User:Tap member/Atlanticaparty
The Atlantica Party is a provincial political party in Canada. It is active in the provinces of the region of Atlantic Canada: Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Objectives
[edit]Increasing the quality of political discourse by separating the executive from the legislature and introducing direct democracy structures.
Ensuring a plurality of citizens' voices by introducing Single Transferable Vote (STV) and equal campaign funding.
Creating a regional political voice for Atlantic Canada within Canadian Confederation.
History
[edit]The party was founded in the summer of 2005 by a group of concerned citizens in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its first policy platform was formalized in the fall of 2006.
The name
[edit]The name Atlantica was adopted to provide an inclusive term to describe the region also called Atlantic Canada but without the implication of being part of a larger unity, in this case Canada. Atlantica also incorporates the name of the Atlantic Ocean which serves as a unifying theme in the region's life and history. The term Atlantica also mirrors the western coastal regional term of Cascadia.
The Atlantica controversy
[edit]In the summer of 2006, the Atlantica Party released its first web site and become prominent in the region. Concurrent to this was a June 2006 conference dealing with the Atlantica trade zone promoted by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. In the subsequent reaction by opposition groups the Atlantica Party came under attack due to being incorrectly associated with the Atlantica trade zone project and the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies.
Party leaders
[edit]Jonathan Geoffrey Dean (November 17, 2006 - present)