Canada's newest federal political party officially launched in Ottawa on Wednesday.

The Canadian Future Party is billing itself as a centrist option for voters unhappy with both the Liberals and Conservatives.

"For too long, Canadians have been asked to play a political shell game," interim leader Dominic Cardy told a press conference in Ottawa.

"Under the shell on the left, the social programs you need. But along with it, too often you have to buy bloated government, ever-increasing spending, divorced from delivering results.

"Under the shell on the right, we're supposed to find fiscal discipline. But along with it, too often there's a mean-spirited approach that blames the most vulnerable for their plight, selfishness masquerading as liberty that happily misdirects government resources to the wealthy, and polices our bodies and our bedrooms."

Dominic Cardy, interim leader of the Canadian Future Party, speaks at a news conference launching the new federal party at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Interim party president Tara McPhail, a former activist with the Conservative Party, joined Cardy at Wednesday's launch. She said the new party is a place for Canadians like her who are "politically homeless."

"[Canadians] don't like the options on the left or the right," McPhail said.

"And we've moved away from ... policy and a tone of moderation and civility. And when I speak with Canadians, they say they'd like to see more of that. So we do think we are helping to fill a vacuum that exists."

Cardy, a former cabinet minister in New Brunswick's Progressive Conservative government and the former leader of the province's New Democratic Party, said the new party is oriented neither to the left nor the right, "but forward."

The Canadian Future Party will put itself to the test right out of the gate by fielding candidates in byelections in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun and Elmwood—Transcona next month.

Mark Khoury is on the ballot in the Quebec race, while the party's candidate for the Manitoba race will be announced in the coming days.

Party platform calls for increase to defence spending

Cardy said the party's ideology is aimed at finding solutions to problems by "looking at facts [and] sharing research and methodology," so Canadians can understand how the party makes its policy decisions.

"For example, that means no time wasted arguing about climate change," Cardy said. "It's real. What matters is how we unleash our creative forces to fix it."

Cardy laid out five policy planks on which he says the new party will be campaigning: reforming government programs, increasing Canada's defence spending to two per cent of its gross domestic product, reforming immigration through "better gatekeepers," making life more affordable by "dismantling protectionism" and increasing competition in the airline, telecommunications and agricultural sectors.

When asked why he thinks Canadians want a party such as his — considering the Conservatives' lead in the polls — Cardy said those same polls show Canadians want an alternative to Justin Trudeau but are "uncomfortable with the extremism and divisiveness" of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

 

New political party thinks Canadians want a 'positive alternative' on the federal scene

Dominic Cardy, a longtime provincial politician from New Brunswick, says his new party — the Canadian Future Party — will look to win votes from people who want an alternative to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.

"[Poilievre] is riding in the coattails of the American MAGA movement, and that sort of politics is not Canadian," Cardy said. "Equally, when the Liberals talk about how everything is just fine and 'sunny ways,' they're living in the 1990s."

The Conservatives called the new party a "fringe" operation and said Canadians aren't paying attention.

"If Canadians want to get rid of the disastrous Trudeau government and its punishing carbon tax, which is propped up by Jagmeet Singh and Dominic Cardy's NDP friends, voting for Pierre Poilievre's common sense Conservatives is the only option," said Sebastian Skamski, Poilievre's director of media relations.

The Prime Minister's Office deferred to the Liberal Party of Canada for comment on the launch of the new party.

"Clearly, Conservatives across the country don't feel welcome in Pierre Poilievre's far-right Conservative Party," said Parker Lund, the Liberal Party's communications director.

"While Pierre Poilievre tries to make deep cuts to the programs Canadians rely on, Justin Trudeau and the Liberal team are focused on building more homes, investing in better public health care, lowering the cost of living, and making sure everyone has a fair shot at success."

'They're not awful human beings'

Cardy said he will run in a leadership race when the party holds a convention in November.

Cardy said he couldn't state how many members the party has registered — he noted the party only got approval from Elections Canada last month, which required it to have 250 founding members. He said party support has been growing steadily. He added the party will have a strict vetting system to fend off potential foreign interference.

"We've got folks around our leadership table who have backgrounds in all of the major political parties at different levels, including former MPs," he said.

Asked whether the party has any support from current members of Parliament, Cardy said he's had discussions with a number of them.

"I would guess that a lot of them would be looking to see how we do in the next little while, and I hope we can attract some of them," he said. "Because there are some great MPs, from all parties.

"And wouldn't it be nice if we could actually start saying that again? That they're not terrible. They're not awful human beings. That there are some fantastic people involved in politics."