Canberra Liberals Liberal Party of Australia (A.C.T. Division)
Leader	Leanne Castley
Deputy Leader	Jeremy Hanson
Founded	27 January 1949; 76 years ago (1949-01-27)
Headquarters	4/50 Geils Court,Deakin ACT 2600
Youth wing	Young Liberals
Women's wing	Liberal Women's Council
Norfolk Island wing	Norfolk Island Interest Branch
Ideology	Liberalism (Australian) Conservatism (Australian) Right-wing populism Liberal conservatism Factions: Christian right
Political position	Centre-right toright-wing
National affiliation	Liberal Party of Australia
Colours	Blue
Legislative Assembly	9 / 25
House of Representatives	0 / 3 (ACT seats)
Senate	0 / 2 (ACT seats)
Website
canberraliberals.org.au
Politics of Australia Political parties Elections

TheCanberra Liberals, officially known as theLiberal Party of Australia (Australian Capital Territory Division), is the division of theLiberal Party of Australia in theAustralian Capital Territory (ACT). The party has been in opposition in theACT Legislative Assembly for much of its existence, but held power with the support of minor parties and independents between 1989 and 1991 and again between 1995 and 2001.^[1] It is currently the only state or territory division of either major party to be unrepresented in the Federal Parliament.

The first Liberal branch in Canberra was formed in order to field a candidate in the newly createdDivision of Australian Capital Territory at the1949 federal election. The first meeting of the branch was held at theAlbert Hall on 27 January 1949. The inaugural meeting of the Canberra women's branch was held on 29 June 1949. By 1961, there were three branches of the Liberal Party in the ACT, and a branch of theYoung Liberals was created around the same time.^[2]

The party held a number of seats in theAustralian Capital Territory House of Assembly throughout its existence. In thefirst election under self-government in 1989 the Liberal Party won four seats.^[3] The Liberals were led in the Assembly byTrevor Kaine, initially in opposition but in December 1989 the party formed a coalition known as theAlliance with theResidents Rally that lasted from December 1989 until June 1991 when a dispute over school closures broke up the coalition and returned the parties to opposition.^[4] Kaine was briefly replaced as leader byGary Humphries,^[5] but regained the position a month later.^[6] Two years later he was replaced byKate Carnell.^[7]

At the1995 election the Liberals won 7 seats^[8] and Carnell formed a minority government with the support of independent membersMichael Moore andPaul Osborne. Carnell served asChief Minister until October 2000 when she resigned in advance of a no confidence motion over the increased costs of theCanberra Stadium.^[9] She was succeeded by Humphries but the party lost power in the 2001 election.^[10] It has been in opposition ever since, having installed and removed multiple leaders includingBrendan Smyth,Bill Stefaniak,Zed Seselja,Jeremy Hanson,Alistair Coe andElizabeth Lee.^[11] The current leader of the party isLeanne Castley.^[12]

In the2022 federal election, Seselja, who was the sole Canberra Liberals parliamentarian in federal parliament, lost his Senate seat to independentDavid Pocock.^[13] This left the Canberra Liberals with no representation in the47th Parliament. A review into the territory division's defeat at the election would be headed by former WA Liberal leaderMike Nahan and former Victorian Liberal senatorHelen Kroger. The review would include an examination of the Canberra Liberals and its electoral performance among different voter segments, and would propose strategies to regain federal representation.^[14]

Image		Name (birth–death)	Electorate	Term start	Term end	Time in office	Chief Minister(term)
		Jim Leedman (1938–2024)	–	1966	30 October 1974	c.8 years, 122 days	N/A
		Peter Hughes (born 1932)	Canberra	30 October 1974	3 January 1977	2 years, 65 days
		Jim Leedman (1938–2024)	Canberra	20 January 1977	10 December 1988	11 years, 325 days
		Trevor Kaine (1928–2009)	—	10 December 1988	12 June 1991	2 years, 193 days
							Follett(1989–1989)
							Himself(1989–1991)
							Follett(1991–1995)
		Gary Humphries (born 1958)	—	12 June 1991	22 July 1991	31 days
		Trevor Kaine (1928–2009)	—	22 July 1991	21 April 1993	1 year, 273 days
		Kate Carnell (born 1955)	Molonglo (1995–2000)	21 April 1993	17 October 2000	7 years, 179 days
							Herself(1995–2000)
		Gary Humphries (born 1958)	Molonglo	18 October 2000	25 November 2002	2 years, 38 days		Himself(2000–2001)
							Stanhope (2001–2011)
		Brendan Smyth (born 1959)	Brindabella	25 November 2002	16 May 2006	3 years, 172 days
		Bill Stefaniak (born 1952)	Ginninderra	16 May 2006	13 December 2007	1 year, 211 days
		Zed Seselja (born 1977)	Molonglo (2004–2012) Brindabella (2012–2013)	13 December 2007	11 February 2013	5 years, 60 days
								Gallagher (2011–2014)
		Jeremy Hanson (born 1967)	Molonglo (2008–2016) Murrumbidgee (2016–present)	11 February 2013	25 October 2016	3 years, 257 days
								Barr (2014–)
		Alistair Coe (born 1984)	Yerrabi	25 October 2016	27 October 2020	4 years, 2 days
		Elizabeth Lee (born 1979)	Kurrajong	27 October 2020	31 October 2024	4 years, 4 days
		Leanne Castley (born 1974)	Yerrabi	31 October 2024	Incumbent	151 days

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Status
1989	Trevor Kaine	21,088	14.87	4 / 17	4	2nd	Opposition
1992		45,203	29.03	6 / 17	2	2nd	Opposition
1995	Kate Carnell	66,895	40.48	7 / 17	1	1st	Minority
1998		68,221	37.83	7 / 17	0	1st	Coalition
2001	Gary Humphries	60,390	31.64	7 / 17	0	2nd	Opposition
2004	Brendan Smyth	71,083	34.81	7 / 17	0	2nd	Opposition
2008	Zed Seselja	66,861	31.56	6 / 17	1	2nd	Opposition
2012		86,032	38.90	8 / 17	2	1st	Opposition
2016	Jeremy Hanson	89,632	36.72	11 / 25	3	2nd	Opposition
2020	Alistair Coe	90,955	33.81	9 / 25	2	2nd	Opposition
2024	Elizabeth Lee	91,652	33.45	9 / 25	0	2nd	Opposition

• Liberal Party of Australia members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
• Liberal Party of Australia
• Political parties in the Australian Capital Territory

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