Ontario First Party

The Ontario First Party (OFP) is an unregistered provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. The formation of the party was announced in December 2021 by Randy Hillier, a former Progressive Conservative (PC), who was ejected from caucus. It plans to run candidates in the 43rd Ontario election.

Ontario First Party
Unregistered provincial party
AbbreviationOFP
LeaderRandy Hillier
FoundedDecember 4, 2021 (2021-12-04) (announced)
Split fromProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing to far-right
National affiliationPeople's Party of Canada
Colours  Purple
Seats in Legislature
0 / 124
Website
www.ontariofirstparty.com

History

Pre-formation and background
Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston MPP Randy Hillier announced the founding of the OFP in 2021

The name "Ontario First Party" was reserved with Elections Ontario in January 2021; as of December 7, 2021, the party was not officially registered.[1] The formation of the party was announced on December 4, 2021, by Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Randy Hillier who has represented Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2007.[2] Hillier, A former Progressive Conservative MPP was ejected from the PC caucus by Premier Doug Ford in 2019 after making "disrespectful comments to parents of children with autism".[3][4]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hiller was a vocal critic against the use of facemasks, vaccines, and lockdowns.[5][6][7] He helped found the group No More Lockdowns Canada.[2] Hillier appeared several times alongside fellow public health measures critic Maxime Bernier, the leader of the People's Party of Canada (PPC) during the 2021 federal election.[8]

Following the election, Hillier maintained close ties with the People's Party and in November 2021, he announced his intention to run for Premier of Ontario under the PPC banner.[9] In his constituency email on December 4, 2021, Hillier announced the foundation of the OFP, which the Toronto Star claims is "essentially the provincial wing of the [PPC];" Hillier says the PPC "supports" his party.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Reserved Party Names". Elections Ontario. December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  2. Devoy, Desmond (December 3, 2021). "MPP Randy Hillier to head new, Ontario First Party". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  3. "Hillier suspended from Ontario PC caucus after autism debate". CBC News. February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  4. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/hillier-expelled-opc-caucus-1.5058281
  5. Pinsent, Andrew (October 15, 2020). "Health officials raise disinformation concerns with MPP Randy Hillier". 580 CFRA News Talk Radio. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  6. Mazur, Alexandra (May 5, 2021). "MPP Randy Hillier among 2 charged following anti-COVID-19-lockdown rally in Belleville". Global News. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  7. Jones, Allison (October 28, 2021). "Ontario legislature condemns member Randy Hillier's COVID-19 posts, calls for apology". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  8. "UPDATED: Maxime Bernier, Randy Hillier to attend Peterborough rally". thepeterboroughexaminer.com. April 22, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  9. Risdon, Melanie (November 8, 2021). "WATCH: Hillier announces bid for Ontario premiership under PPC banner". The Western Standard. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.