Canadians for a ProgRessive Coalition Government Coalition PROGRESSISTE CANADIENNE

HowEver imPerfect one might know, see and imagine this movement toward a coalition

one must no t

remain Cynical

but ____seek the affirmative and the positive in this .

_O all these dead beat conservatives so worrried they might lose their grip on Power.

Sign the Petition
____________________http://progressivecoalition.ca/
tHE LINK ABOVE IS both French and English

Making coalition government work

By Duncan Cameron

| December 1, 2008

_from good old Rabble CA

____________A little multiplicity might just come along and bite these arseholes up. Cheers. for le vrai democracy.

Imagine if they "prorogue" in other words, call off Parliament ~ that would
be a low blow.

not politically feasible.
---------------------------------------- In any event, there was a coalition go.v. way back in WW1.

The Union Government (1917-20)

Since Confederation there has only been one coalition government in Canada’s history: the Union Government of World War I. This was a coalition between the Conservative Party, led by Robert Borden, and Liberals and independents. The coalition was formed in order to broaden support for the Borden government and its controversial conscription policy.

In 1917, Prime Minister Borden announced that his government was going to introduce conscription to increase troops for the war in Europe. This policy was strongly opposed by many groups in Canada, in particular, French Canadians in Quebec and rural farmers. These groups resented being forced to participate in a British foreign war.

Prime Minister Borden hoped that a coalition government consisting of Conservatives and Liberals would help overcome these growing divisions within the country on this issue. Wilfrid Laurier, then leader of the Liberal Party, was opposed to conscription; he refused to lead his party into a coalition with the Conservatives. Many English-speaking Liberals, however, disagreed with their leader and left the party to join Borden in a coalition commonly referred to as the “Union Government.” Ultimately, the Union Government was successful in wining the general election of 1917 and eventually pushing conscription through Parliament.

With the end of the war in 1918, the primary raison d’être for the Union Government ceased to exist and the coalition began to break apart. Many former Liberals returned to their original political party, and the coalition dissolved completely with Prime Minister Borden’s retirement in 1920.

For more information on the Union Coalition Government:

• Mapleleafweb: Top Five Federal Elections in Canada – 1917 Federal Election