Young Liberals of Canada - History

History

In an attempt to attract young liberal supporters for his leadership bid, Pierre Trudeau campaigned on the promise of reserving specific number of delegate spots at national conventions to young liberals. Trudeau went on to win the party leadership, and YLC was allocated specific number of delegate spots in each riding association and in accredited campus liberal clubs.

YLC wielded unique influence in the party’s leadership selection as it controls the accreditation process of campus clubs. YLC clubs had been fierce battlegrounds during federal leadership races from the early 80s to 2006. The Paul Martin leadership campaign was particularly notorious for hostile take over of campus clubs leading up to the 1990 and 2003 conventions. YLC's influence in the leadership selection process was greatly diminished in 2009 when the federal party changed its constitution to elect its future leaders by a "weighted One Member, One Vote" voting method.

YLC has also sometimes been a source of embarrassments and scandals for the party.

• In 1997, Jim MacLaren, president of the BC wing, misappropriated $30,000 from the federal party's coffers, and was later convicted of fraud.
• In 1999, several drunken Young Liberal delegates attending a convention in Victoria smashed up a couple of hotel rooms. The Liberal Party was sued by the hotel and settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
• In 2000, Jesse Davidson, president of the Ontario wing, faced one count of fraud over $5,000 and 23 counts for allegedly drewing money from the party’s bank account by forging the signature of a former treasurer. The charges were dropped in 2011 in exchange of Davidson agreeing to repay some $7,000 that he withdrew from the party's bank account.
• In 2007, a former president of the BC wing, Erik Bornmann, was implicated by the investigation following the BC Legislature Raids, and served as a key witness in a trial that pertains to the scandal.