Reform Party of Canada - 1990s

1990s

In 1991 and 1992, support for Reform rose not only in Western Canada, but also in other parts of Canada as well, including Ontario. The party took note of this new support and changed its position from being a Western-based political party to being a national party. However, it excluded candidates from Quebec, as there was little support from francophone Québécois for Reform's opposition to distinct society for Quebec. However, Manning did not dispel the possibility of Reform naturally expanding into Quebec in the early 1990s, as in his 1992 book, The New Canada, Manning credits the populist reform tradition in Canada as not having begun in the west, and mentions its early roots in the 19th century reform parties of Upper Canada (Ontario) Lower Canada (Quebec), and Nova Scotia that fought against colonial elites such as the Family Compact and Château Clique and sought to replace them with responsible governments. In addition, Manning complimented Quebec for being open to populist politics and populist third party politics.

In 1992, the Mulroney government made another attempt at amending Canada's constitution. The Charlottetown Accord was even more ambitious than the Meech Lake Accord, but it failed to win support in a nationwide referendum. The Reform Party was one of the few groups to oppose the accord.