New Blue Party of Ontario

The New Blue Party of Ontario (NBPO; French: Nouveau Parti Bleu de l'Ontario) is a right-wing populist political party in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 2020, the party is led by Jim Karahalios, the husband of Belinda Karahalios, the party's lone MPP.

New Blue Party of Ontario
LeaderJim Karahalios[1]
PresidentBelinda Karahalios[1]
FoundedNovember 8, 2020
RegisteredJanuary 7, 2021
Split fromProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario
HeadquartersPO Box 20046, 355 Hespeler Road
Cambridge, Ontario
IdeologyRight-wing populism
Political positionRight-wing
ColoursBlue
Seats in Legislature
1 / 124
Website
www.NewBlueOntario.com

History

In the 2018 Ontario election, Belinda Karahalios ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Cambridge and was elected MPP for the riding.[2]

Karahalios was expelled from the Progressive Conservative caucus by party leader and premier Doug Ford after voting against Bill 195, the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, which would expand the government's emergency authority during the COVID-19 pandemic. Karahalios voted against the legislation, calling it an "unnecessary overreach on our parliamentary democracy."[3]

Karahalios husband, Jim Karahalios is a corporate lawyer and founder of activist groups "Axe The Carbon Tax" and "Take Back Our PC Party", who was disqualified from running in the 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election. Previously, Jim Karahalios ran for the presidency of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in 2018 and filed a lawsuit against the party after his defeat, alleging the election process was manipulated, election rules were breached and that ballot boxes were allegedly stuffed in order to elect his competitor.[4]

On November 2020, Jim and Belinda Karahalios announced that they were forming a new political party, claiming that the Ontario PC Party was beyond redemption. Stating that there "is no party in the Ontario legislature defending the taxpayer, defending small business, defending places of worship, promoting freedom, promoting democracy or fighting political corruption."[5]

On January 7, 2021, the New Blue Party was officially registered by Elections Ontario. Party leader Jim Karahalios stated that the party would focus on supporting the taxpayer, places of worship and small business.[6]

References
  1. "Registered Political Parties". Elections Ontario. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  2. "PC Belinda Karahalios wins in Cambridge riding". CBC Kitchener-Waterloo, June 7, 2018.
  3. Benzie, Robert (July 21, 2020). "Doug Ford ejects Cambridge MPP from PC caucus for voting against COVID-19 bill". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  4. D'Mello, Colin (October 17, 2019). "Lawsuit by Ontario Progressive Conservative member alleges 2018 party presidential election was flawed". CTV News. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  5. Brown, Desmond (November 8, 2020). "Ousted PC MPP Belinda Karahalios, husband Jim readying new party". CBCNews. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  6. Booth, Laura (February 1, 2021). "Former Cambridge Conservative MPP Belinda Karahalios and husband register new political party". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
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