney also made a promise to [[Quebec]]ers, claiming that he would reform the [[Constitution of Canada|Canadian Constitution]] so that Quebec would be willing to endorse the revised Constitution, which it did not in 1982, unlike Canada's other provinces. To do this, Mulroney promised that he would give Quebec distinct society status within a federal Canada with greater autonomy. This helped Mulroney garner substantial support from [[Quebec nationalism|Quebec nationalists]] including [[Lucien Bouchard]] who joined the Conservatives claiming that providing Quebec with autonomy would be acceptable for Quebec to remain within Canada.

Although the Progressive Conservative Party switched to [[neoliberalism]], the party did retain its social progressive policies unlike other parties which advocated neoliberalism. Mulroney and the government pursued an aggressive environmental agenda under the aide of then-environmental policy advisor, present-day [[Green Party of Canada|Green Party]] leader [[Elizabeth May]]. Mulroney and members of the U.S. government sparred over action on [[acid rain]]. In the end Mulroney managed to convince U.S. president [[Ronald Reagan]] to sign a treaty to reduce acid rain.

A number of economic and governance issues contributed to the fall of the Progressive Conservative party at the federal level in the [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993 federal election]]:
* Canada suffered its worst recession since the [[World War II|Second World War]],
* Unemployment rose to the highest levels since the [[Great Depression]],
* The federal government faced high and persistent deficits, and
* The Tories had introduced a much-hated new tax, the [[Goods and Services Tax (Canada)|Goods and Services Tax]].
* Extensive government corruption and accusations of corruption and government mismanagement were in the news, such as the [[Airbus affair]] and evidence showing Canadian peacekeepers maltreating [[Somalis]], which resulted in the [[Somalia Affair|Somalia inquiry]].
* During the election campaign the Tories used an [[1993 Chrétien attack ad|attack ad]] against Liberal leader [[Jean Chrétien]], which appeared to mock his odd facial expressions—which were the result of [[Bell's palsy]]—and suggest he was unfit for the post of prime minister because of them.

The second major factor leading to the Mulroney government's demise was that the party's base in Quebec came from Quebec nationalists, who withdrew their support after the failure of the [[Meech Lake Accord|Meech Lake]] and [[Charlottetown Accord|Charlottetown]] accords. Many Quebec Tories, including a number of [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Members of Parliament]] (MPs), left the party to form the [[Bloc Québécois]] with like-minded Liberals.

The third major factor was the rise of [[western alienation]] in the four provinces of western Canada as a result of attempts by both Tories and Liberals to woo Quebec. Western Canadians turned their support to the [[Reform Party of Canada]] and later to its successor, the [[Canadian Alliance]]. Poor by-election results in [[1989 Beaver River federal by-election|Beaver River]], [[1990 Chambly by-election|Chambly]], [[1990 Laurier—Sainte-Marie federal by-election|Laurier—Sainte-Marie]], [[1990 Oshawa federal by-election|Oshawa]] and [[1990 York North federal by-election|York North]] solidified the PC decline.

=== Kim Campbell and decline ===
[[File:Prime Minister Kim Campbell of Canada (42-WHPO-P05407-13-1) (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Kim Campbell]], the 19th prime minister of Canada (June – November 1993)]]
[[File:Parti PC Party Canada 1993.svg|thumb|Logo of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1993]]

Following Mulroney's resignation, his successor as Tory leader and as prime minister was [[Kim Campbell]], who led the party into the disastrous [[1993 Canadian federal election|election of 1993]]. The Progressive Conservatives went from being the majority party to holding only two seats in the House of Commons, which was not enough to maintain [[official party status]] despite garnering 16% of the popular vote. It was the worst defeat ever suffered for a governing party at the federal level; the 151-seat loss far exceeded the 95 seats lost by the Liberals in 1984. The party's western supporters transferred virtually ''en masse'' to Reform, most of its Quebec supporters split between the sovereigntist [[Bloc Québécois]] and the Liberals, and most of its Ontario and Atlantic supporters bolted for the Liberals. Even though the Progressive Conservatives finished third in the popular vote (just percentage points behind Reform), their support was spread out across the entire country and was not concentrated in enough areas to translate into more seats. By contrast, the Bloc managed to capture Official Opposition status with 54 seats despite running candidates only in Quebec, while Reform finished third in the seat count despite being virtually nonexistent east of Manitoba.

