Here is every political party running in Ontario's June 7 election

Ottawacitizen.com
May 22, 2018
Blair Crawford

You probably won’t see their elections signs -- they may not even have a candidate in many of the province’s 124 ridings -- but Ontario is rich in fringe, or, shall we say, lower-prominence parties. Some are earnest. Some seem frivolous. Some have one-issue on their platform, while others seek a complete revamp of the social system.

Registering a political party is free, but the party must first reserve the name with Elections Ontario, then appoint a chief financial officer and auditor. Once registered, the party is eligible to receive contributions and issue tax receipts, finance political activities, have campaign expenses reimbursed and set up riding associations and candidates.

Here’s a brief look at all 28 parties that had registered for the election by the May 17 deadline:

Canadian Economic Party: The CEP registered with Elections Ontario on May 17, the final day to do so. It has two candidates in Toronto and a website the leads to a dead link.

Canadians Choice Party: Fielding five candidates, the CCP bills itself as an alternative to the “Gang of Three” and has recruited candidates from “independent thinkers, politically savvy activist and doers, who are passionate to remove an aggressive and untrustworthy Liberal government in Ontario.” CCP candidate James Sears, who faces hate crime charges for his controversial Your Ward News newsletter in Toronto, is running in Ottawa Centre.

Website: http://www.canadianschoice.com/

Communist Party of Canada (Ontario): The Communists say they offer a “people’s alternative” and vow to curb corporate power, while increasing jobs, raising wages and reforming taxes. They promise a “massive expansion of public service.” The party’s strategy is “to build a People’s Coalition of class and social forces willing to unite in a militant struggle for a common program to curb corporate power.” The communist party has a slate of 12 candidates, including two locally, in Ottawa Centre and Ottawa South.

website: http://communistpartyontario.ca/

Consensus Ontario: The party will work to abolish itself -- and all political parties -- in favour of a legislature of independent MPPs that it says will provide “better, truer representation of ridings in the legislature; strengthening all MPPs’ voices.” The party supports “all measures of populism” such as referenda and recall votes. Consensus has 10 candidates registered, but none in the Ottawa area.

website: http://www.consensusontario.ca/

Cultural Action Party of Canada: The CAP, with three candidates including one in Carleton, calls itself a populist movement and says the state has usurped citizens’ “God given rights.” According to its website, CAP “stands for constitutionalism, the rule of law, due process, free markets and individual liberties, including freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly. As importantly, we stand for the sanctity of the family, the very building block of society.”

website: http://www.constituents.online/

Freedom Party of Ontario: The Freedom Party is against the carbon tax, supports free speech, rejects “forced speech” and will “adapt” to climate change rather than try to fight it. It would scrap the Green Energy Act and the Liberal plan for cannabis sales. It sums up its philosophy as “commitments to reality, reason, self, and consent” and says all government decisions should be based on “facts and claims that are supported, ultimately, by physical evidence.” It has 14 candidates, including one in Ottawa-Vanier.

website: http://www.freedomparty.on.ca/

Go Vegan: Its leader is Paul Figueiras, but the party doesn’t have a website or online presence. It has two candidates in Toronto.

Green Party of Ontario: The Greens have never elected an MPP in Ontario, but nevertheless are a force in the election. Leader Mike Schreiner has led the party since 2009. The party’s three pillars -- jobs, people, planet -- are supported by its goals of a cleaner environment, and it says its policies are fully costed out. “We must defend the places we love on this planet,” the Greens say. “There is no Planet B.” Green party candidates are registered in every Ottawa area riding.

website: https://gpo.ca/

Independents: You don’t need to belong to a registered political party to run for the legislature. Thirty-two candidates listed either as “independent” or “no affiliation” will be on the ballot June 7, including in Carleton, Orleans and Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston.

Multicultural Party of Ontario: The party’s leader is Wasyl Luczkiw, but it does not have a website or online presence. It has two candidates in the Niagara area.

The New Democratic Party of Ontario: Leader Andrea Horwath is fighting her third election at the party’s helm. Ontario has had one NDP premier, Bob Rae, who won 74 seats and a stunning majority in 1990. Since then the party has struggled, running third in the next six elections and never winning more than the 21 seats it took in 2014.

website: https://www.ontariondp.ca/

None of the Above Direct Democracy Party: NOTA says it’s committed to the Three Rs -- Referendum, Recall and Real electoral and legislative Reforms. It wants MPPs who aren’t bound to their party, but rather by the concerns of their electorate. It has 42 candidates, including in six Ottawa and area ridings.

website: www.nota.ca

Northern Ontario Party (NOP): NOP has an agenda aimed at improving life and the economy of Northern Ontario. It calls for an end to the closing of northern schools and wants new schools built that can double as community centres, libraries and fulfil other community needs. It wants a 10-year tax break for new industries in the region. It’s pushing for Northern Ontario hydro power to replace Southern Ontario nuclear plants. It has 10 candidates, all in northern ridings.

