Freedom Party

Some of you may be asked (if you haven't already) what the difference is between the Ontario Libertarian Party and the Freedom Party. Here's an email I received during the October 2011 provincial election.

"Hello, I see that there is a Libertarian Party of Ontario... and also a Freedom Party of Ontario. At first glance, your party seems very much the same as the Freedom Party.

"Could you explain to me how your parties are different? How do you intend to compete with a party like the Freedom Party who is so similar to you?"

This is how I answered the question.

"The Freedom Party is a spin-off from the Ontario Libertarian Party, formed when a few members were unhappy with the direction of the Party. One difference is that the Ontario Libertarian Party, and the Libertarian Party of Canada, are 'democratic' organizations in that the members elect the leaders and the executive, while I believe that the Freedom Party appoints the leader and executive. The Freedom Party tends to be more pragmatic in an effort to win more votes, while we try to have our candidates focus on the principles in an effort to attract more libertarians. Paul McKeever, the leader of the Freedom Party has declared that they are NOT libertarians; they don't want less government, just BETTER government. (Search for Paul McKeever on YouTube.) I have also heard that they insist their candidates must be atheists, and they tend to be Objectivists.

"I don't see any real problem competing with the Freedom Party. After all, we believe competition is good, even in politics. I'm inclined to consider votes for either party as votes for more freedom and less government, in spite of McKeever's comments. Our long term objective is not so much to win the most seats, but to change the political culture from one which believes government is the solution to one where voters understand that government is the problem. If we can follow the NDP model and win enough votes (and seats) to get the government of the day to steal parts of our platform, I will consider that a success.

"Our objective for the next election is to run candidates in every riding in Ontario. I hope you will join us and help us to reach that goal. You should come to our Annual Liberty Seminar and Convention on Saturday November 5 to find out more. You can register here http://www.ontariolibertarian.ca/convention."

Of course if the Convention is over, invite tham to a Pub Night instead.

A Little History

The Freedom Party was first formed as the Unparty Party (Ontario) [1] in 1980. Two of the founders were Mark Emery (the Prince of Pot) and Mary Lou Gutscher (a former Chair of the Ontario Libertarian Party). It subsequently changed it's name to the Freedom Party. You can find out more about the Freedom Party on Wikipedia and their web site.