The (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
The Honourable 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 .
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 be 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.
Members of the CAP have recently questioned whether the United States government had prior knowledge of the '' poll of May 26, 2004 by stating that they are convinced US leaders had "prior knowledge" of the attacks yet declined to act
Zogby poll .
The CAP will present candidates in two of the three ridings included in September 17th by-election. The two candidates are
Alexandre Amirizian in Outremont and
Michel St-Onge in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot. This will be the first electoral experience for both of them.