Campbell herself was defeated, as was every member of the Cabinet except [[Jean Charest]], whom Campbell had defeated in the [[1993 Progressive Conservative leadership election|election to succeed Mulroney]]. Campbell resigned as party leader in December, and Charest, as the only remaining member of the previous Cabinet, was quickly appointed interim leader and confirmed in the post in 1995. The party continued to hold a majority of seats in the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] until 1997, where Senator [[John Lynch-Staunton]] served as [[Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Canada)|Leader of the Opposition in the Senate]]. Charest led the party back to official party status in the [[1997 Canadian federal election|1997 election]], winning 20 seats. With the exception of one seat each in Ontario and Manitoba, the rest of the seats were all in the Maritimes and Quebec. However, the PCs never won more than 20 seats again, and only two west of Quebec (not counting by-elections and switches from other parties).

==Merger==
The rise of the Reform Party/Canadian Alliance was doubtless damaging to the Tories. Many observers argue that for over ten years, from 1993 to [[2004 Canadian federal election|2004]], the "conservative" vote was [[split vote|split]] between the two parties, allowing Liberal candidates to win ridings that were previously considered safe for the Tories, made possible by a first-past-the-post electoral system. This assessment led to the growth of the [[Unite the Right (Canada)|United Alternative]] movements of the late 1990s. Others insisted that a legitimate ideological gulf existed between the more ideological Alliance and the more moderate [[Red Tory]]-influenced PC Party, pointing to surveys that indicated many Tory voters would rather select the Liberals as their second choice than the Alliance. This seemed to be particularly born out in Ontario. The Liberals won all but one seat in that province in 1993 and 1997, and all but two in 2000—an era that was dominated by the provincial Tories. This was largely because many former bellwether ridings in suburban [[Toronto]] (known as "the 905", after its [[area code]]) turned almost solidly Liberal for most of the 1990s at the federal level while supporting the Tories at the provincial level.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Charest stepped down from the leadership in 1998 to become leader of the [[Quebec Liberal Party]]. Former leader Joe Clark returned to the post in a vote in which all party members were eligible to cast ballots, instead of a traditional leadership convention. A point system allocated each riding 100 points to be distributed among the candidates by proportional representation according to votes cast by party members in the riding. This same system was used by the Conservative Party of Canada in 2004. In the [[2000 Canadian federal election|2000 election]] Clark was able to garner the 12 seats necessary for official party status, but no more.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Clark realized that as long as the centre-right vote was divided, there was no chance of dislodging the Liberals, but he wanted a merger on his own terms. He got his chance in 2001, when several dissident Alliance MPs, the most prominent one being Alliance deputy leader and party matriarch [[Deborah Grey]], left the Alliance caucus. The dissidents felt that Alliance leader [[Stockwell Day]] hadn't learned from mistakes made in the last election. While some of them rejoined the Alliance later, seven of them, led by [[Chuck Strahl]] of British Columbia and including Grey, refused and formed the [[Democratic Representative Caucus]]. The DRC quickly entered a coalition with the Progressive Conservatives, which lasted until 2002 when [[Stephen Harper]] ousted Day as Alliance leader. Harper wanted a closer union with the PCs, but Clark turned the offer down, and all but two of the DRC members rejoined the Alliance. One of the two, [[Inky Mark]], eventually joined the PCs. Two by-election victories later in 2002 increased the PC caucus to 15 members and fourth place in the Commons. Clark, however, was unable to gain any ground in Ontario, and resigned on August 6, 2002.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}
[[File:Peter-MacKay.jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Peter MacKay]]]]

On May 31, 2003, [[Peter MacKay]] won the party leadership after securing the endorsement of controversial fellow leadership candidate [[David Orchard]], an outspoken opponent of free trade who wanted to return the party to its traditional economic nationalist roots. Orchard's endorsement of MacKay was predicated on four bullet points laid out in the Orchard-MacKay agreement, one of which expressly forbade the merger of the PC Party of Canada with the Canadian Alliance. After only a few months as party leader though, MacKay reneged on his promise and proceeded to negotiate a merger with the Alliance, which he announced had occurred on October 15, 2003. The two parties, it seemed, united to form a new party called the Conservative Party of Canada. The union was ratified on December 5 and 6 in a process conducted by each of the parties, and the new Conservative Party was formally registered on December 7. The merger prompted Clark to remark, "Some equate it to a death in the family. I regard it rather as a death of the family."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes2004/thecampaign/fightinwords.html|title=CBC – Canada Votes 2004<!-- Bot generated title --> |publisher=CBC News}}</ref> On March 20, 2004, former Alliance leader Harper was elected leader of the new party and appointed MacKay as his deputy.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

