New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party
Encyclopedia
The New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party was a political party in the Province
of New Brunswick
, Canada
.
It was the only branch of the Confederation of Regions Party to win any seats. It held official status in the Legislative Assembly
between 1991 and 1995, before losing all its seats in the following election.
In the late 1980s, support for the Progressive Conservative
Party of Premier
Richard Hatfield
had collapsed because of corruption scandals in the government. As well, many English-speaking New Brunswick
ers were unhappy with the government's promotion of official bilingualism
(the use of English and French in public services).
CoR promised to repeal the 1969 Official Languages Act, which made the French language
equal for official purposes with English on a province-wide basis. CoR proposed providing government services in French only in areas with a large francophone
population. The French-speaking Acadian
population believed this to be an anti-francophone policy, so the CoR had no support in areas with large francophone populations.
In the 1988 federal election
, the CoR party had considerable success in New Brunswick. CoR nominated candidates in seven of the ten federal ridings in the 1988 election, and won 4.3% of the vote within the province.
The CoR party's provincial wing was founded in 1989. Miramichi
businessman Arch Pafford
was elected leader, and former Hatfield cabinet minister Ed Allen
became the party's most notable candidate.
The party's greatest success came in the 1991 provincial election
. Going into the election, the provincial Liberals held all the seats in the legislature, but many conservatives, especially in the Fredericton area and rural southern New Brunswick, were still upset with the PC Party over the bilingualism issue. CoR was able to capitalize on the situation and captured 21.2% of the vote (87,256 votes) and eight seats despite running in only 48 ridings.
The included map shows where the Confederation of Regions party concentrated their efforts during the 1991 election. It ran full slates in Northumberland
, Westmorland
and Victoria
counties, which have mixed English-speaking and Acadian populations, and a full slate in the Acadian-but-bilingual Restigouche
county. The party also nominated one candidate in Kent County
, two in Gloucester County
. No candidates for the CoR ran in the very unilingual French Madawaska
County. See map below.
The Progressive Conservatives, which ran a full slate of 58 candidates, received only 20.7% of the vote.
The 1991 election allowed the Confederation of Regions party to sit as the official opposition, and their success prompted pro-bilingual politicians to enshrine section 16.1
in the Charter of Rights
to strengthen New Brunswick's bilingualism. However, the CoR's leader, Arch Pafford, had not been able to win his seat. Danny Cameron
was chosen as the interim leader, and went on to run for party leader at a 1992 convention in Campbellton. There, he nearly defeated rival Brent Taylor.
Cameron had been seen as a moderate candidate for the leadership, while Taylor was seen as more radical. Internal differences resulted in political infighting within the CoR. A year after Cameron's election, the party executive, president, and council sought to remove him as leader. He resisted. The party council then held a leadership race, and elected Brent Taylor as the leader of the CoR, but Cameron and his supporters argued that the race was illegal. Cameron's supporters later gained control over the party's presidency, allowing Cameron to fire a large portion of the party executive and council. CoR MLAs Brent Taylor and Bev Brine were kicked out of the caucus in 1994 due to their ongoing opposition to Cameron. During this period, party membership dropped from 20,000 to 5,000.
Cameron eventually chose to resign the leadership to try and settle the internal divisions affecting the party. The entire party membership were allowed to vote in the race the followed. Pro-Taylor Gary Ewart (not a sitting MLA) was chosen over the pro-Cameron Greg Hargrove, but neither Ewart nor caucus leader Ab Rector were able to resolve their differences with Cameron's supporters. Ewart resigned 23 days later, leaving the party in limbo. The executive elected Greg Hargrove
leader in time for the 1995 election
, but the damage had been done. None of the party Members of the Legislative Assembly were re-elected in 1995, and the party received just 27,684 votes (7.1% of the popular vote), placing them behind the New Democrats
.
By 1999, Conservative voters were being wooed back by the charismatic leadership of Bernard Lord, who looked poised to return the party to power after ten years in the wilderness. The Confederation of Region Party, now led by Jim Webb
, slipped further in the 1999 provincial election
to just 2,807 votes (0.7% of the total). Following the election, Colby Fraser, who had run federally for the party in 1988, replaced Webb as leader. By 2001, the party was little more than a few computer files in Fraser's basement. At that time, Fraser contacted the remaining members, who voted to dissolve the party. The dissolution formally occurred March 31, 2002.
The Confederation of Regions Party had its greatest success in New Brunswick and Canada during a period of considerable tension between the country's and province's francophone and anglophone populations. The Conservatives under the leadership of Bernard Lord were able to gain considerable support not only from old CoR supporters, but from Acadians as well.
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
It was the only branch of the Confederation of Regions Party to win any seats. It held official status in the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...
between 1991 and 1995, before losing all its seats in the following election.
In the late 1980s, support for the Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...
Party of Premier
Premier (Canada)
In Canada, a premier is the head of government of a province or territory. There are currently ten provincial premiers and three territorial premiers in Canada....
