Conservative parties in Newfoundland (pre-Confederation)

For the modern Conservative Party, seeProgressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador.

TheConservative Party of Newfoundlandwas a political party in theDominion of Newfoundlandprior toconfederationwithCanadain 1949.

The party was formed by members and supporters of the establishment around 1832. In the 1840s, they opposed the proposal forresponsible governmentwhich was finally granted in 1855. Since the concept was opposed generally by members of theAnglicanestablishment, the early party was almost entirelyProtestant.As politics in Newfoundland developed along sectarian lines, the Conservatives became the Protestant party (with strong links to theOrange Order), while the Liberals were theCatholicparty.

Under SirFrederick Carter,the Conservatives supported joiningCanadian confederation,and campaigned on the proposal in the1869 general election.The party was badly defeated byCharles Fox Bennett'sAnti-Confederation Party.The Conservatives returned to power in1874,but never proposed joining Canada again.

The Conservative party later absorbed the rivalLiberals,putting an end to sectarian divisions with a 'denominational compromise'.

The united party collapsed in the 1880s when members of the Orange Order abandoned the government ofWilliam Whiteway,and formed a newReform PartyunderRobert Thorburn.The Reform Party won the1885 electionon a platform of 'Protestant Rights'.

Whiteway founded a new Liberal Party after the collapse of the Reform Party. Members of the Orange Order formed a newTory Party,which formed two short-lived administrations in the 1890s before disappearing.

Individual Conservatives were elected as Opposition or United Opposition MHAs before being subsumed into theNewfoundland People's Party(later the Liberal-Labour-Progressive Party) formed byEdward Patrick Morrisin 1907 after he resigned from theLiberalgovernment of SirRobert Bond.

In 1924, theLiberal-Conservative-Progressive Partywas formed by members of the LLP Party who were largely conservatives and discontented members of the ruling Liberal Reform Party. This new party won the1924 general election,making its leaderWalter Stanley Monroethe new prime minister. In practice, the party was essentially a Tory party.

The party was defeated in1928under new leaderFrederick C. Alderdice,but returned to power in1932as theUnited Newfoundland Party(UNP). The UNP ruled for two years until the suspension ofresponsible government.

When responsible government was suspended, Newfoundland's status as an independent dominion within theBritish Empirewas brought to an end. The Government of theUnited Kingdomappointed aCommission of Governmentto govern Newfoundland, bringing an end to party politics on the island.

Party politics returned to Newfoundland when it joinedCanadian confederationin 1949. At this time, the modernLiberalandProgressive Conservativeparties were formed. These new parties were unrelated to the parties that existed prior to 1934.

Leaders

• Frederick Carter1865-1878
• William Whiteway1878-1885
• Robert Thorburn1885-1889 - as leader of the Reform Party
• Augustus F. Goodridge1889-1893 - as leader of the Tory Party
• James Spearman Winter1893-1900
• Walter Stanley Monroe1924-1928 - as leader of the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party
• Frederick C. Alderdice1928 - as leader of the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party andUnited Newfoundland Party1928-1934

See also

• List of Newfoundland Prime Ministers
• List of political parties in Newfoundland and Labrador
• General elections in Newfoundland (pre-Confederation)