==Post-merger==
Following the merger, a rump Progressive Conservative caucus remained in Parliament, consisting of individuals who declined to join the new Conservative Party. In the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]], [[Joe Clark]], [[André Bachand (Progressive Conservative MP)|André Bachand]] and [[John Herron (New Brunswick politician)|John Herron]] sat as PC members. In the [[2004 Canadian federal election|2004 election]], Bachand and Clark did not run for re-election, and Herron ran as a Liberal, losing to [[Rob Moore (politician)|Rob Moore]] in his riding of [[Fundy Royal|Fundy—Royal]]. [[Scott Brison]], who had joined the Liberal caucus immediately upon departing the Conservative Party, was reelected as a Liberal in the 2004 election. After being expelled from the Conservative Party caucus in June 2007, Nova Scotia MP [[Bill Casey]] designated himself as an "Independent Progressive Conservative".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070610.wcasey-mulroney11/BNStory/Front |title=globeandmail.com: Mulroney called Casey in bid for Tory unity<!-- Bot generated title --> |location=Toronto |work=The Globe and Mail |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302051637/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070610.wcasey-mulroney11/BNStory/Front |archive-date=March 2, 2009 }}</ref>

In the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]], [[C. William Doody|William Doody]], [[Lowell Murray]] and [[Norman Atkins]] also declined to join the new party, and continued to sit as Progressive Conservative senators. On March 24, 2005, prime minister [[Paul Martin]] appointed nine new senators, two of whom, [[Nancy Ruth]] and [[Elaine McCoy]], were designated Progressive Conservatives. Ruth subsequently left to sit with the Conservative Party. The death of Senator Doody on December 27, 2005, and the mandatory retirement of Norman Atkins on June 27, 2009, and Lowell Murray on September 26, 2011, left McCoy, the youngest of the five, as the sole Progressive Conservative in the Senate and the last sitting PC in either chamber of Parliament until February 11, 2013, when she chose to change her designation to "Independent Progressive Conservative". McCoy changed her designation to "Independent" on February 17, 2016, thus bringing to an end the presence of Progressive Conservatives in Parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=1c69a9e8-42ad-48b3-a506-37cab1a579dd&Language=E&Section=ALL|title=MCCOY, The Hon. Elaine, Q.C., B.A., LL.B.|publisher=PARLINFO|access-date=March 19, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402140746/http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=1c69a9e8-42ad-48b3-a506-37cab1a579dd&Language=E&Section=ALL|archive-date=April 2, 2016}}</ref>

===Progressive Canadian Party===
{{Main|Progressive Canadian Party}}
{{Unsourced|section|date=April 2025}}

On January 9, 2004, a group claiming to be loyal to the Progressive Conservative Party and opposed to the merger, which they characterized as an Alliance takeover, filed application with the Chief Electoral Officer to register a party called the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. The application was refused on the grounds that the name could no longer be utilized. The group resubmitted with the name [[Progressive Canadian Party]], and a new "PC Party" was recognized by [[Elections Canada]] on March 26. It secured sufficient backing to be registered as an official party on May 29. It was led by former Progressive Conservative MP [[Joe Hueglin]] of Ontario.

The Progressive Canadian party aimed to be perceived as the successor party to the Progressive Conservatives. However, it did not enjoy broad support among former Progressive Conservatives. In particular, no prominent anti-merger Progressive Conservatives such as Joe Clark or [[David Orchard]] were associated with the Progressive Canadian Party, nor were any sitting MPs or senators. The most prominent members to join were two 1970s and 1980s era politicians: former cabinet minister [[Sinclair Stevens]] and former junior cabinet minister, [[Heward Grafftey]], who polled near or below [[Craig Chandler]] in the final PC Party leadership race. It was deregistered by Elections Canada in late 2019.

