Freedom Party of Canada
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| Freedom Party of Canada | |
|---|---|
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| Active Federal Party | |
| Founded | July 2001 |
| Leader | Paul McKeever |
| President | Robert Metz |
| Headquarters | 240 Commissioners Road West London, Ontario N6J 1Y1 |
| Political ideology | Laissez-faire capitalism |
| International alignment | Freedom Party International |
| Colours | Black, White, Burgundy, and Gold |
| Website | http://www.freedomparty.ca |
The Freedom Party of Canada (abbreviated to "FpC") was founded on July 20, 2001 by Paul McKeever (then a member of the executive of the Freedom Party of Ontario) and Robert Metz (President and co-founder of Freedom Party of Ontario). It has not registered itself with Elections Canada for election finance purposes and has never run candidates.
The Freedom Party of Canada is the federal counterpart of the Freedom Party of Ontario. Freedom Party of Ontario was founded in 1984. Although sometimes mislabelled libertarian, Freedom Party actually rejects the libertarian movement's neutrality on matters of ethics, arguing that freedom and capitalism can and must be defended on the ethical ground of rational self-interest. Freedom party rejects the libertarian movement's association with, and sympathy for, anarchism. It takes the view that government must exist, and that "the purpose of government is to protect individual freedom of choice, not to restrict it." Freedom Party refers to itself as a capitalist party, in the objectivist sense of the term capitalist.
The party advocates individual freedom and personal responsibility. It describes its political orientation as being in the tradition of John Locke and Ayn Rand. It is a pro-capitalist party and favours minimal government involvement in economic matters.
Freedom Party of Canada is associated with Freedom Party International, an organization formed to continue the educational role of Freedom Party of Ontario ("FpO") when FpO, in 2002, began the process of structuring itself to become an electoral party.
The party intends to field candidates federally no earlier than 2008. The party has released a platform called "The Right Direction" or the "burgundy book" which calls for a flat tax, less protectionism, more competition, and greater diversity on the social front.
The party is not related to the Freedom Socialist Party which has some members in Canada. Nor is it related to the Freedom Party of British Columbia.