Richard Hatfield
Richard Hatfield
Richard Bennett Hatfield, PC, ONB was a New Brunswick politician and long time Premier of the province .- Early life :...
had collapsed because of corruption scandals in the government. As well, many English-speaking New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
ers were unhappy with the government's promotion of official bilingualism
Official bilingualism
Official bilingualism refers to the policy adopted by some states of recognizing two languages as official and producing all official documents, and handling all correspondence and official dealings, including Court procedure, in the two said languages...
(the use of English and French in public services).
CoR promised to repeal the 1969 Official Languages Act, which made the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
equal for official purposes with English on a province-wide basis. CoR proposed providing government services in French only in areas with a large francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
population. The French-speaking Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
population believed this to be an anti-francophone policy, so the CoR had no support in areas with large francophone populations.
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 ....
, the CoR party had considerable success in New Brunswick. CoR nominated candidates in seven of the ten federal ridings in the 1988 election, and won 4.3% of the vote within the province.
The CoR party's provincial wing was founded in 1989. Miramichi
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...
businessman Arch Pafford
Arch Pafford
Arch C. Pafford is a politician in New Brunswick, Canada.In the 1988 federal election, he ran for office as a candidate of the Confederation of Regions Party of Canada . He placed third with 10.7% of the vote in the riding of Miramichi...
was elected leader, and former Hatfield cabinet minister Ed Allen
Ed Allen (politician)
Edwin G. "Ed" Allen was a New Brunswick politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1978 to 1987 and again from 1991 to 1995...
became the party's most notable candidate.
The party's greatest success came in the 1991 provincial election
New Brunswick general election, 1991
The 32nd New Brunswick general election was held on September 23, 1991, to elect 58 members to the 52nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada....
. Going into the election, the provincial Liberals held all the seats in the legislature, but many conservatives, especially in the Fredericton area and rural southern New Brunswick, were still upset with the PC Party over the bilingualism issue. CoR was able to capitalize on the situation and captured 21.2% of the vote (87,256 votes) and eight seats despite running in only 48 ridings.
Northumberland County, New Brunswick
Northumberland County , having the largest area of any county in the province, is located in northeastern New Brunswick, Canada.-Geography:Northumberland County is covered by thick forests, whose products stimulate the economy...
, Westmorland
Westmorland County, New Brunswick
Westmorland County is located in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. The county contains the fast-growing commercial centre of Moncton as well as its northern and eastern suburbs...
and Victoria
Victoria County, New Brunswick
Victoria County is located in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. Farming, especially of potatoes, is the major industry in the county.-Communities:...
counties, which have mixed English-speaking and Acadian populations, and a full slate in the Acadian-but-bilingual Restigouche
Restigouche County, New Brunswick
Restigouche County is located in north-central New Brunswick, Canada. The county is named for the Restigouche River which flows through the county and is famous for its salmon pools, which have attracted wealthy American and Canadian tourists to the region's summer colonies for decades...
county. The party also nominated one candidate in Kent County
Kent County, New Brunswick
Kent County is located in east-central New Brunswick, Canada. The county features a unique blend of cultures including Mi'kmaq, Acadian and English Speaking Settlers...
, two in Gloucester County
Gloucester County, New Brunswick
Gloucester County is located in the northeastern corner of New Brunswick, Canada. Fishing, mining and forestry are the major industries in the county...
. No candidates for the CoR ran in the very unilingual French Madawaska
Madawaska County, New Brunswick
Madawaska County , also known as the "New Brunswick Panhandle", is located in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. Over 90% of the county's population speaks French...
County. See map below.
The Progressive Conservatives, which ran a full slate of 58 candidates, received only 20.7% of the vote.
The 1991 election allowed the Confederation of Regions party to sit as the official opposition, and their success prompted pro-bilingual politicians to enshrine section 16.1
Section Sixteen One of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Section 16.1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the newest section of the Charter. It was enacted by the Constitution Amendment, 1993 and guarantees equality between English-speaking and French-speaking New Brunswickers.Section 16.1 is not to be confused with subsection 16 , which...
in the Charter of Rights
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...
to strengthen New Brunswick's bilingualism. However, the CoR's leader, Arch Pafford, had not been able to win his seat. Danny Cameron
Danny Cameron
Daniel Ernest Cameron was the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada, from 1991 to 1995, as leader of the Confederation of Regions Party of New Brunswick, a conservative political party....
was chosen as the interim leader, and went on to run for party leader at a 1992 convention in Campbellton. There, he nearly defeated rival Brent Taylor.
Cameron had been seen as a moderate candidate for the leadership, while Taylor was seen as more radical. Internal differences resulted in political infighting within the CoR. A year after Cameron's election, the party executive, president, and council sought to remove him as leader. He resisted. The party council then held a leadership race, and elected Brent Taylor as the leader of the CoR, but Cameron and his supporters argued that the race was illegal. Cameron's supporters later gained control over the party's presidency, allowing Cameron to fire a large portion of the party executive and council. CoR MLAs Brent Taylor and Bev Brine were kicked out of the caucus in 1994 due to their ongoing opposition to Cameron. During this period, party membership dropped from 20,000 to 5,000.