==Party leaders==
{{Main|List of Canadian conservative leaders}}

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" | Picture
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Term start
! scope="col" | Term end
! scope="col" | Riding as leader
! scope="col" width=20%| Notes
|-
| [[File:John Bracken circa 1941.jpg|100px]] || [[John Bracken]] || December 11, 1942 || July 20, 1948 || [[Neepawa (electoral district)|Neepawa]] ||11th premier of Manitoba
|-
| [[File:GeorgeDrew.jpg|100px]] || [[George A. Drew|George Drew]] || October 2, 1948 || September 21, 1956|| [[Carleton (Ontario federal electoral district)|Carleton]] ||14th premier of Ontario
|-
| [[File:William Earl Rowe.jpg|100px]] || [[William Earl Rowe]] || September 21, 1956 ''(Interim)'' || December 14, 1956 || [[Dufferin—Simcoe]]||Interim leader
|-
| [[File:John G. Diefenbaker (cropped).jpg|100px]] || [[John Diefenbaker]] || December 14, 1956 || September 9, 1967 ||[[Prince Albert (federal electoral district)|Prince Albert]] || 13th <br> prime minister of Canada
|-
|  [[File:Robert Stanfield 1968 press photo.jpg|100px]]|| [[Robert Stanfield]] || September 9, 1967 || February 22, 1976 || [[Colchester—Hants]], [[Halifax (federal electoral district)|Halifax]]||17th premier of Nova Scotia
|-
| [[File:Joe Clark being interviewed 1979 crop.jpg|100px]] || [[Joe Clark]] || February 22, 1976 || February 19, 1983 || [[Rocky Mountain (federal electoral district)|Rocky Mountain]], [[Yellowhead (electoral district)|Yellowhead]] ||16th <br> prime minister of Canada
|-
| || [[Erik Nielsen]] || February 19, 1983 ''(Interim)'' || June 11, 1983 || [[Yukon (electoral district)|Yukon]]||Interim leader 
|-
| [[File:Brian Mulroney (cropped).jpg|100px]] || [[Brian Mulroney]] || June 11, 1983 || June 13, 1993 || [[Central Nova]], [[Manicouagan (electoral district)|Manicouagan]], [[Charlevoix (federal electoral district)|Charlevoix]]||18th <br> prime minister of Canada
|-
| [[File:Prime Minister Kim Campbell of Canada (42-WHPO-P05407-13-1) (cropped).jpg|100px]] || [[Kim Campbell]] || June 13, 1993 || December 14, 1993 || [[Vancouver Centre]]||19th <br> prime minister of Canada
|-
| [[File:Jean Charest de face (Novembre 2010).png|100px]] || [[Jean Charest]] || December 14, 1993 || April 2, 1998 || [[Sherbrooke (federal electoral district)|Sherbrooke]]|||5th <br> deputy prime minister of Canada and 29th premier of Quebec
|-
| [[File:Elsie Wayne cropped.jpg|100px]] || [[Elsie Wayne]] || April 2, 1998 ''(Interim)'' || November 14, 1998 || [[Saint John (electoral district)|Saint John]]||Interim leader
|-
| [[File:RightHonourableJoeClark (cropped).jpg|100px]]|| [[Joe Clark]] || November 14, 1998 || May 31, 2003 || [[Kings—Hants]], [[Calgary Centre]]||
|-
| [[File:Peter-MacKay.jpg|100px]] || [[Peter MacKay]] || May 31, 2003 || December 7, 2003 || [[Central Nova]]||
|}

===Party leaders in the Senate===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Took office
! scope="col" | Left office
! scope="col" | Role
|-
|[[Charles Colquhoun Ballantyne]]
|1942
|1945
|Opposition leader
|-
|[[John Thomas Haig]]
|1945
|1958
|Opposition leader until June 20, 1957.<br />Government leader from 1957 to 1958
|-
|[[Walter Morley Aseltine]]
|1958 
|1962
|Government leader
|-
|[[Alfred Johnson Brooks]]
|1962 
|1967
|Government leader until April 21, 1963<br />Opposition leader until 1967
|-
|[[Jacques Flynn]]
|1967
|1984
|Opposition leader, except from June 3, 1979, to March 2, 1980, when he was government leader
|-
|[[Dufferin Roblin]]
|1984 
|1986
|Government leader
|-
|[[Lowell Murray]]
|1986
|1993
|Government leader
|-
|[[John Lynch-Staunton]]
|1993
|2004
|Opposition leader
|}

