The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba () is a centre-right political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is currently the opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, following a defeat in the 2023 provincial election.
History
Origins and early years
The origins of the party lie at the end of the 19th century. Party politics were weak in Manitoba for several years after it entered Canadian confederation in 1870. The system of government was essentially one of non-partisan democracy, though some leading figures such as Marc-Amable Girard were identified with the Conservatives at the federal level.
Public representation was mostly a matter of communal loyalties—ethnic, religious, and linguistic—and party affiliation was at best a secondary concern.
In 1870s, Thomas Scott (Orangeman) (not to be confused with a different Thomas Scott), was executed by Louis Riel's provisional government . Joseph Royal attempted to introduce partisan politics into the province. Both were Conservatives, and both believed that they could lead a provincial Conservative Party. Their plans were thwarted by Premier John Norquay, who also supported the Conservatives at the federal level but included both Liberals and Conservatives in his governing alliance.
Norquay himself formed a reluctant alliance with the provincial Conservatives in 1882, in the face of strong opposition from Thomas Greenway's Provincial Rights Party. His government was for all intents and purposes Conservative for the remainder of its time in office, though Norquay continued to describe it as "non-partisan". Starting in the election of 1883, moreover, political parties began to be listed on the provincial election ballot.
Subsequent development of the party (1887–1898) When Norquay resigned as Premier in 1887, his successor David H. Harrison also became leader of the Conservative parliamentary caucus. Norquay was able to reclaim the latter position early in 1888, following an extremely divided meeting of senior Conservative politicians. By this time, the new Liberal Premier Thomas Greenway had formally introduced party government to the province, and no one doubted that Norquay was now the province's Conservative leader.
The Conservative Party was not yet a legally-recognized institution in the province, however, and began to lose its coherence again after Norquay's death in 1889. Conservative MLAs simply referred to themselves as "the opposition" for most of the decade that followed. Rodmond Roblin was the dominant Conservative MLA between 1890 and 1892, but he does not seem to have been recognized as an official leader.
After Roblin's defeat in the election of 1892, William Alexander Macdonald became the leader of the opposition. In 1893, his election for Brandon City was declared invalid, and he lost the subsequent by-election. Remarkably, the election of Macdonald's successor, John Andrew Davidson, was also voided in 1894. For the remainder of this parliament, James Fisher seems to have been the leading figure in the opposition ranks. It is not clear if he was formally recognized as "leader of the opposition", or even as an official member of the Conservative Party.
Rodmond Roblin was re-elected in 1896, and officially became opposition leader in the legislature. The next year, Hugh John Macdonald (son of former prime minister John A. Macdonald) became the party's official leader, while Roblin continued to lead the opposition in parliament.
Power and loss (1899–1939)
Taking power (1899–1915) The Conservative Party became an official entity in 1899, and drew up its first election platform in the same year. It promised a board of education for the province, the creation of agricultural and technical colleges, and government ownership of railways.
Hugh John Macdonald became Premier following the 1899 election, but resigned shortly thereafter to re-enter federal politics. Rodmond Roblin succeeded Macdonald, and ruled the province for 15 years. Roblin's government was progressively oriented, negotiated the extension of the railway, bought Manitoba's Bell telephone operations in order to establish a government-run system, introduced corporate taxation, and created a public utilities commission while running a budgetary surplus. It was less progressive on social issues, however, and is most frequently remembered today for its opposition to women's suffrage.
In the political wilderness (1915–1930s) The Tories were brought down in 1915 by a scandal involving the construction of the province's new legislative buildings. Roblin was forced to resign as Premier, and James Aikins led the party to a disastrous loss later in the year.