Manitoba Reform Party

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The Manitoba Reform Party was a right-wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It was previously known as the Confederation of Regions Party of Manitoba, and had competed under that name in the provincial elections of 1986, 1988 and 1990.

The name change occurred in April 1991, following a mail-in referendum ballot among the party's members. 67% of those who responded were reported as favouring the name change. (It may be noted that the Manitoba CoR only had about 65-70 members during this period.)

The name change was met with a legal challenge from the Reform Party of Canada, which had no formal connection to the Manitoba organization. It was also opposed by Elmer Knutson, the national CoR leader. For their part, the Manitoba Reformers argued that as no other group had applied to use the name on a provincial level, their right to use it should go unchallenged. The Court of Appeals in Manitoba sided with the Manitoba party, and the name change was permitted.

The party's president was Irene Armishaw, former president of the Manitoba CoR. She may have been the party's political leader as well.

In September 1992, the Manitoba Reform Party contested two provincial by-elections. Ken Carver received 97 votes in Crescentwood, and anti-bilingualism activist Fred Debrecen received 388 votes in Portage La Prairie. Neither came close to being elected.

The party was still registered with Elections Manitoba for the 1995 provincial election, but did not run any candidates. Its subsequent history is unclear.

See also: Canadian political parties