Red Book (Liberal Party of Canada)
Encyclopedia
The Red Book, officially titled Creating Opportunity: The Liberal Plan for Canada was the platform of the Liberal Party of Canada
in the 1993 federal election
. It earned its name from its bright red cover, red being the official colour of the Liberals. It was a 112 page booklet; many thousands of copies of it were printed, and it was widely distributed. There was even talk of trying to mail a copy to each Canadian household, but it was decided this would be too expensive.
It was also rare in Canada to have an entire platform released at once. Generally, a party would release a policy idea, wait for it to gather as much media attention as possible, and then release another. Those ideas had also been released during speeches by the party leader, not printed in unbending prose.
Perhaps most central was that the Liberal Red Book gave costs for each of their promises and summed them. Never before had a party attempted to clearly prove that its promises were fiscally responsible and practical.
It was one of the first "contract
with the public" type platforms, an idea used by the United States
Republican Party
in its 1994 Contract with America
and Mike Harris
's 1995 Common Sense Revolution
in Ontario
.
government of Brian Mulroney
. The Liberals under Jean Chrétien
were worried by a jump in Tory support with the selection of new leader Kim Campbell
.
A larger concern was the general Canadian antipathy towards politicians after the tumultuous and scandal plagued Mulroney years. The 1992 referendum
on the Charlottetown Accord
was widely interpreted of a rejection of Canada's political elite by the general population.
To attempt to break through the cynicism and distrust the Liberals felt that being more specific and making many promises would help ensure a victory, thus the Red Book was created.
The Red Book was drafted mainly by Paul Martin
, who finished as runner-up in the 1990 Liberal leadership convention to Chrétien, and Chaviva Hosek
a top policy official with the Liberals. By giving Martin a prominent role in the campaign, this was seen as Chrétien's attempt to unify the Liberal Party.
. The Conservatives were nearly eliminated from the political scene, falling to two seats in the worst defeat ever suffered for a governing party at the federal level.
, which the Liberals had promised to replace but did not. Critics also said that the Liberals had broken their promises to increase the power of individual Members of Parliament and introducing a national childcare
program.
In Chrétien's view, the majority of the promises were kept. He famously argued that 78% were honoured, a mark he could live with. Others contest whether some of these promises were kept or not. Some of the most notable promises from the Red Book that were kept were the pledge to cancel the purchase of new naval helicopter
s, canceling the sale of Toronto Pearson International Airport
, reforming unemployment insurance
, more gun control
, and reducing the size of the armed forces with the end of the Cold War
. Perhaps the most important pledge kept was that of returning Canada to fiscal solvency.
New Liberal Red Books were published for the 1997
and 2000 elections
. These contained far fewer specifics and more generalities.
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
in the 1993 federal election
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...
. It earned its name from its bright red cover, red being the official colour of the Liberals. It was a 112 page booklet; many thousands of copies of it were printed, and it was widely distributed. There was even talk of trying to mail a copy to each Canadian household, but it was decided this would be too expensive.
Purpose
It was exceptional in how specific it was; while platforms before and since have contained a few substantive promises and many vague statements of principle, the Red Book laid out a long list of changes that the Liberals would make if brought to power.It was also rare in Canada to have an entire platform released at once. Generally, a party would release a policy idea, wait for it to gather as much media attention as possible, and then release another. Those ideas had also been released during speeches by the party leader, not printed in unbending prose.
Perhaps most central was that the Liberal Red Book gave costs for each of their promises and summed them. Never before had a party attempted to clearly prove that its promises were fiscally responsible and practical.
It was one of the first "contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
with the public" type platforms, an idea used by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in its 1994 Contract with America
Contract with America
The Contract with America was a document released by the United States Republican Party during the 1994 Congressional election campaign. Written by Larry Hunter, who was aided by Newt Gingrich, Robert Walker, Richard Armey, Bill Paxon, Tom DeLay, John Boehner and Jim Nussle, and in part using text...
and Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
's 1995 Common Sense Revolution
Common Sense Revolution
The phrase Common Sense Revolution has been used as a political slogan to describe common sense conservative platforms in Australia and the U.S. state of New Jersey in the 1990s. Based on the Singapore Model of economics, its main goal is to reduce taxes while balancing the budget by reducing the...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
1993 Election
The Liberals, out of power since 1984, were widely expected to win the 1993 election based on the great pan-Canadian dislike for the Progressive ConservativeProgressive 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....
government of Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
. The Liberals under Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
were worried by a jump in Tory support with the selection of new leader Kim Campbell
Kim Campbell
Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993...
.
A larger concern was the general Canadian antipathy towards politicians after the tumultuous and scandal plagued Mulroney years. The 1992 referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on the Charlottetown Accord
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October 26 of that year, and was defeated.-Background:...
was widely interpreted of a rejection of Canada's political elite by the general population.
To attempt to break through the cynicism and distrust the Liberals felt that being more specific and making many promises would help ensure a victory, thus the Red Book was created.
The Red Book was drafted mainly by Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, who finished as runner-up in the 1990 Liberal leadership convention to Chrétien, and Chaviva Hosek
Chaviva Hosek
Chaviva Milada Hošek, OC is a Canadian academic, feminist and former politician.-Background:The child of Holocaust survivors, Hošek was born to a Hungarian Jewish family living in Bohemia and raised in Montreal...
a top policy official with the Liberals. By giving Martin a prominent role in the campaign, this was seen as Chrétien's attempt to unify the Liberal Party.
Impact
The Liberals rolled out the Red Book on September 19, not long after the September 8 election call. Several days later, the Progressive Conservatives released the hastily assembled A Taxpayer's Agenda, but the Liberals had captured the reputation of being the party with ideas since they had essentially released their entire platform. Thanks to the Red Book as well as a gradual decline in support for the governing Conservatives (unpopularity, vote splitting with Reform and Bloc), the Liberals won a strong majority government with 177 seats—the third-best result in the party's history, and their best performance since their record 190 seats in the 1949 electionCanadian federal election, 1949
The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...
. The Conservatives were nearly eliminated from the political scene, falling to two seats in the worst defeat ever suffered for a governing party at the federal level.
Broken promises
The specificity of the Red Book came back to haunt the Liberals, however, and much of the next few years were spent defending broken promises. The most notable of these was the Goods and Services TaxGoods and Services Tax (Canada)
The Goods and Services Tax is a multi-level value added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991, by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his finance minister Michael Wilson. The GST replaced a hidden 13.5% Manufacturers' Sales Tax ; Mulroney claimed the GST was implemented because the MST...
, which the Liberals had promised to replace but did not. Critics also said that the Liberals had broken their promises to increase the power of individual Members of Parliament and introducing a national childcare
Childcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
program.
In Chrétien's view, the majority of the promises were kept. He famously argued that 78% were honoured, a mark he could live with. Others contest whether some of these promises were kept or not. Some of the most notable promises from the Red Book that were kept were the pledge to cancel the purchase of new naval helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, canceling the sale of Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...
, reforming unemployment insurance
Unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to unemployed people. Benefits may be based on a compulsory para-governmental insurance system...
, more gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
, and reducing the size of the armed forces with the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Perhaps the most important pledge kept was that of returning Canada to fiscal solvency.
New Liberal Red Books were published for the 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...
and 2000 elections
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....
. These contained far fewer specifics and more generalities.