Seventy-one independent and non-affiliated candidates contested the 2008 Canadian federal election in different ridings across the country. Of these, two were elected: André Arthur

André Arthur

André Arthur is a Canadian radio host and politician. He was the independent Member of Parliament for the riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier from 2006 to 2011...

 in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier

Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier

Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, and Bill Casey

Bill Casey

William D. "Bill" Casey is a Canadian politician. He is a former Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons.-Life and career:...

 in Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley

Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley

Cumberland—Colchester–Musquodoboit Valley is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. Both had served in the previous parliament. Arthur was first elected in 2006 as an independent, while Casey had served as a Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 and Conservative

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

 Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for many years before leaving the party due to policy differences.

Information about other candidates may be found on this page.

Brome—Missisquoi

Brome—Missisquoi

Brome—Missisquoi is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925...

: David Marler

David Francis Herbert Marler (born October 3, 1941 in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

) is a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 in Knowlton, Quebec who specializes in transportation and international law. After graduating from Malvern College

Malvern College

Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, he received a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in literature from Bishop's University

Bishop's University

Bishop's University is a predominantly undergraduate university in Lennoxville, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Bishop's is one of three universities in the province of Quebec that teach primarily in the English language...

 (1962) and a Bachelor of Laws

Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

 degree from McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 (1965). Marler has published articles on maritime

Admiralty law

Admiralty law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans...

 law, served as city councillor in Lac-Tremblant-Nord

Lac-Tremblant-Nord, Quebec

Lac-Tremblant-Nord is a small village and municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Les Laurentides Regional County Municipality. Its territory surrounds the northern portion of Lake Tremblant, includes Bibite Lake, and extends to Gervais Lake...

 (1970–72), and been a director of the Brome Lake Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

. He is member of the United Church of Canada

United Church of Canada

The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...

.

Marler's family has been active in politics and government for many decades. He is the grandson of Herbert Meredith Marler

Herbert Meredith Marler

Sir Herbert Meredith Marler, PC, KCMG was a Canadian politician and diplomat.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marler earned a law degree from McGill University and entered his father's notary business which eventually expanded into the firm Marler & Marler...

, who served as a cabinet minister in the government of William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...

, and a grand-nephew of George Carlyle Marler

George Carlyle Marler

George Carlyle Marler, PC was a politician, notary and philatelist in Quebec, Canada.He was born on September 14, 1901 in Montreal.-City Councillor:...

, who was a cabinet minister in the governments of Louis St. Laurent

Louis St. Laurent

Louis Stephen St. Laurent, PC, CC, QC , was the 12th Prime Minister of Canada from 15 November 1948, to 21 June 1957....

 and Jean Lesage

Jean Lesage

Jean Lesage, PC, CC, CD was a lawyer and politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 19th Premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960, to 16 August 1966...

.

Marler moved to Brome—Missisquoi in 2003 and ran for the Conservative Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

 in the 2006 federal election

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:...

, after defeating Jacques Dalton for the nomination. He highlighted his support for provincial rights within the Canadian constitution and actively supported his party's promise for more free votes in the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

. Marler's campaign manager described him as "the least conservative of Conservative candidates." He finished third against Bloc Québécois

Bloc Québécois

The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

 candidate Christian Ouellet

Christian Ouellet

Christian Ouellet, MP is a politician from the Canadian province of Quebec. He has represented Brome—Missisquoi in the Canadian House of Commons since 2006 as a member of the Bloc Québécois...

.

In December 2006, was appointed as a commissioner on the Eastern Townships School Board

Eastern Townships School Board

The Eastern Townships School Board, also known as the Commission Scholaire Eastern Townships, is an anglophone school board covering the Eastern Townships in the Canadian province of Quebec. As of 2010, it oversees twenty elementary schools, three high schools, and a learning center.-External links:*...

. He did not seek re-election in late 2007.

Marler left the Conservative Party in January 2008. He has said that he refused to accept thirty thousand dollars via the party's controversial "in-and-out" transfer scheme

In and Out scandal

The "In and Out" scandal is an ongoing Canadian political scandal involving allegations of improper election spending on the part of the Conservative Party of Canada during the closely contested 2006 federal election. Parliamentary hearings into the issue led to a deadlocking of various committees,...

 during the 2006 election, and that party officials later informed him they did not want him as a candidate in 2008. The Conservative Party rejected the accusation. (Under the "in-and-out" scheme, the Conservatives transferred national campaign money into individual ridings and before transferring it out again to pay for national advertising. In this way, the party was able to avoid national spending limits. Marler has said that he refused the transfer because he did not know what the money was for and could not get a clear explanation from party officials.)

In the 2008 election, Marler published a piece entitled, ""Sixty-Six Said Yes; a Personal Account of a Campaign and a Scandal," covering his involvement with the Conservative Party. He ran as an independent, saying that a Conservative majority government

Majority government

A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...

 would be dangerous for Canadian democracy.

Electoral record

Election	Division	Party	Votes	%	Place	Winner
2006 federal 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:...	Brome—Missisquoi Brome—Missisquoi Brome—Missisquoi is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925...	Conservative Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...	9,874	20.35	3/6	Christian Ouellet Christian Ouellet Christian Ouellet, MP is a politician from the Canadian province of Quebec. He has represented Brome—Missisquoi in the Canadian House of Commons since 2006 as a member of the Bloc Québécois... , Bloc Québécois Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
2008 federal 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...	Brome—Missisquoi Brome—Missisquoi Brome—Missisquoi is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925...	Independent	354	0.71	6/6	Christian Ouellet Christian Ouellet Christian Ouellet, MP is a politician from the Canadian province of Quebec. He has represented Brome—Missisquoi in the Canadian House of Commons since 2006 as a member of the Bloc Québécois... , Bloc Québécois Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...