Canadian Action Party

Infobox_Canada_Political_Party
party_name = Canadian Action Party (CAP)/Parti action canadienne (PAC)
status = active
class = fed
party_wikicolourid = Canadian Action
party_
leader = Connie Fogal
president = Marc Bombois
foundation = 1997
dissolution =
ideology = Left Nationalism, Anti-globalization, Monetary Reform, Progressivism, Populism
headquarters = 385 - 916 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
V5Z 1K7
int_alignment= None
colours = Sky Blue
seats_house = 0 House, 0 Senate
website = [http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/ http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/] The Canadian Action Party (CAP) (French: Parti action canadienne (PAC)) is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1997. It promotes Canadian nationalism, monetary reform, and electoral reform and opposes globalization and free trade agreements.

The Canadian Action Party was founded by Paul T. Hellyer, a former Liberal deputy prime minister and minister of defence in the cabinet of Lester Pearson. Hellyer ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Liberal Party in 1968, and for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1976.

It nominated candidates for the first time in the 1997 federal election.

After the 1997 election, it absorbed the Canada Party, another minor party concerned about monetary reform which had been formed by former members of the Social Credit Party of Canada. Former Canada Party leader Claire Foss served as vice president of CAP until November 2003.

Hellyer resigned as CAP leader in 2003 after the New Democratic Party failed to agree to a merger proposal, under which the NDP would change its name. In 2004, Connie Fogal, an activist lawyer, was acclaimed party leader after David Orchard failed to respond to an invitation to take over the leadership.

A number of CAP members also belong to the Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform (COMER) and have been influential in developing CAP's monetary policy, particularly its position that the Bank of Canada, rather than chartered banks, should provide loans to the government, if required, to fund public spending.

CAP also argues for the abrogation of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and opposes current government initiatives leading to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and what it sees as integration with the United States and Mexico into a North American Union.

The CAP endorses a controversial conspiracy theory that the United States intentionally allowed the attacks on September 11th to take place. At its 2006 convention, CAP passed a motion calling for a Royal Commission to investigate the September 11, 2001 attacks and Canada's participation in Afghanistan. CAP believes that the truth of what really happened on September 11, 2001 has not been told, however, Canadians have been subject to anti-terrorism laws and security agreements, such as Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), that have compromised Canadian sovereignty and civil rights. It also calls for a moratorium on anti-terrorist legislation to be reexamined only after receiving the results of that Royal Commission's investigation.

Stance on the War on Terrorism

Some members of the CAP have recently adopted a highly controversial stance with regard to the War on Terrorism. The current CAP leadership has endorsed the theory that the United States government had prior knowledge of the September 11, 2001 attacks and did nothing to stop the attack, in order to create an excuse to enact Project for the New American Century document "Rebuilding America's Defenses" [ [http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf Rebuilding America's Defenses] ] Section V entitled "Creating Tomorrow's Dominant Force" - "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event––like a new Pearl Harbor". Critics within the CAP fear that the War on Terrorism has eroded and will continue to erode civil liberties in addition to creating wars of aggression. [ [http://canadianactionparty.ca/911.htm CAP website] ] The CAP's position stands in contrast with those of the major political parties in Canada (the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois) which appear to follow the traditional historical account of the September 11th attacks, which was that the United States government had failed to recognize the warning signs of imminent danger posed by Islamic fundamentalist militants which was due to bureaucratic incompetence and disorganization which resulted in the inability to act quickly enough to prevent the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Party leaders

*Paul Hellyer, 1997 - 2004
*Connie Fogal, 2004 - presentFogal announced on May 6, 2008 that she will be resigning as leader. Her successor was be chosen at the party's convention to be held August 22-24, 2008. [http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/cgi/page.cgi?aid=1082&_id=128&zine=show] The convention elected a full slate of new executive officers, but not a new leader. Fogal, it was announced, had agreed to stay on as Interim Leader until a new leader is elected. [http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/CAP_CONVENTION_2008.html]

Party presidents

*Claire Foss, ? - 2003
*Connie Fogal, 2003 - 2004
*Catherine Whelan Costen, November 2005 - January 2007
*Bev Collins, February 2007 - 2008
*Marc Bombois, 2008 - Present

Election results

ee also

*Canadian Action Party candidates, 2008 Canadian federal election
*Canadian Action Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal election
*Canadian Action Party candidates, 2004 Canadian federal election
*Canadian Action Party candidates, 2000 Canadian federal election
*Canadian Action Party candidates, 1997 Canadian federal election
*List of political parties in Canada

References

External links

* [http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/ Canadian Action Party] , English website
* [http://www.partiactioncanadienne.ca/ Parti action canadienne] , French website