Reform Party of Canada

The Reform Party of Canada (French: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist federal political party in Canada that existed from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protest movement and eventually became a populist conservative (largely socially conservative) party. Initially, the Reform Party was motivated by the need for democratic reforms and by profound Western Canadian discontent with the Progressive Conservative (PC) federal government of Brian Mulroney. Led by its founder Preston Manning, Reform rapidly gained momentum in western Canada, and successfully supplanted the PCs as the largest party in Western Canada after the 1993 election. In opposition, the party advocated for spending restraint and democratic reform. In the leadup to the 1997 election, the party attempted to make a national breakthrough and replace the ailing PCs. However, a Liberal victory and disappointment with the lack of Eastern seats led many members to question the future direction of a party. The party was directly succeeded by the Canadian Alliance in 2000, which merged with the Progressive Conservative Party in 2003 to form the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada.