Ontario Libertarian Party

Ontario Libertarian Party
Parti libertarien de l'Ontario
LeaderSean Conroy
PresidentMichelle Lashbrook
Deputy LeaderJustin Leroux
ChairpersonMichelle Lashbrook
Vice ChairmanScott Marshall
SecretaryCoreen Corcoran
Chief Financial OfficerNeal Donnelly
FoundedJuly 24, 1974
RegisteredAugust 18, 1976
Headquarters5115 County Road 10 Fournier ON K0B 1G0
Membership (2018)<600
Ideology
ColoursYellow
Website
libertarian.on.ca

The Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP; French: Parti libertarien de l'Ontario) is a minor libertarian party in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The party is guided by a charter of principles, and proposes an Ontario charter of rights and freedoms which includes a section on immigration language restrictions. It holds that Ontario is a "sovereign state within the nation of Canada", and seeks to increase provincial autonomy.

History

On May 26, 1974, Terry Coughlin was elected the first leader of the party at the Libertarian Party of Canada convention. The party was officially founded on July 24, 1974 in Whitby.

In 1978, a benefit concert named "Rock Against Repression" was organised by the punk group Battered Wives; proceeds were split between the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Ontario Libertarian Party.

Leaders

Leader Term start Term end Notes
George Dance June 9, 1995 1996 Interim
Sam Apelbaum October 1996 November 5, 2011
Allen Small November 5, 2011 July 13, 2018
Rob Ferguson July 13, 2018 November 2, 2019 Interim
Keith Komar November 2, 2019 October 24, 2021
Mark Snow October 24, 2021 November 15, 2025
Sean Conroy November 15, 2025 present

Election results

Results of the 2014 Ontario general election showing support for Libertarian candidates by riding

In the 2007 general election, the party fielded 25 candidates and obtained a total of 9,249 votes.

In the 2011 general election, the party ran 51 candidates and won a total of 19,387 votes; the party received 0.45% of the popular vote, which was more than double the number of candidates and votes received in 2007.

In the 2018 Ontario general election, the Libertarian Party ran in 117 out of 124 ridings, receiving 0.74% of the overall vote.

The party fielded only 16 candidates in the 2022 Ontario general election.

In 1986, president Kaye Sargent received 93 votes in the Cochrane North by-election. In 2024, leader Mark Snow received 129 votes, 0.35%, in a by-election in Bay of Quinte.

The party has never won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Election results
Election year Leader No. of
overall votes		 % of
overall total		 No. of
candidates run		 No. of
seats won		 +/− Presence
1975 Terry Coughlin 4,752 0.13% 17
0 / 125
 New Party Extra-parliamentary
1977 Paul Mollon 9,961 0.30% 31
0 / 125
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1981 Scott Bell 7,087 0.22% 12
0 / 125
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1985 12,831 0.4% 17
0 / 125
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1987 Kaye Sargent 13,514 0.36% 25
0 / 130
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1990 James Stock 24,613 0.61% 45
0 / 130
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1995 John Shadbolt 6,085 0.15% 7
0 / 130
 0 Extra-parliamentary
1999 Sam Apelbaum 2,337 0.05% 7
0 / 103
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2003 1,991 0.04% 5
0 / 103
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2007 9,249 0.21% 25
0 / 107
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2011 19,447 0.45% 51
0 / 107
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2014 Allen Small 37,696 0.81% 74
0 / 107
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2018 42,918 0.75% 117
0 / 124
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2022 Mark Snow 5,242 0.11% 16
0 / 124
 0 Extra-parliamentary
2025 7,684 0.15% 17
0 / 124
 0 Extra-parliamentary

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Coreen Corcoran". Ontario Libertarian Party. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Registered Political Parties". Elections Ontario. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  3. ↑ Bradford, John (July 2018). "Brant Representative now Party Leader for Ontario Libertarians". 4Brant. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Ontario Charter of Rights and Freedoms". libertarian.on.ca. Libertarian Party of Ontario. January 4, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  5. ↑ Durkin, Tim. "Ontario Libertarian Leader running in Bay of Quinte". Quinte News. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  6. ↑ Kinsky, Lynn (August 1974). "LIBERTARIAN RECORD SET". Reason. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  7. ↑ "From Bulletin #1 - January 1975". Ontario Libertarian Party. Libertarian Bulletin. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ The Gazette Nov 25 1978 • Montreal, https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?lang=en&record_id=record-10835-43307636
  9. 1 2 Matt, Belanger (Winter 2011). "Convention Report". Ontario Libertarian Party. Libertarian Bulletin. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  10. ↑ Kelly, Tim (May 17, 2018). "Check out your Markham-Unionville provincial candidates". YorkRegion.com. Metroland Media Group. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Ferguson interim Libertarian leader". Brantford Expositor. Postmedia Network. July 23, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 "Leadership Contests registered with Elections Ontario from 2018 to Present". Elections Ontario. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  13. ↑ Balogh, Meghan (November 29, 2019). "Advocate asks Napanee town council to allow homeless trailers, for now". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Postmedia Network. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  14. ↑ Lawless, John (February 24, 2025). "Three candidates look to be different conservative option". The Recorder & Times. Postmedia Network. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast" (PDF). Elections Canada. October 21, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  16. ↑ McLarty, Jeffrey (2011). "Candidates, Vote Tally Doubled over 2007". libertarian.on.ca. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  17. ↑ "No Contest as Fontaine Romps", A1 A2, The Windsor Star Aug 15 1986 • Windsor, Ontario
  18. ↑ Durkin, Tim. "Ontario Libertarian Leader running in Bay of Quinte". Quinte News. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  19. ↑ Baldwin, Derek (September 20, 2024). "Allsopp wins Bay of Quinte byelection with 38.69% of the vote". Belleville Intelligencer. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  20. ↑ Powers, Lucas (June 3, 2022). "Ontario's Progressive Conservatives sail to 2nd majority, NDP and Liberal leaders say they will resign". CBC News.