1. Political Parties

2. Political Parties of Canada  The New Democrats (NDP)  The Bloc Québécois  The Liberals  The Conservative Party of Canada  The Green Party  Various other political parties

3. What are Political Parties? Canada has a multi-party electoral system Political parties are organized groups of people that have come together to support a particular ideology or represent a certain view Political parties can sometimes represent regions within Canada In Canada, you do not have to be a member of a political party to win a seat in the House of Commons (it helps though)

4. Current Party leaders

5. Political Posturing “Like dogs, Canadian political parties sniff each other out”

6. Political Debates In every election, the leaders of the major political parties are invited to debate the issues of the dayIn every election, the leaders of the major political parties are invited to debate the issues of the day Each leader presents his/her party’s position on specific issuesEach leader presents his/her party’s position on specific issues Political debates provide Canadians with insight into each party’s platform or position on issues that they feel are importantPolitical debates provide Canadians with insight into each party’s platform or position on issues that they feel are important Each party attempts to attract public support by backing certain issues that are consistent with the party’s ideologyEach party attempts to attract public support by backing certain issues that are consistent with the party’s ideology

7. Party Platforms Political parties that are running for election present their party platform to the publicPolitical parties that are running for election present their party platform to the public Party platforms are policies and promises made by the party to generate public support and interest in their partyParty platforms are policies and promises made by the party to generate public support and interest in their party Every party presents policies and promises that will generate votes in their favour when election day arrivesEvery party presents policies and promises that will generate votes in their favour when election day arrives

8. Canadian Political Parties on the Political Spectrum Green Party Bloc Québécois Conservatives

9. Canadian Political Spectrum Another perspective

10. The Bloc Québécois www.blocquebecois.org The leader of the Bloc Québécois is Gilles Duceppe The Bloc’s main aim is to make Québéc a sovereign nation In addition, they support a separate healthcare system, the military being used for peacekeeping, same-sex marriage, decriminalization of marijuana, tougher laws on crime, government accountability, gun registry, etc.

11. The Conservative Party of Canada The leader of the Conservative party is Stephen Harper The Conservatives support traditional values such as supporting families, tax breaks, Canadian peacekeeping efforts in Afghanistan, government accountability, tougher laws on drugs and crime, etc www.conservative.ca

12. The Liberal Party of Canada Current leader of the Liberal party is Michael Ignatieff The Liberals support issues such as renewable energy, the environment, fight poverty, fulfillment of Aboriginal peoples, rural economic diversity, healthcare, etc. www.liberal.ca

13. The New Democratic Party Currently led by Jack Layton Support a number of issues such as healthcare, education, the environment, poverty, electoral reform, etc. The NDP was founded in 1961 and led by the famous Tommy Douglas who was prominent in establishing Canada’s medicare system The NDP promotes itself as the people’s party and supports labour and social programs such as healthcare and education Some of the NDP past leaders include: David Lewis, Ed Broadbent, Audrey McLaughlin, and Alexa McDonough www.ndp.ca

14. The Green Party http://green.ca/en/about_us http://green.ca/en/about_us The Green Party's chief goals are the environment, healthcare and education. The Green Party also believes in: Screening immigrants for criminal records. Electrical, hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell cars are the way of the future. Stop subsidizing the oil industry with $5.9 billion in Canadian tax dollars every year. Better housing policies for the poor.Creating "Green Collar" jobs that help the environment AND boost the economy. Changing the voting system so it more accurately depicts Canadian political beliefs, instead of the one with most votes takes all.Give farmers a more fair share instead of big business taking the lion's share of the profits. Lower taxes on income, profit and investment, while raising taxes on cigarettes, pollution and waste. Invest in alternative energy. Stop sharing energy with the United States. Instead, build and subsidize more solar panels, wind farms and water-powered solutions.