Canadians have a new federal party to choose from, which claims to provide a centrist option for citizens who are not in favour of the Liberals or Conservatives.
The Canadian Future Party officially launched in Ottawa on Wednesday. The party’s Interim Leader is Dominic Cardy.
Cardy was elected in New Brunswick’s legislative assembly in 2018 and was appointed as the provincial Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development in 2018 and re-appointed in 2020. He resigned as Minister in 2022 and sits as an independent. He also led the New Brunswick NDP from 2011-2016
The Canadian Future Party is for Canadians who are fed up with the “culture wars” between polarizing Liberal or Conservative views, according to the party’s official website.
“Canadians have been asking for this. They said that they want a government that is fiscally responsible, socially liberal that spends carefully but recognizes the role of government is not to control citizens but to make it easier for all of us to live the lives that we want,” Cardy said at a press conference introducing the party on Wednesday.
“The Canadian Future Party proposes to move not left, not right, but forward. The sterile argument about whether the government should intervene in all sectors of the economy or in none is over. We have over 100 years of hard evidence that shows a mixed economy in an open and caring society is what works,” Cardy said.
The party will be having a convention in November to decide the structure of the campaign and Cardy will be running to be elected as the leader.
Online, some Canadians are feeling optimistic about the new federal party’s direction.
“This seems like the most logical political move I’ve seen in a very long time! I’d vote for a centrist party. It just seems that, like the US, Canadian politics at the provincial and federal level is becoming far too radically polarized,” a Reddit user said.
“All I want are some sound policy decisions without all the political theatrics so I’m willing to get on board and try something new,” another Reddit user commented.
However, others are doubtful of Cardy’s political past.
“The former Conservative who is now leader of this new ‘political party’ is also a former NDP member who backed Maxime Bernier. The Hot Mess Party,” one person said on X.
And some are unsure about the new party but waiting to see how it unfolds.
“You mean this wasn’t a joke?” one person said on X.
”Reforming immigration through better gatekeepers,’ I’ll wait and see what they mean by this. Could get my vote – still way too vague on most policy to make a difference,” one person said on Reddit.
