Christian Heritage Party of Canada - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Christian Heritage Party of Canada, also referred to as CHP Canada, is a federal political party that advocates that Canada be governed according to Biblical principles

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

. It believes "The Holy Bible to be the inspired, inerrant written Word of God and the final authority above all man's laws and government".

This socially and fiscally conservative

Conservatism

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...

party held its founding convention in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

in November 1987, where Ed Vanwoudenberg

Ed Vanwoudenberg

Edward John Vanwoudenberg is a Canadian minor-party politician, and was head of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada, from the party's founding convention in 1987 until 1991....

was elected its first leader. Jim Hnatiuk has led the party since 2008.

The party nominated candidates for the first time in the 1988 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1988

The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....

, and ran numerous candidates in the 1993

Canadian federal election, 1993

The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...

and 1997 elections

Canadian federal election, 1997

The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...

. It was unable to field 50 candidates in the 2000 election

Canadian federal election, 2000

The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....

and was consequently de-registered by Elections Canada

Elections Canada

Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...

, the government elections agency. The party was re-registered in time for the 2004 election

Canadian federal election, 2004

The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...

.

Many of its founders had been members of the Social Credit

Canadian social credit movement

The Canadian social credit movement was a Canadian political movement originally based on the Social Credit theory of Major C. H. Douglas. Its supporters were colloquially known as Socreds...

movement. The party hopes to "apply proven Judeo-Christian

Judeo-Christian

Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...

principles of justice and compassion to Canada's contemporary public policy needs". The party claims that it seeks to represent all Canadians, and specifically denies any interest in converting all Canadians to Christianity. As of the 2011 election, the party has yet to obtain a seat in the House of Commons.

Platform

The Christian Heritage Party seeks to avoid a narrow platform, but rather implements the policy that "civil government is to ensure freedom and justice for a nation's citizens by upholding law and order in accordance with Biblical principles."

Some of the key goals and principles of the CHP are:

Have the Bank of Canada, rather than Canadian citizens, pay to overhaul the economy and the infrastructure of Canada.
Eliminate income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...

, and replace it with a "fair tax".
Treat the national debt "like a mortgage".
Having non-violent criminals pay restitution out of jail, and having dangerous offenders remain in prison until their behaviour indicates that they are no longer dangerous to society.
Definition of marriage as between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others
Protection of free speech.
Legislation for property rights.
Reduce waiting times for hospitals by putting abortions and cosmetic surgeries at the back of the line.
Abolish the Canadian Firearms Registry
Reinstating capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

in Canada.

Electoral activity

Election	# of candidates	# of votes	% of popular vote	% of popular vote CHP ridings
1988 Canadian federal election, 1988 The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....	63 Christian Heritage Party candidates, 1988 Canadian federal election The Christian Heritage Party of Canada fielded 63 candidates in the 1988 federal election in Canada. This was the first time the party contested a federal election, and the party faced potential rivalry from the Reform Party of Canada in the four western provinces, where it also was contesting its...	102,533	0.78%	3.56%
1993 Canadian federal election, 1993 The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...	58 Christian Heritage Party candidates, 1993 Canadian federal election The Christian Heritage Party of Canada fielded 59 candidates in the 1993 federal election, none of whom were elected. Information about these candidates may be found on this page.-Abe Neufeld :Neufeld is a Mennonite pastor...	30,455	0.22%	1.09%
1997 Canadian federal election, 1997 The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...	53 Christian Heritage Party candidates, 1997 Canadian federal election The Christian Heritage Party of Canada ran 53 candidates in the 1997 federal election, none of whom were elected.-Martin Dewit :Dewit is a resident of Carman, Manitoba, and has listed his occupation as a construction contractor...	29,085	0.22%	1.26%
2000 Canadian federal election, 2000 The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....	46 Christian Heritage Party candidates, 2000 Canadian federal election The Christian Heritage Party of Canada fielded 46 candidates in the 2000 Canadian federal election, none of whom were elected. Information about these candidates may be found here.... *	10,110*	0.08%*	0.51%*
2004 Canadian federal election, 2004 The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...	62 Christian Heritage Party candidates, 2004 Canadian federal election The Christian Heritage Party is a minor political party in Canada. It ran 62 candidates in the 2004 federal election. Information about some of these candidates may be found here. The leader of the party at the time of the election was Ron Gray....	40,283	0.30%	1.52%
2006 Canadian federal election, 2006 The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...	45 Christian Heritage Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal election The Christian Heritage Party is a minor political party in Canada. It fielded forty-five candidates in the 2006 federal election. Information about some of these candidates may be found here. The leader of the party at the time of the election was Ron Gray.-Larry R...	28,163	0.19%	1.32%
2008 Canadian federal election, 2008 The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...	59	26,751	0.19%	1.02%
2011	46 Christian Heritage Party of Canada candidates, 2011 Canadian federal election This is a list of the candidates running for the Christian Heritage Party of Canada in the 41st Canadian federal election.-Alberta:In addition, CHP party member Larry Heather, a candidate in previous elections, ran as an independent in Calgary Southwest, referencing the CHP policies and website on...	19,218	0.13%	0.84%

*The party did not have official status for the 2000 election, but 46 candidates were nominated, listed on the ballot without any affiliation information. These figures represent the 46 "non-affiliated" candidates known to be nominees of the CHP.

National executive

President - Tom Kroesbergen
Vice President - Harold Ludwig (Interim)
Executive Director - Vicki Gunn
National Secretary - Marcia Kroesbergen
National Treasurer - Louis (Luke) Kwantes
Prayer, Ethics, Personnel Director - Eric Pennings

Provincial presidents

British Columbia, Harold J. Ludwig
Alberta, C. Sya Strydhorst
Saskatchewan, Harold Stephan
Manitoba, David Reimer
Ontario, Peter Vogel
Québec, Thomas Sabourin
Nova Scotia, Louise McKeen (interim)
Prince Edward Island, vacant
New Brunswick, Jason Farris (interim)
Newfoundland and Labrador, vacant
Yukon, vacant (is eligible to have an acting representative to BC council)
Northwest Territories, vacant (potential representative within Alberta council)
Nunavut, vacant (potential representative to an undetermined council)

Party leaders

Ed Vanwoudenberg
Ed Vanwoudenberg
Edward John Vanwoudenberg is a Canadian minor-party politician, and was head of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada, from the party's founding convention in 1987 until 1991....

(November 1987-1991)
Charles Cavilla
Charles Cavilla
Charles Cavilla, of Lethbridge, Alberta, was leader of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada from the convention at Ottawa in October 1991 until March 1993. A difference of vision on leadership between Cavilla and the party board resulted in the transfer of leadership on an interim basis to...

(1991-1993)
Heather Stilwell
Heather Stilwell
Heather Stilwell was a political activist and former school trustee in Surrey, British Columbia. A staunch Roman Catholic, she was well-known for her opinions opposing homosexuality, abortion, and sex education....

(1993-1994) (interim)
Jean Blaquiére
Jean Blaquière
Jean Blaquière, a Pentecostal pastor, was a candidate for the Christian Heritage Party of Canada in the Canadian federal election of 1993, and won the party leadership in March 1994 at a Vancouver convention, in a race with two other contenders....

(1994-1995)
Ron Gray
Ron Gray
Ronald "Ron" O. Gray is a minor Canadian federal politician. He was the leader of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada from 1995 to 2008.-Early life:...

(1995-2008)
Jim Hnatiuk
Jim Hnatiuk
Jim Hnatiuk is the leader of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada. He was elected to that post in November 2008.As a youth, he attended a boarding school run by Oblate priests...

(2008- )

External links