Historically, Canada had only two national political parties after Confederation in 1867: the Liberal and the Conservative parties. The Canadian party system evolved with time to allow, in 1974, new political parties to register with elections Canada, if they met certain criteria and had at least 250 members. Today, among 23 registered political parties, there are only 5 major Federal parties: the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the New Democratic Party (NDP), the Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party of Canada.
Below is a brief summary of each party’s ideologies they put to make Canada a better place, it will be up to every newcomer to familiarize themselves with the political parties to understand which one would represents their own views and ideologies.
The modern Liberal party of Canada - currently ruling, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - is the oldest and longest serving federal political party in Canada. It portrays itself as socially progressive. They support:
Unrestricted abortion
High rates of immigration
Free market economy
LGBTQ+ rights
Universal healthcare system
Old age pension
Climate Change
The Conservative Party of Canada is the second largest party in parliament, and the party that forms the official opposition to the Liberal Party. They are loyal to the British rule, Protestant Christianity and English culture. Today, it is lead by Erin O'Tool. They favor:
Low taxes
Strong regime of law and order
Strong Military Power
Traditional values
The New Democratic Party never had a PM till date; today, it is led by Jagmeet Singh, the first non-white, non-Christian person to lead a Canadian political party. The party champions the goal of a social democratic society with a mixed economy. It is somewhat similar to the Liberal Party in their beliefs, with views on taxing the wealthy and big corporations instead of taxing everyone, and they support the below:
Environmental reforms
Old age pension plans
National Medicare
The 3rd biggest party in Canada and the leading separatist political party, lead by Yves-Francois Blanchet - they support the separation of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada to form its own country. Ideologically, Quebec is thought to be the most left-wing region in all North America.
The newest political party in Canada that only started to win significant votes in the early 2000s. It is led by Annamie Paul, the child of immigrants from Jamaica. They support:
Changing the current "biased" electoral system
Sustainability & Climate change, advocate against fossil fuels and mining
Building a complete social safety net that would allow all Canadians to live in dignity and security
Non-violence
Ecological Wisdom
Respect for Diversity
Beside the above 5 political parties, all the registered ones are unpopular and considered as irrelevant to the Canadian politics. The 2 most popular ones are the Libertarian Party of Canada - market based society, and the Christian Heritage Party - Evangelical morality.