// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy join the Ontario Libertarian Party? It's a free choice.
This article may contain excessive or inappropriate references to self-published sources. (August 2025) |
Ontario Libertarian Party Parti libertarien de l'Ontario | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Sean Conroy |
| President | Michelle Lashbrook |
| Deputy Leader | Justin Leroux |
| Chairperson | Michelle Lashbrook |
| Vice Chairman | Scott Marshall |
| Secretary | Coreen Corcoran[1] |
| Chief Financial Officer | Neal Donnelly |
| Founded | July 24, 1974 |
| Registered | August 18, 1976[2] |
| Headquarters | 5115 County Road 10 Fournier ON K0B 1G0 |
| Membership (2018) | <600[3] |
| Ideology | |
| Colours | Yellow |
| Website | |
| libertarian | |
The Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP; French: Parti libertarien de l'Ontario) is a minor libertarian party in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The party is guided by a charter of principles, and proposes an Ontario charter of rights and freedoms which includes a section on immigration language restrictions.[4] It holds that Ontario is a "sovereign state within the nation of Canada", and seeks to increase provincial autonomy.[5]
History
[edit]On May 26, 1974, Terry Coughlin was elected the first leader of the party at the Libertarian Party of Canada convention.[6] The party was officially founded on July 24, 1974 in Whitby.[7]
In 1978, a benefit concert named "Rock Against Repression" was organised by the punk group Battered Wives; proceeds were split between the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Ontario Libertarian Party.[8]
Leaders
[edit]| Leader | Term start | Term end | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Dance | June 9, 1995 | 1996 | Interim |
| Sam Apelbaum | October 1996 | November 5, 2011[9] | |
| Allen Small | November 5, 2011[10][9] | July 13, 2018 | |
| Rob Ferguson | July 13, 2018[11] | November 2, 2019 | Interim |
| Keith Komar | November 2, 2019[12][13] | October 24, 2021 | |
| Mark Snow | October 24, 2021[12][14] | November 15, 2025 | |
| Sean Conroy | November 15, 2025[12] | present |
Election results
[edit]
In the 2007 general election, the party fielded 25 candidates and obtained a total of 9,249 votes.[15]
In the 2011 general election, the party ran 51 candidates and won a total of 19,387 votes; the party received 0.45% of the popular vote, which was more than double the number of candidates and votes received in 2007.[16]
In the 2018 Ontario general election, the Libertarian Party ran in 117 out of 124 ridings, receiving 0.74% of the overall vote.
The party fielded only 16 candidates in the 2022 Ontario general election.
In 1986, president Kaye Sargent received 93 votes in the Cochrane North by-election.[17] In 2024, leader Mark Snow received 129 votes, 0.35%, in a by-election in Bay of Quinte.[18][19]
The party has never won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.[20]
| Election year | Leader | No. of overall votes |
% of overall total |
No. of candidates run |
No. of seats won |
+/− | Presence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Terry Coughlin | 4,752 | 0.13% | 17 | 0 / 125 |
New Party | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1977 | Paul Mollon | 9,961 | 0.30% | 31 | 0 / 125 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1981 | Scott Bell | 7,087 | 0.22% | 12 | 0 / 125 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1985 | 12,831 | 0.4% | 17 | 0 / 125 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1987 | Kaye Sargent | 13,514 | 0.36% | 25 | 0 / 130 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1990 | James Stock | 24,613 | 0.61% | 45 | 0 / 130 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1995 | John Shadbolt | 6,085 | 0.15% | 7 | 0 / 130 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1999 | Sam Apelbaum | 2,337 | 0.05% | 7 | 0 / 103 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2003 | 1,991 | 0.04% | 5 | 0 / 103 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2007 | 9,249 | 0.21% | 25 | 0 / 107 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2011 | 19,447 | 0.45% | 51 | 0 / 107 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2014 | Allen Small | 37,696 | 0.81% | 74 | 0 / 107 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2018 | 42,918 | 0.75% | 117 | 0 / 124 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2022 | Mark Snow | 5,242 | 0.11% | 16 | 0 / 124 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2025 | 7,684 | 0.15% | 17 | 0 / 124 |
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Coreen Corcoran". Ontario Libertarian Party. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ↑ "Registered Political Parties". Elections Ontario. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ Bradford, John (July 2018). "Brant Representative now Party Leader for Ontario Libertarians". 4Brant. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Ontario Charter of Rights and Freedoms". libertarian.on.ca. Libertarian Party of Ontario. January 4, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ↑ Durkin, Tim. "Ontario Libertarian Leader running in Bay of Quinte". Quinte News. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
- ↑ Kinsky, Lynn (August 1974). "LIBERTARIAN RECORD SET". Reason. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ "From Bulletin #1 - January 1975". Ontario Libertarian Party. Libertarian Bulletin. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ The Gazette Nov 25 1978 • Montreal, https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?lang=en&record_id=record-10835-43307636
- 1 2 Matt, Belanger (Winter 2011). "Convention Report". Ontario Libertarian Party. Libertarian Bulletin. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ Kelly, Tim (May 17, 2018). "Check out your Markham-Unionville provincial candidates". YorkRegion.com. Metroland Media Group. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Ferguson interim Libertarian leader". Brantford Expositor. Postmedia Network. July 23, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Leadership Contests registered with Elections Ontario from 2018 to Present". Elections Ontario. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ Balogh, Meghan (November 29, 2019). "Advocate asks Napanee town council to allow homeless trailers, for now". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Postmedia Network. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ Lawless, John (February 24, 2025). "Three candidates look to be different conservative option". The Recorder & Times. Postmedia Network. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast" (PDF). Elections Canada. October 21, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ↑ McLarty, Jeffrey (2011). "Candidates, Vote Tally Doubled over 2007". libertarian.on.ca. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
- ↑ "No Contest as Fontaine Romps", A1 A2, The Windsor Star Aug 15 1986 • Windsor, Ontario
- ↑ Durkin, Tim. "Ontario Libertarian Leader running in Bay of Quinte". Quinte News. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ↑ Baldwin, Derek (September 20, 2024). "Allsopp wins Bay of Quinte byelection with 38.69% of the vote". Belleville Intelligencer. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ↑ Powers, Lucas (June 3, 2022). "Ontario's Progressive Conservatives sail to 2nd majority, NDP and Liberal leaders say they will resign". CBC News.