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This article is the third lecture in a series about Canadian political parties. If you would like to read the previous article, please click here.

This week’s focus party is the CPF – the Canadian Progressive Front. With over 250 members and nearly twice as many Congress seats as any other party, the CPF is doing extremely well. The CPF also carries a rich and complicated history. While the current CPF has only existed for nine months, the party’s immediate predecessor was founded over 2 years ago. In that time, the CPF and its various incarnations have commanded the Presidency 6 times – that’s 20% of all presidential elections.

So who are (and were) the CPF?

Unlike the DAL’s pre-party, the CPF’s original form was extremely influential in Canada. Founded in June 2008 by two-time president Adam Sutler, the Norsefire Party of Canada (NPC) was a major political force and social issues proponent until its slow demise in Fall 2008.

The NPC was rebranded as the CPF in October 2008, and while this marks the first arrival of the CPF, it is not a high point for the party. The CPF was rebranded in 2009 as the Canadian Empire Party (see lecture 5), and would not reappear until after the Canadian conquest. Since then, the CPF has seen considerable success in many aspects of Canadian politics. Who can they thank for this? Take a look:

(Click to make me big!)


What on earth can we make of this?

The CPF is a very old party filled with middle aged faces. Despite their immediate ties to the NPC and Adam Sutler’s Constitutional successes, most of the CPFs current leadership was not alive for those events. Indeed, with the large CEP gap, today’s CPF history really starts (and explodes) in August 2009. The party has done exceptionally well since then – bringing forth strong congress showings and two multi-term Party Presidents who brought expertise and energy to Canadian politics.

Ironically, being a CPF PP can also be a curse. Since October 2008, only 3 Canadians can boast successfully completing a full term as leader of the CPF. The long stretches of TFD and ‘Daddy’ Addy have brought the CPF great success, but their less fortunate peers have hindered that success more than once. There is no denying that the CPF is home to dozens of passionate Canadians. Their challenge in 2010 is to find a Canadian with enough drive and expertise to put the CPF into another long-term climb.

How have these changes helped/hurt the party?

One of the clearest ways to measure party success is Congress. Take a glance at how Big Moosey has done since their reformation:



Right off the bat, it’s clear that the CPF does extremely well in congress. Their low in this time sits just above the DAL’s at 20%, and they have also managed to reach 15 seats (38😵 twice in the past 6 months. Generally, the party does best after a long and steady leadership – as they did after Durden’s many terms, and the Addy/Jbdivinus period. But what’s most interesting? Take a look at the DAL’s performance. Almost without fail, when one of these giants does well, the other does not.

Should I join the CPF?

Maybe. Despite leadership curses and a rollercoaster trend in politics, the CPF is undeniably one of the most successful parties in Canada today. And what about their political leanings? Like I did with the DAL, I asked 3 leading CPF members to take a political test to see where they stood. Here’s how they rank:



Translation? Not only are the CPF much closer to the real-life NDP than the DAL are, they’re also much closer to the DAL! This may explain why the two parties have the odd relationship they do – they often get along, but they also draw from similar pools.

Whether you think they’re the Old Boys’ Club or a new and rising success, the CPF is complicated and deserves more attention than a single article can commit. If you want to learn more about them, check out their forums or get in touch with them at #CPF on the IRC. I’m sure they’d love to chat with you.

Next week: The Second Youngest and the Second Largest; the UN!