Laurier Liberals | |
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| Founder | Wilfrid Laurier |
| Founded | 1917 |
| Dissolved | 1921 |
| Split from | Liberal Party of Canada |
| Merged into | Liberal Party of Canada |
Prior to the1917 federal election inCanada, theLiberal Party of Canada split into two factions. To differentiate the groups, historians tend to use two retrospective names:
Seeking broader support for theimposition of conscription in 1917, Borden invited the Liberals into awartimecoalition government with theConservatives. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, an opponent of conscription who feared for the nation if an opposition was not represented in Parliament, refused the request.
Despite Laurier's refusal, the request split the Liberal Party largely along linguistic lines. Many provincial Liberal parties in English-speaking Canada and a number of LiberalMembers of Parliament supported conscription and decided to support Borden's "Unionist" government.
Quebec Liberals, along with a minority of English candidates (such asWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King) refused to join Borden and continued in the party under Laurier's leadership. The candidates ran as Liberals, and on military ballots, were labelled as "Opposition."
Of the 235 seats in theHouse of Commons of Canada, only 82 returned Laurier Liberals in the election held December 17, 1917:
With only 20 seats outside Quebec, the Liberal Party was reduced to a largelyFrench-Canadian parliamentary rump in 1917.
The Conservatives attempted to make their alliance with Liberal Unionists permanent through the formation of theNational Liberal and Conservative Party. However, under a new leader, William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Liberals were able to recover enough of their support in English Canada to form aminority government following the1921 federal election.[1][2]
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