Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Conservatism in Canada
This article is part of a series on

Schools Calgary School Clerico-nationalism Right-wing populism Trumpism Social conservatism Social credit Toryism Blue Red
Principles Canadian values Federalism Economic liberalism Limited government Loyalism Monarchism Nationalism Property rights Protectionism Rule of law Tradition
History Château Clique Family Compact Lower Canada Tories National Policy Port Hope Conference Unite the Right United Empire Loyalist Upper Canada Tories Canada convoy protest
Intellectuals Alexander Black Blackwood Bouchard Byfield Duchesne Farthing Flanagan Furedi Gilley Granatstein Grant Groulx Kaufmann Kirkconnell Leacock Pageau Peterson Tiger
Politicians Aberhart Bennett (R. B.) Bennett (W. A. C.) Borden De Cosmos Diefenbaker Duplessis Harper Harris Klein Lougheed Macdonald Manning (Ernest) Manning (Preston) Mulroney Poilievre Smith Stanfield Vander Zalm
Commentators Camp Chen Crowder Frum Jivani Lester Levant McInnes McIntyre Murphy Segal Speer Steyn
Literature Canada and the Canadian Question (1891) Lament for a Nation (1965) Who Killed Canadian History? (1998) Maps of Meaning (1999) The Black Book of English Canada (Series; 2001–2003) The Uniqueness of Western Civilization (2011) Harperism (2014) "The Case for Colonialism" (2017) 12 Rules for Life (2018) Whiteshift (2018)
Extant parties Federal Christian Heritage Party of Canada Conservative Party of Canada Libertarian Party of Canada People's Party of Canada Provincial British Columbia United Coalition Avenir Québec Conservative Party of British Columbia Conservative Party of Quebec Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party of NB Progressive Conservative Party of NL Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of PEI Progressive Conservative Party of Sask. Saskatchewan Party United Conservative Party Yukon Party
Historical parties Federal Canadian Alliance Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) Liberal-Conservative Party Progressive Conservative Party of Canada Reform Party of Canada Social Credit Party of Canada Unionist Party Provincial Action démocratique du Québec British Columbia Social Credit Party Conservative Party of Quebec (historical) Parti bleu Progressive Conservative Assoc. of Alberta Union Nationale Upper Canada Tories Wildrose Party
Media CFRA Climate Audit Free Dominion LifeSiteNews National Post The Post Millennial Rebel News Sun News Network The Dorchester Review Toronto Sun Western Standard Winnipeg Sun
Other organizations Campaign Life Coalition Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform Canadian Coalition for Democracies Canadian Taxpayers Federation Catholic Civil Rights League Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy Focus on the Family Canada Fraser Institute Institute for Research on Public Policy LGBTory Macdonald–Laurier Institute Mackenzie Institute Montreal Economic Institute National Citizens Coalition Orange Order Progressive Group for Independent Business REAL Women of Canada Rumble Three Percenters True North Centre for Public Policy Voice of Canadians
Related Common Sense Revolution Conservatism in the United Kingdom Conservatism in the United States Illegal immigration to Canada Old Stock Canadians Pure laine Western alienation Alberta Agenda Alberta separatism
Canada portal Conservatism portal
v t e

The Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy is a Canadian non-profit organization based in Edmonton, Alberta, claiming to promote responsible government and advocating provincial rights, Senate reform, and judicial restraint.

History

[edit]

The Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy was established in 2003 by Link Byfield, a journalist and businessman. He is best known as a writer, editor, and publisher of the Alberta Report magazine, and one of Alberta's senators-in-waiting. Byfield was the centre's founding chairman. Its operations manager is Craig Docksteader, formerly of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

In October 2006, the centre hosted the Calgary Congress, which explored Canadian federalism. Attendees included Preston Manning, Ralph Klein, Jason Kenney, and separatist Leon Craig. The congress concluded by advocating a rebalancing of confederation in conformation, making provinces fully responsible for their own internal social and economic affairs, the advocacy of an elected Senate to represent and protect the provinces, and the creation of counterbalances against centralizing tendencies and against expanding influence of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Principles

[edit]

The Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy promotes government that act with the following characteristics.

Honest government - Honest government is self-policing, transparent, open, respectful and impartial.
Accountable government - Accountable government is democratic. All public policies set by courts and cabinets are subjected to approval, scrutiny and amendment by the elected representatives of the people, or by referendum.
Constitutional government - Constitutional government is self-restrained, confining its activities and taxation to the responsibilities laid down by the Constitution Acts.

Entry into politics

[edit]

In June 2007, the Citizens Centre decided to abandon its earlier decision to remain a non-partisan lobby group and instead to enter the political arena by forming the socially- and politically-conservative Wildrose Alliance Party.