The is a right-of-centre political party in
New Brunswick ,
Canada . It has its origins in the pre-
Canadian Confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of
Responsible Government to the colony. Conservative supporters tended to be
United Empire Loyalists and supporters of the business community.
In the 1860s, both the Conservative and
Liberal parties split over the issue of
Canadian Confederation , and were replaced by the
Confederation Party and the
Anti-Confederation Party .
By 1870, the pro-Confederation party became generally known as the
Liberal-Conservative s or just "Conservatives", and were aligned with the national
Conservative Party of Sir
John A. Macdonald .
The
Tories have alternated power with the
New Brunswick Liberal Party since Confederation. Though the party is more closely aligned with the business community, it tends towards a moderate
Red Tory position. For most of New Brunswick's history, the party had greater support among English speakers, while the Liberals were more popular among
Acadians . However, since the government of
Richard Hatfield 's attempts to include Acadians in the mainstream of New Brunswick life, the party has made inroads in Acadia. Current leader and
Premier Bernard Lord is widely perceived to be an Acadian due to his
Francophone heritage and the fact that he was raised in
Moncton where he attended
French Language schools.
The party was aligned with the historic federal Conservative party. When the federal party changed its name to the
Progressive Conservatives in 1942, the New Brunswick party did the same. The federal Progressive Conservative Party dissolved in 2003, and a new
Conservative Party Of Canada was created. It is unclear whether the provincial party will have any formal link with the new federal Conservative Party, although Bernard Lord publicly endorsed the party in the
2004 and
2006 federal elections.
