National Party (Canada) - Definition and Overview

The National Party was a short-lived Canadian political party that contested the 1993 Canadian election.

Founded and led by Edmonton publisher Mel Hurtig, the National Party was created in 1991 to oppose the Canadian-American Free Trade Agreement and seemingly growing continentalism. The party ran in the 1993 election on an economic nationalist, anti–free trade program. Despite the election being a successful one for other new parties such as the Bloc Québécois and the Reform Party, the National Party failed to elect any members.

The party nominated 170 candidates who won a total of 188,035 votes (1.38 per cent of the popular votes). None was elected.

During the election the party sued the CBC to have Hurtig participate in the leadership debates, but was unsuccessful.

The demise of the National Party occurred when Hurtig and the party's chief financial backer, Bill Loewen, got into an argument about the direction the party was taking and Loewen withdrew his funding. The party disbanded in 1994. A number of its members joined the Canadian Action Party when it was founded in 1997.

This party should not be confused by an earlier National Party that was founded in 1979.

See also: List of political parties in Canada