Northwest Territories Liberal Party

The Northwest Territories Liberal Party was a short-lived branch of the Liberal Party of Canada in the Northwest Territories.

History

The party existed between 1898 and 1905. In 1905, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created from the heavily populated areas of the Northwest Territories. The members of the NWT Liberal Party joined the Alberta Liberal Party or the Saskatchewan Liberal Party. With almost no voting population in the remaining parts of the Northwest Territories, its political parties disbanded when the Government of Canada returned to its former policy of appointing members of the Territories' legislative assembly The assembly went back to the consensus model of government.

The consensus model of government that had been used prior to the election of 1898 had its influences in the party system: Conservative leader and Government Leader Frederick W. A. G. Haultain appointed two Liberals to his cabinet and one Conservative, even though they formed the opposition, from 1898 to 1905. This led Conservatives to accuse the government of being a "grit hive", after the election of 1902. To appease party supporters, Haultain appointed one Liberal and two Conservatives to the cabinet.

The Calgary Herald attacked the Territorial Liberals in October 1902, after they held a convention in which they failed to adopt policies towards the creation of a provincial government. This set off a bitter editorial war against the Liberal and Conservative media.

Robert Brett was the Leader of the party from the beginning until, he made a surprise move to drop out of the race just days before the election of 1902. Donald H. McDonald, filled his place, and became leader of the opposition, until the provinces were created in 1905.

Leaders of the Party

• Robert Brett (1897–1902)
• Donald H. McDonald (1902–1905)

Modern era

Under the current consensus government, political parties are not currently recognized in Northwest Territories law, but a few scattered candidates have run in recent elections claiming to represent the Liberal party. The most notable of which is Lynda Sorenson, Northwest Territories MLA from 1979 - 1983. There are plans to reestablish a Northwest Territories Liberal Party in time for elections in 2015.^[1]

See also

• Northwest Territories Liberal-Conservative Party
• List of Northwest Territories political parties
• List of Northwest Territories general elections

References

External links

• Personnel of the Northwest Territories Assembly 1888 - 1905
• Calgary Herald attacks the Liberals October 8, 1902

Liberal Party of Canada
Provincial wings	Affiliated provincial parties New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island Formerly affiliated parties Alberta (1905–76) British Columbia (1903–late 1980s) Manitoba Northwest Territories (1898–1905) Ontario Quebec (1867–1964) Saskatchewan (1905–2009) Yukon
National leaders	Leaders Brown Mackenzie Blake Laurier McKenzie King St. Laurent Pearson P. E. Trudeau Turner Gray Chrétien Martin Graham Dion Ignatieff Rae J. Trudeau Deputy Leaders Copps Gray Manley McLellan Robillard Ignatieff Goodale
Leadership elections	1919 1948 1958 1968 1980 1984 1990 2003 2006 2009 2013
Parliamentary election candidates	1867 1878 1887 1891 1896 1900 1904 1908 1911 1917 1921 1925 1926 1930 1935 1940 1945 1949 1957 1958 1962 1963 1965 1968 1972 1974 1979 1980 1984 1988 1993 1997 2000 2004 2006 2008 2011 2015
Predecessors	History Clear Grits (circa 1850–58) Institut canadien de Montréal (1844–80) Parti canadien (circa 1800–38) Parti rouge (1848–61) Reformers (circa 1830–54) in Newfoundland
Related parties	Liberal Protectionist Liberal-Progressive Liberal-Labour Laurier Liberals Liberal–Unionist National Liberal Progressive