Cameron eventually chose to resign the leadership to try and settle the internal divisions affecting the party. The entire party membership were allowed to vote in the race the followed. Pro-Taylor Gary Ewart (not a sitting MLA) was chosen over the pro-Cameron Greg Hargrove, but neither Ewart nor caucus leader Ab Rector were able to resolve their differences with Cameron's supporters. Ewart resigned 23 days later, leaving the party in limbo. The executive elected Greg Hargrove
Greg Hargrove
Gregory James Hargrove is a former politician in New Brunswick, Canada. He led the New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party from 1995-1999....
leader in time for the 1995 election
New Brunswick general election, 1995
The 33rd New Brunswick general election was held on September 11, 1995, to elect 55 members to the 53rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election marked the debut of Bernard Valcourt as a provincial politician, and as leader of a...
, but the damage had been done. None of the party Members of the Legislative Assembly were re-elected in 1995, and the party received just 27,684 votes (7.1% of the popular vote), placing them behind the New Democrats
New Brunswick New Democratic Party
The New Brunswick New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada linked with the federal New Democratic Party .-Origins and early history:...
.
By 1999, Conservative voters were being wooed back by the charismatic leadership of Bernard Lord, who looked poised to return the party to power after ten years in the wilderness. The Confederation of Region Party, now led by Jim Webb
Jim Webb (Canada)
Jim Webb was one of the founding members of the New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party, a conservative political party in New Brunswick, Canada....
, slipped further in the 1999 provincial election
New Brunswick general election, 1999
The 34th New Brunswick general election was held on June 7, 1999, to elect 55 members to the 54th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It marked the debut of both Camille Thériault and Bernard Lord as leaders of the Liberals and...
to just 2,807 votes (0.7% of the total). Following the election, Colby Fraser, who had run federally for the party in 1988, replaced Webb as leader. By 2001, the party was little more than a few computer files in Fraser's basement. At that time, Fraser contacted the remaining members, who voted to dissolve the party. The dissolution formally occurred March 31, 2002.
The Confederation of Regions Party had its greatest success in New Brunswick and Canada during a period of considerable tension between the country's and province's francophone and anglophone populations. The Conservatives under the leadership of Bernard Lord were able to gain considerable support not only from old CoR supporters, but from Acadians as well.
Party leaders
- Arch PaffordArch PaffordArch C. Pafford is a politician in New Brunswick, Canada.In the 1988 federal election, he ran for office as a candidate of the Confederation of Regions Party of Canada . He placed third with 10.7% of the vote in the riding of Miramichi...
(1989-1991) - Danny CameronDanny CameronDaniel Ernest Cameron was the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada, from 1991 to 1995, as leader of the Confederation of Regions Party of New Brunswick, a conservative political party....
(1991-1992) (interim leaderInterim leaderAn interim leader, in Canadian politics, is a party leader appointed by the party's legislative caucus or the party's executive to temporarily act as leader when a gap occurs between the resignation or death of a party leader and the election of a formal successor...
) - Brent Taylor (1992) - Taylor's election was later deemed illegal
- Danny CameronDanny CameronDaniel Ernest Cameron was the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada, from 1991 to 1995, as leader of the Confederation of Regions Party of New Brunswick, a conservative political party....
(1992-1995) - Ab Rector (1995) (interim leaderInterim leaderAn interim leader, in Canadian politics, is a party leader appointed by the party's legislative caucus or the party's executive to temporarily act as leader when a gap occurs between the resignation or death of a party leader and the election of a formal successor...
) - Gary Ewart (1995)
- Ab Rector (1995) (interim leaderInterim leaderAn interim leader, in Canadian politics, is a party leader appointed by the party's legislative caucus or the party's executive to temporarily act as leader when a gap occurs between the resignation or death of a party leader and the election of a formal successor...
) - Greg HargroveGreg HargroveGregory James Hargrove is a former politician in New Brunswick, Canada. He led the New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party from 1995-1999....
(1995-1999) - Jim WebbJim Webb (Canada)Jim Webb was one of the founding members of the New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party, a conservative political party in New Brunswick, Canada....
(1999) - Colby Fraser (1999-2002)
Election results
The CoR Party contested three general elections, with dimishing success. Despite being shut out of the legislature in 1995, they placed second in a number of ridings while by 1999 they placed fourth in every riding they ran a candidate.| Election | Seats Won | Second Place | Third Place | Fourth Place | Not on ballot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 New Brunswick general election, 1991 The 32nd New Brunswick general election was held on September 23, 1991, to elect 58 members to the 52nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada.... |
8 | 18 | 17 | 5 | 10 |
| 1995 New Brunswick general election, 1995 The 33rd New Brunswick general election was held on September 11, 1995, to elect 55 members to the 53rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election marked the debut of Bernard Valcourt as a provincial politician, and as leader of a... |
- | 2 | 17 | 17 | 19 |
| 1999 New Brunswick general election, 1999 The 34th New Brunswick general election was held on June 7, 1999, to elect 55 members to the 54th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It marked the debut of both Camille Thériault and Bernard Lord as leaders of the Liberals and... |
- | - | - | 18 | 37 |
See also
- List of New Brunswick political parties