Ontario Libertarian Party

Ontario Libertarian Party
Parti libertarien de l'Ontario
LeaderSean Conroy
PresidentMichelle Lashbrook
Deputy LeaderJustin Leroux
ChairpersonMichelle Lashbrook
Vice ChairmanScott Marshall
SecretaryCoreen Corcoran[1]
Chief Financial OfficerNeal Donnelly
FoundedJuly 24, 1974
RegisteredAugust 18, 1976[2]
Headquarters5115 County Road 10 Fournier ON K0B 1G0
Membership (2018)<600[3]
Ideology
ColoursYellow
Website
libertarian.on.ca

The Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP; French: Parti libertarien de l'Ontario) is a minor libertarian party in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The party is guided by a charter of principles, and proposes an Ontario charter of rights and freedoms which includes a section on immigration language restrictions.[4] It holds that Ontario is a "sovereign state within the nation of Canada", and seeks to increase provincial autonomy.[5]

History

On May 26, 1974, Terry Coughlin was elected the first leader of the party at the Libertarian Party of Canada convention.[6] The party was officially founded on July 24, 1974 in Whitby.[7]

In 1978, a benefit concert named "Rock Against Repression" was organised by the punk group Battered Wives; proceeds were split between the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Ontario Libertarian Party.[8]

Leaders

Leader Term start Term end Notes
George Dance June 9, 1995 1996 Interim
Sam Apelbaum October 1996 November 5, 2011[9]
Allen Small November 5, 2011[10][9] July 13, 2018
Rob Ferguson July 13, 2018[11] November 2, 2019 Interim
Keith Komar November 2, 2019[12][13] October 24, 2021
Mark Snow October 24, 2021[12][14] November 15, 2025
Sean Conroy November 15, 2025[12] present

Election results

Results of the 2014 Ontario general election showing support for Libertarian candidates by riding

In the 2007 general election, the party fielded 25 candidates and obtained a total of 9,249 votes.[15]

In the 2011 general election, the party ran 51 candidates and won a total of 19,387 votes; the party received 0.45% of the popular vote, which was more than double the number of candidates and votes received in 2007.[16]

In the 2018 Ontario general election, the Libertarian Party ran in 117 out of 124 ridings, receiving 0.74% of the overall vote.

The party fielded only 16 candidates in the 2022 Ontario general election.

In 1986, president Kaye Sargent received 93 votes in the Cochrane North by-election.[17] In 2024, leader Mark Snow received 129 votes, 0.35%, in a by-election in Bay of Quinte.[18][19]

The party has never won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.[20]

Election results
Election year Leader No. of
overall votes		 % of
overall total		 No. of
candidates run		 No. of
seats won		 +/− Presence
1975 Terry Coughlin 4,752 0.13% 17
0 / 125
 New Party Extra-parliamentary
1977 Paul Mollon 9,961 0.30% 31
0 / 125
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1981 Scott Bell 7,087 0.22% 12
0 / 125
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1985 12,831 0.4% 17
0 / 125
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1987 Kaye Sargent 13,514 0.36% 25
0 / 130
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1990 James Stock 24,613 0.61% 45
0 / 130
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1995 John Shadbolt 6,085 0.15% 7
0 / 130
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1999 Sam Apelbaum 2,337 0.05% 7
0 / 103
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2003 1,991 0.04% 5
0 / 103
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2007 9,249 0.21% 25
0 / 107
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2011 19,447 0.45% 51
0 / 107
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2014 Allen Small 37,696 0.81% 74
0 / 107
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2018 42,918 0.75% 117
0 / 124
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2022 Mark Snow 5,242 0.11% 16
0 / 124
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2025 7,684 0.15% 17
0 / 124
 0 Extra-parliamentary

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Coreen Corcoran". Ontario Libertarian Party. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Registered Political Parties". Elections Ontario. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  3. ↑ Bradford, John (July 2018). "Brant Representative now Party Leader for Ontario Libertarians". 4Brant. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Ontario Charter of Rights and Freedoms". libertarian.on.ca. Libertarian Party of Ontario. January 4, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  5. ↑ Durkin, Tim. "Ontario Libertarian Leader running in Bay of Quinte". Quinte News. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  6. ↑ Kinsky, Lynn (August 1974). "LIBERTARIAN RECORD SET". Reason. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  7. ↑ "From Bulletin #1 - January 1975". Ontario Libertarian Party. Libertarian Bulletin. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ The Gazette Nov 25 1978 • Montreal, https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?lang=en&record_id=record-10835-43307636
  9. 1 2 Matt, Belanger (Winter 2011). "Convention Report". Ontario Libertarian Party. Libertarian Bulletin. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  10. ↑ Kelly, Tim (May 17, 2018). "Check out your Markham-Unionville provincial candidates". YorkRegion.com. Metroland Media Group. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Ferguson interim Libertarian leader". Brantford Expositor. Postmedia Network. July 23, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 "Leadership Contests registered with Elections Ontario from 2018 to Present". Elections Ontario. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  13. ↑ Balogh, Meghan (November 29, 2019). "Advocate asks Napanee town council to allow homeless trailers, for now". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Postmedia Network. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  14. ↑ Lawless, John (February 24, 2025). "Three candidates look to be different conservative option". The Recorder & Times. Postmedia Network. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast" (PDF). Elections Canada. October 21, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  16. ↑ McLarty, Jeffrey (2011). "Candidates, Vote Tally Doubled over 2007". libertarian.on.ca. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  17. ↑ "No Contest as Fontaine Romps", A1 A2, The Windsor Star Aug 15 1986 • Windsor, Ontario
  18. ↑ Durkin, Tim. "Ontario Libertarian Leader running in Bay of Quinte". Quinte News. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  19. ↑ Baldwin, Derek (September 20, 2024). "Allsopp wins Bay of Quinte byelection with 38.69% of the vote". Belleville Intelligencer. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  20. ↑ Powers, Lucas (June 3, 2022). "Ontario's Progressive Conservatives sail to 2nd majority, NDP and Liberal leaders say they will resign". CBC News.
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