==Party presidents==
{{incomplete-section|date=December 2015}}
*[[James Macdonnell (Canadian politician)|James Macdonnell]] (1946–1950)
*[[George Nowlan]] (1950–1954)
*[[George Hees]] (1954–1956)
*[[Allister Grosart]] (1956–1963)
*[[Egan Chambers]] (1963–1964)
*[[Dalton Camp]] (1964–1969)
*[[Frank Moores]] (1969–1970)
*[[Nathan Nurgitz]] (1970–1971)
*[[Donald J. Matthews]] (1971–1974)
*[[Michael Meighen]] (1974–1977)
*[[Robert Coates (politician)|Robert C. Coates]] (1977–1981)
*[[Peter Blaikie]] (1981–1983)
*[[Peter Elzinga]] (1983–1986)
*[[William H. Jarvis]] (1986–1989)
*[[Gerry St. Germain]] (1989–1995)
*[[Peter Van Loan]] (1999–2000)
*[[Jacques Leger]] (2000–2001)
*[[Bruck Easton]] (2001–2003)

==Election results==
{{Chart|definition=Progressive Conservative Party of Canada election results.chart|data=Progressive Conservative Party of Canada election results.tab|Width=700}}

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! Election
! Leader
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/–
! Position
! Role
! Government
|-
! [[1945 Canadian federal election|1945]]
| [[John Bracken]]
| 1,448,744
| 27.62%
| {{Composition bar|64|245|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{increase}} 27
| {{steady}} 2nd
| {{no2|Opposition}}  
| Liberal minority
|-
! [[1949 Canadian federal election|1949]]
| rowspan=2 |  [[George A. Drew]]
| 1,734,261
| 29.62%
| {{Composition bar|41|262|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{decrease}} 23
| {{steady}} 2nd
| {{no2|Opposition}}  
| Liberal majority
|-
! [[1953 Canadian federal election|1953]]
| 1,749,579
| 31.01%
| {{Composition bar|50|265|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{increase}} 9
| {{steady}} 2nd
| {{no2|Opposition}}  
| Liberal majority
|-
! [[1957 Canadian federal election|1957]]
| rowspan=5 | [[John Diefenbaker]]
| 2,564,732
| 38.81%
| {{Composition bar|112|265|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{increase}} 62
| {{increase}} 1st
| {{yes2|Minority}}
| '''PC minority'''
|-
! [[1958 Canadian federal election|1958]]
| 3,908,633
| '''53.56%'''
| '''{{Composition bar|208|265|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}'''
| {{increase}} 96
| {{steady}} 1st
| {{yes|Majority}}
| '''PC majority'''
|-
! [[1962 Canadian federal election|1962]]
| 2,865,542
| 37.22%
| {{Composition bar|116|265|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{decrease}} 92
| {{steady}} 1st
| {{yes2|Minority}}
| '''PC minority'''
|-
! [[1963 Canadian federal election|1963]]
| 2,591,613
| 32.80%
| {{Composition bar|93|265|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{decrease}} 23
| {{decrease}} 2nd
| {{no2|Opposition}} 
| Liberal minority
|-
! [[1965 Canadian federal election|1965]]
| 2,500,113
| 32.41%
| {{Composition bar|95|265|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{increase}} 2
| {{steady}} 2nd
| {{no2|Opposition}} 
| Liberal minority
|-
! [[1968 Canadian federal election|1968]]
| rowspan=3 | [[Robert Stanfield]]
| 2,554,397
| 31.43%
| {{Composition bar|72|264|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{decrease}} 23
| {{steady}} 2nd
| {{no2|Opposition}} 
| Liberal majority
|-
! [[1972 Canadian federal election|1972]]
| 3,388,980
| 35.02%
| {{Composition bar|107|264|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{increase}} 35
| {{steady}} 2nd
| {{no2|Opposition}} 
| Liberal minority
|-
! [[1974 Canadian federal election|1974]]
| 3,371,319
| 35.46%
| {{Composition bar|95|264|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{decrease}} 12
| {{steady}} 2nd
| {{no2|Opposition}} 
| Liberal majority
|-
! [[1979 Canadian federal election|1979]]
| rowspan=2 | [[Joe Clark]]
| 4,111,606
| 35.89%
| {{Composition bar|136|282|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{increase}} 41
| {{increase}} 1st
| {{yes2|Minority}}
| '''PC minority'''
|-
! [[1980 Canadian federal election|1980]]
| 3,552,994
| 32.49%
| {{Composition bar|103|282|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{decrease}} 33
| {{decrease}} 2nd  
| {{no2|Opposition}} 
| Liberal majority
|-
! [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984]]
| rowspan=2 | [[Brian Mulroney]]
| '''6,278,818'''
| 50.03%
| '''{{Composition bar|211|282|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}'''
| {{increase}} '''108'''
| {{increase}} 1st
| {{yes|Majority}}
| '''PC majority'''
|-
! [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988]]
| 5,667,543
| 43.02%
| {{Composition bar|169|295|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{decrease}} 42
| {{steady}} 1st
| {{yes|Majority}}
| '''PC majority'''
|-
! [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993]]
| [[Kim Campbell]]
| 2,178,303
| 16.04%
| {{Composition bar|2|295|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{decrease}} 167
| {{decrease}} 5th
| {{no2|No status}}
| Liberal majority
|-
! [[1997 Canadian federal election|1997]]
| [[Jean Charest]]
| 2,446,705
| 18.84%
| {{Composition bar|20|301|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{increase}} 18
| {{steady}} 5th
| {{no2|Fifth party}}
| Liberal majority
|-
! [[2000 Canadian federal election|2000]]
| [[Joe Clark]]
| 1,566,994
| 12.19%
| {{Composition bar|12|301|hex={{Canadian party colour|CA|PC}}}}
| {{decrease}} 8
| {{steady}} 5th
| {{no2|Fifth party}}
| Liberal majority
|}

