Liberal-conservative coalition of 1854

In Canadian history during the 1850's and 1860's, many of the political parties were results of the British attitudes toward British North America. The paradoxically named liberal-conservative coalition of 1854 was formed as a peculiar relationship between several political groups at the time. The Coalition comprises three main groups, the Tories, French Bleus, and Hinckesite Reformers of Canada West. The groups were previously against each other. However, they joined together in all of their best interests, in order to secularize the clergy reserves, and do away with the seigneurial system in Lower Canada, which had now been outgrown, and was unpopular among the French Canadians. The French Bleus, which had held a minority in the Assembly up until this point, was now able to hold a majority and was for that reason strongly against representation by population as it would place them once again into the minority.

The opposition to the Coalition was largely the Clear Grits (who, led by George Brown. once blatantly against the Clear Grits, came together and reshaped them also to oppose the 'French-Catholic domination'). A.A. Dorion, leader of the Parti Rouge in Canada East, also tried to establish an alliance with the Clear Grits, similar to the Liberal-Conservative Coalition of 1854. A Brown-Dorion government was even formed in 1858 but only lasted two days as the relationship between these two parties simply did not function as well.