ONTARIO (April 28 - June 8, 1995) - Freedom Party fielded 12 candidates in Election'95, each campaigning on Fp's 1995 election platform promoted as the "Top 10 Reasons To Vote Freedom Party."
Representing Freedom Party in Election'95 were our following outstanding candidates:
Over 150,000 pieces of Fp election literature were delivered throughout the twelve Ontario ridings, but they did not take the form of a traditional election brochure. Fp's message was instead delivered by first-class mail in the form of a personalized letter to voters, with a synopsis of Fp's 10-point platform, candidate photo, and background summary on the back of the letter.
In addition to the delivery of literature, each candidate's campaign included Fp election signs bearing the candidate's name and party logo. Candidates attended "All Candidates' Debates" in their respective ridings, and campaigned door-to-door whenever possible.
Without exception, each Fp candidate carried Freedom Party's message to the electorate with a combined sense of professionalism and commitment to principle that was sorely lacking in the candidates of the other parties.
Although Fp candidates were all well aware that their chances of "getting elected" were negligible, their hard work combined with the warm responses received from voters nevertheless caused expectations of at least twice the vote percentage than the 1.14% achieved. Past election trends certainly indicated that votes for alternative parties were up dramatically, and polls early in Election'95 showed support for the alternative parties as high as 7%.
However, those same polls showed a dramatic drop in support for the alternative parties in the final two weeks of the election. By that point, it was becoming clear that the conservatives were pulling votes from those parties perceived by the sympathetic public to have a "conservative" leaning, parties like Freedom Party, the Family Coalition Party, Confederation of Regions Party, and the Libertarian Party. Combined with the fear that the NDP or Liberal parties would hasten the demise of Ontario much faster than the conservatives who were at least preaching "fiscal restraint" and the repeal of some extremely unpopular policies (Bill 40, employment equity, etc.), these voters understandably opted once again for the "lesser of three evils."
Needless to say, Fp's reduced vote totals were disappointing for most Fp candidates, but the disappointment soon wore off and was replaced by a stronger commitment to help establish a full slate of Fp candidates for the next provincial election.
Moreover, with the Conservatives now in power, it will become that much easier to emphasize the differences between them and Freedom Party. When positioned against the NDP and Liberals, fundamental differences between Fp and the PCs are negligible to most voters. However, with the conservatives in power, Fp will be better able to differentiate itself from them, much in the same way that the federal Reform Party was able to do when positioned against the federal conservatives in power - something that would not have been possible for Reformers had there been a Liberal or NDP government in power.
The next election will represent a tremendous opportunity for Fp. With four to five years to prepare, anyone interested or even just thinking about getting involved with our plans is encouraged to contact Fp headquarters today!
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last updated on April 28, 2002