==See also==
{{Portal bar|conservatism|Canada|Politics}}
* [[Progressive Conservative leadership conventions]]
* [[Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)]]
* [[Conservative Party of Canada]]
* [[Conservative parties in Canada]]
* [[List of political parties in Canada]]
* [[Politics of Canada]]
* [[Prime Ministers of Canada]]
* [[Official Opposition (Canada)]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Behiels, Michael D. "Stephen Harper's Rise to Power: Will His “New” Conservative Party Become Canada's “Natural Governing Party” of the Twenty-First Century?." ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' 40.1 (2010): 118-145. 

* Bélanger, Éric, and Jean-François Godbout. "Why do parties merge? The case of the Conservative party of Canada." ''Parliamentary Affairs'' 63.1 (2010): 41-65.

* Farney, James. "The personal is not political: The Progressive Conservative response to social issues." ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' 39.3 (2009): 242-252.

* Farney, James. ''Social Conservatives and Party Politics in Canada and the United States'' (University of Toronto Press, 2012). .
* Granatstein, J. L. ''The Politics of Survival: The Conservative Party of Canada, 1939-1945'' (University of Toronto Press,1967). 

* Hayday, Matthew. "Not a Contradiction in Terms: Exploring the Progressiveness of the Progressive Conservatives." ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' 54.1 (2024): 9-30. [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02722011.2023.2301625 online]

* Marland, Alex, and Tom Flanagan. "Brand new party: political branding and the Conservative Party of Canada." ''Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique'' 46.4 (2013): 951-972.

* Perlin, George C. ''The Tory Syndrome: Leadership Politics in the Progressive Conservative Party''. (Montréal, McGill-Queen's University Press, 1980). {{ISBN|0-7735-0350-1}}
* Rayside, David. "The conservative party of Canada and its religious constituencies." in ''Faith, politics, and sexual diversity in Canada and the United States'' (2011) pp.279-299.
* Thompson, Matthew. "Maintaining Party Unity: Analyzing the Conservative Party of Canada’s Integration of the Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties." (PhD Dissertation, Carleton University, 2017) [https://repository.library.carleton.ca/downloads/pn89d736z online].

{{Progressive Conservative Party of Canada}}
{{Canadian Conservative Parties}}
{{Canadian federal political parties}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Progressive Conservative Party Of Canada}}
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada| ]]
[[Category:1942 establishments in Canada]]
[[Category:2003 disestablishments in Canada]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1867]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 2003]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in Canada]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Ottawa]]
[[Category:Progressive conservatism]]