Canadian Action Party

Canadian Action Party (CAP)/Parti action canadienne (PAC)
Active Federal Party
Leader	Melissa Brade (Interim)
President	Paul Kemp
Founded	1997
Headquarters	101 Subway Cr. #2302 Etobicoke, Ontario M9B 6K4
Ideology	Left Nationalism, Anti-globalization, Monetary Reform, Progressivism, Populism
International affiliation	None
Official colours	Red
Seats in the House of Commons	0 House, 0 Senate
Website
http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/
Politics of Canada Political parties Elections

The Canadian Action Party (CAP) (French: Parti action canadienne [PAC]) is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1997. It promotes Canadian nationalism, monetary reform, and electoral reform and opposes neoliberal globalization and free trade agreements.

Background

The Canadian Action Party was founded by Paul T. Hellyer, a former Liberal minister of defence in the cabinet of Lester Pearson. Hellyer ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Liberal Party in 1968, and for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1976.

It nominated candidates for the first time in the 1997 federal election.

After the 1997 election, it absorbed the Canada Party, another minor party concerned about monetary reform which had been formed by former members of the Social Credit Party of Canada. Former Canada Party leader Claire Foss served as vice president of CAP until November 2003.

Hellyer resigned as CAP leader in 2003 after the New Democratic Party failed to agree to a merger proposal, under which the NDP would change its name. In 2004, Connie Fogal, an activist lawyer, was acclaimed party leader after David Orchard failed to respond to an invitation to take over the leadership. Fogal stepped down in 2008 and was succeeded by Andrew J. Moulden following the 2008 federal election.

Moulden resigned as CAP leader on August 4, 2009 and joined the Christian Heritage Party.^[1]

As of October 3, 2009, Melissa Brade has been acting as Interim Leader of the Canadian Action Party. ^[2]

Positions

Under the new leader (Brade), CAP has announced new interim policies shifting the traditional priority emphasis from monetary reform policies to issues of biological threats, compulsory vaccinations and aboriginal affairs. These policies are subject to membership approval but are presented on the website as current CAP policy until convention.^{[citation needed][3]}

A number of CAP members also belong to the Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform (COMER) and have been influential in developing CAP's monetary policy, particularly its position that the Bank of Canada, rather than chartered banks, should provide loans to the government, if required, to fund public spending.

CAP also argues for the abrogation of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and opposes current government initiatives leading to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and what it sees as integration with the United States and Mexico into a North American Union.

CAP asserts that the War on Terrorism has eroded and will continue to erode civil liberties in addition to creating wars of aggression.^[4] CAP does not support the 9/11 Commission's report on the September 11 attacks in 2001. CAP leaders have also expressed skepticism concerning official accounts of the September 11 attacks in 2001 and advocated 9/11 conspiracy theories. At its 2006 convention, CAP passed a motion calling for a Royal Commission to investigate the September 11 attacks and Canada's participation in Afghanistan. CAP argues that the truth of what really happened on September 11, 2001 has yet to be uncovered; and that in the meantime, Canadians have been subject to anti-terrorism laws and security agreements, such as Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), that have compromised Canadian sovereignty and civil rights. It also calls for a moratorium on anti-terrorist legislation to be reexamined only after receiving the results of that Royal Commission's investigation.

Party leaders

• Paul Hellyer, 1997 - 2004
• Connie Fogal, 2004 - November 2008
• Andrew J. Moulden, November 2008 - August 2009
• Dave Wilkinson (interim), August 2009 - October 2009
• Melissa Brade (interim), October 2009 - present

Party presidents

• Claire Foss,  ? - 2003
• Connie Fogal, 2003 - 2004
• Catherine Whelan Costen, November 2005 - January 2007
• Bev Collins, February 2007 - 2008
• Marc Bombois, 2008 - August 2008
• Paul Kemp (politician), August 2008 - present

Election results

See also

Party logo in use until 2006

• Canadian Action Party candidates, 2008 Canadian federal election
• Canadian Action Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal election
• Canadian Action Party candidates, 2004 Canadian federal election
• Canadian Action Party candidates, 2000 Canadian federal election
• Canadian Action Party candidates, 1997 Canadian federal election
• List of political parties in Canada

References

External links

• Canadian Action Party, English website
• Parti action canadienne, French website

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