New Blue Party of Ontario | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | New Blue |
| Leader | Jim Karahalios[1] |
| President | Belinda Karahalios[1] |
| Founded | October 12, 2020 (2020-10-12) |
| Registered | January 7, 2021 |
| Split from | Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Ontario |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing[3] |
| Colours | Blue and gold |
| Seats inLegislature | 0 / 124 |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheNew Blue Party of Ontario (New Blue;[4]French:Nouveau Parti Bleu de l'Ontario) is aright-wing populist[2] political party in the Canadian province ofOntario. Founded in 2020, the party is led byJim Karahalios, the husband ofBelinda Karahalios, the party's firstMPP. Formed from a split within theProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario out of frustration with the party's lack of adherence to conservative principles.
In late 2018,Jim Karahalios, a corporate lawyer, was sued by theProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario in retaliation for Karahalios' founding the activist groups "Axe The Carbon Tax" (opposing the party's pro-carbon tax position)[5] and "Take Back Our PC Party" (challenging the party's acceptance of nominations that resulted in allegations of electoral fraud).[6] The suit was dismissed byOntario Superior Court justice Paul Perell, who ruled that the PC Party's lawsuit was astrategic lawsuit against public participation intended to stifle dissent.[7]
In 2017, following the resignation ofPatrick Brown and theelection ofDoug Ford as Ontario PC Party leader, Belinda Karahalios ran for and won the party's nomination in the riding ofCambridge.[8] Further, in the2018 Ontario election, she was elected MPP for the riding.[9]
In November 2018,Jim Karahalios ran for the presidency of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and later filed a lawsuit against the party after his defeat, alleging the election process was manipulated, election rules were breached and that ballot boxes were allegedly stuffed in order to elect his competitor, Brian Patterson, who was endorsed by Doug Ford.[10]
On July 21, 2020, Belinda Karahalios was expelled from the Progressive Conservative caucus byDoug Ford after voting against Bill 195, theReopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, which would expand the government's emergency authority during theCOVID-19 pandemic. Karahalios voted against the legislation, calling it an "unnecessary overreach on our parliamentary democracy."[11][12] A month later, Belinda Karahalios, her husband Jim, and 18 other members of the Ontario PC Party were removed from the Cambridge PC Riding Association Board as a result of the party executive, led by Brian Patterson, voting to "de-register" the riding association withElections Ontario.[13]
On October 12, 2020, Jim andBelinda Karahalios released a video announcing that they were forming a new political party, claiming that the Ontario PC Party was beyond redemption. Stating that there "is no party in the Ontario legislature defending the taxpayer, defending small business, defending places of worship, promoting freedom, promoting democracy or fighting political corruption."[14][15]
On January 7, 2021, the New Blue Party was officially registered by Elections Ontario. Party leaderJim Karahalios stated that the party would focus on supporting the taxpayer, places of worship and small business.[16] Belinda Karahalios, an independent after having been removed from the PC caucus, became the lone MPP for the New Blue Party as of January 18, 2021.[17]
Karahalios ran as a New Blue candidate in the 2022 provincial election, but lost her seat, coming in fourth.[18] The party won no seats in the 2022 or 2025 provincial elections.[19]
The New Blue Party is aconservativepopulist party that has been described as being to the right of theProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario from which it split.[3][2] The party has publicly opposed all measures taken againstCOVID-19; at least one of the party's candidates for the 2022 Ontario general election took part in theCanada convoy protest.[20][21]
An article in theSimcoe Reformer described the New Blue party as being against "woke activism" and in favour of removingcritical race theory andgender identity from schools.[22]
On tax issues, New Blue is determined to reduce Ontario's Harmonized Sales Tax from 13% to 10% along with eliminating electrical vehicle subsidies and taking down government subsidized wind turbines in order to reduce the tax burden on Ontarians.[23]
| Member | District | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belinda Karahalios | Cambridge | 2021–2022 | Previously served as a PC MPP from 2018–2020 and an independent from 2020–2021. |
| Election year | No. of overall votes | % of overall total | No. of candidates run | No. of seats won | +/− | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 127,180 | 2.72 | 123 / 124 † | 0 / 124 | −1 | N/A |
| 2025 | 80,245 | 1.60 | 108 / 124 | 0 / 124 | 0 | N/A |
† One New Blue candidate inOttawa West—Nepean was deregistered on May 17, 2022, due to Canadian military rules.[24]
| By-election | Date | Candidate | Votes | % | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Centre | March 16, 2023 | Lee Weiss Vassor | 148 | 0.85% | 5/10 |
| Kanata—Carleton | July 27, 2023 | Jennifer Boudreau | 636 | 1.97% | 4/6 |
| Scarborough—Guildwood | July 27, 2023 | Danielle Height | 151 | 0.97% | 5/12 |
| Kitchener Centre | November 30, 2023 | Paul Simoes | 532 | 2.25% | 5/18 |
| Lambton—Kent—Middlesex | May 2, 2024 | Keith Benn | 1,515 | 5.50% | 4/8 |
| Milton | May 2, 2024 | John Spina | 1,102 | 4.02% | 4/9 |
| Bay of Quinte | September 19, 2024 | Margaret Schuler | 369 | 0.99% | 5/7 |
The New Blue Ontario Party will be courting socially conservative Ontarians who have opposed the various public health restrictions imposed during the two years of the pandemic.
They are also against "woke activism" and want to remove critical race theory and gender identity theory from schools.
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