website: www.northernontarioparty.org

Ontario Alliance: Ontario Alliance is a new party “made up of regular everyday folk like you, tired of wasteful government spending, disillusioned by regional disparity and sick and tired of the ever growing provincial debt.” It’s opposed to the carbon tax, the current school sex education plan, and promises a balanced budget with debt and deficit reduction and “rightsizing government.” It has four candidates, none in the Ottawa area.

website: https://www.ontario-alliance.ca/

Ontario Liberal Party: The party has ruled Ontario since 2003 with four straight election wins, three of them by majority. Leader Kathleen Wynne takes the party into her second election, but is personally unpopular and the party is currently running third place in the polls. The Liberals are touting free childcare programs, a high-speed rail link across central and southern Ontario and have plans to raise the minimum wage to $15 as of Jan. 1, 2019. It has also launched attacks on Conservative leader Doug Ford.

website: http://www.ontarioliberal.ca/

Ontario Libertarian Party: With a vision of “prospering in peaceful freedom through private property protection” the Libertarians are running more than 100 candidates and will be on the ballot in all Ottawa-area ridings. The party promises a path to prosperity by “reducing the emphasis and reliance on exclusively government delivered programs and services” while giving people “unfettered” access to privately delivered services “without artificial rationing and government control.”

website: http://www.libertarian.on.ca/

Ontario Moderate Party: The Moderates bill themselves as a “party of the political centre.” It pushes for civil liberties, economic liberalism and environmental sustainability. It sees technical innovation, such as hydrogen hybrid cars and residential rooftop wind turbines as an engine for the Ontario economy. The party will field 16 candidates, none in the Ottawa area.

website: http://www.ontariomoderate.com/

Ontario Provincial Confederation of Regions Party:

The party has two registered candidates, including its president, Murray Reid, who is running in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke. Though its website was last updated in 2013, it claims the existing big three parties are corrupt and takes a strong stance against bilingualism.

website: https://sites.google.com/site/ontariocorparty/home

Ontario Social Reform Party: SRP has two candidates in the Toronto’s 905 area. No other information was available.

Party for People with Special Needs:

Founded in 2007, the Party for People with Special Needs advocates for people with a disability and their families. The party, which has candidates in five Toronto ridings, asserts that “when we help a people with disabilities, we are helping everyone.” Its goal is to apply pressure on major parties to listen to people with disabilities and understand their issues.

website: http://www.ppsn.on.ca/

Party of Objective Truth: P.O.T. has two candidates, including one in Nepean. It registered on the final day and has a website that is “under construction.” No other details were available.

website: https://www.objectivetruth.xyz/bc/

Pauper Party of Ontario: Leader John ‘The Engineer’ Turmel’s name should be familiar. Since 1979, he’s run in more than 90 elections at all levels of government. An Ottawa native and a Carleton University graduate, Turmel is listed in Guinness World Records for most elections contested. He has never won, but is looking to end that streak in Brantford-Brant.

website: none

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario: The Conservatives once won 12 consecutive elections in Ontario, but haven’t formed the government since their 2003 loss to the Liberals. Despite a chaotic winter that saw a leadership switch just months before the election, the Conservatives remain atop the polls, riding a wave of popularity under new leader, Doug Ford, a former Toronto city councillor running in his first provincial election.

website: http://www.ontariopc.com/

Stop Climate Change: Registering on the final day, the party has two candidates in the Peterborough area. No other details were available.

The New People’s Choice Party of Ontario: The party proposes to fight traffic congestion in downtown Toronto by charging drivers a $20 fee to bring their cars into the urban core and retrofitting infrastructure to reduce the need for fossil fuels. It wants “common sense” drug policy and legalized cannabis sold through private stores, not the proposed government-run pot stores. The party has three candidates, but none in the Ottawa area.

http://www.thenewpeopleschoiceparty.com/

The Ontario Party: Another latecomer to the election, the Ontario Party will field candidates in five ridings, including Carleton and Glengarry-Prescott-Russell. Its website is inactive.

website: www.bringontarioback.com

The People’s Political Party: Leader Kevin Clarke is a social activist and former candidate for Toronto mayor. In a YouTube video on the party’s Facebook page, Clarke describes himself as a former homeless drug addict who rose from poverty and attacks Toronto Mayor John Tory’s record on social and municipal services. It has six candidates, all in the Toronto area.

website: http://www.facebook.com/groups/407423382746893/

Stop the New Sex Ed Agenda: Leader Queenie Yu believes “Kathleen Wynne’s sex-ed curriculum ‘sexualizes children’ ” and hopes her candidacy can raise the issue among other parties. The party has three candidates in Toronto.

website: http://www.stopwynnesexed.ca/

Trillium Party of Ontario: The Trillium Party’s leader is Bob Yaciuk, but it’s highest profile candidate is incumbent MPP Jack MacLaren, who was ousted last year from the Conservatives. MacLaren is running in the realigned riding of Kanata-Carleton. Formed in 2014, the party’s guiding principle places “the rights of the individual above those of the state” and insists all legislation “must be scrutinized to ensure it does not violate or infringe on private property rights.” Trillium has a slate of 26 candidates for the election.

website: https://trilliumontario.ca/