Natural Law Party of Canada candidates in the 2000 Canadian federal election explained

The Natural Law Party of Canada fielded several candidates in the 2000 federal election, none of whom were elected. Information about these candidates may be found here.

Quebec (incomplete)

RidingCandidate's NameNotesGenderResidenceOccupationVotes%Rank
GatineauPommet was one of the Natural Law Party's "yogic flyers." In 1999, he attempted to create a housing project of one hundred and fifty units in Chelsea, Quebec, to provide funding for a college of natural medicine and a Maharishi Aruy-Vedic college.[1] Pommet ran for the Natural Law Party in three federal elections and one provincial election. A newspaper report from 1999 describes him as a seven-time former candidate, which suggests that he has run for municipal office as well.[2] [3] M4720.946th
SherbrookeJolicoeur has been a candidate of the Natural Law Party in the United Kingdom and Canada, and at the provincial level in Quebec. He identified as a health technician in 1993.[4] [5] M4950.986th
Terrebonne—BlainvilleLevert had previously sought election for the Natural Law Party of Ontario in the 1999 provincial election.[6] F1,1932.145th

Ontario

Eglinton—Lawrence

Matthew Macleod

Macleod is a musician. He has released an album entitled Comedies, Histories, Tragedies, and performed a solo concert at EcoFair 2003 (organized by the Maharishi University of Management).[7] He received 133 votes (0.32%), finishing seventh against Liberal incumbent Joe Volpe.

Hamilton East

Helene Anne Darisse

Darisse, also called Helene Darisse-Yildirim, is a teacher and video producer from the Niagara Falls area. She holds Bachelor of Education and Master of Arts degrees (Canada NewsWire, 17 December 2000), and is a member of the Ontario Straw Bale Building Coalition http://www.strawbalebuilding.ca/gallery/05tour.shtml, and the Canadian Yoga Alliance.http://www.yoga.niagara.com/yogateachers.htm

Darisse was a perennial candidate for the Natural Law Party at both the federal and provincial levels.

Electoral record
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalOshawaNatural Law2637/9Ivan Grose, Liberal
1995 provincialWelland—ThoroldNatural Law2325/5Peter Kormos, New Democratic Party
1997 federalSt. CatharinesNatural Law2450.517/7Walt Lastewka, Liberal
1999 provincialSt. CatharinesNatural Law2720.584/6Jim Bradley, Liberal
2000 federalHamilton EastNatural Law979/9Sheila Copps, Liberal

Hamilton West

Rita Rassenberg

Rassenberg was born in Switzerland, and moved to Canada in her 20s. She has worked as an office administrator, bookkeeper, sales manager and real-estate estate (Hamilton Spectator, 16 November 2000).

She was a frequent candidate for the Natural Law Party at both the provincial and federal levels.

Electoral record
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalHamilton WestNatural Law3966/7Stan Keyes, Liberal
1995 provincialHamilton WestNatural Law2845/6Lillian Ross, Progressive Conservative
1999 provincialHamilton WestNatural Law2310.567/7David Christopherson, New Democratic Party
2000 federalHamilton WestNatural Law948/10Stan Keyes, Liberal

Lanark—Carleton

Britt Roberts

Roberts was a perennial candidate for the Natural Law Party. He campaigned in the federal elections of 1993, 1997 and 2000, and also campaigned for the Natural Law Party of Ontario in 1999.

Roberts became active in transcendental meditation while attending the University of Toronto, and studied yogic flying at a Natural Law conference in the United States in 1983. He completed a Master of Business Administration degree in Iowa, and moved to Ottawa in 1994. Roberts has been active in the Maharishi Global Development Fund.

During the 1999 provincial election, Roberts described the Natural Law Party's development as follows: "It's about providing a new paradigm. In the first stage, people just ignore it, and then they ridicule. Then, they admit that they agreed with it all along. We may still be at the early stages of that process, but it is coming." He was 45 years old at the time (Kingston Whig-Standard, 29 May 1999).

Electoral record
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalLanark—CarletonNatural Law2627/9Ian Murray, Liberal
1997 federalLanark—CarletonNatural Law1817/7Ian Murray, Liberal
1999 provincialLeeds—GrenvilleNatural Law2445/5Bob Runciman, Progressive Conservative
2000 federalLanark—CarletonNatural Law1070.178/8Scott Reid, Canadian Alliance

Niagara Falls

Bill Amos

William Norman Amos was a property manager and real-estate salesperson in Niagara Falls.[8] He began practising transcendental meditation in 1974, and later became active with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's international network.[9] He ran for the Natural Law Party of Canada four times and the Natural Law Party of Ontario twice, and was involved in the proposed Maharishi Veda Land Canada theme park in his home city.[10]

While running in a federal by-election in 1996, Amos argued that there was scientific proof that regular meditation by one per cent of the population would bring about a reduction in crime and unemployment rates.[11] He also promised to eliminate Canada's Goods and Services Tax, and suggested the introduction of a thirty per cent flat tax to eliminate Canada's deficit and debt (with the understanding that the rate would be reduced after such time).[12] When asked for his opinion on Canada's Young Offenders Act, he said that he would promote meditation in youth jails to reduce crime.[13] He was forty-nine years old at the time.[14]

Electoral record
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalNiagara FallsNatural Law1690.397/8Gary Pillitteri, Liberal
1995 provincialNiagara FallsNatural Law3551.274/5Bart Maves, Progressive Conservative
federal by-election, 17 June 1996Hamilton EastNatural Law64 0.2411/13Sheila Copps, Liberal
1997 federalNiagara FallsNatural Law154 0.376/6Gary Pillitteri, Liberal
1999 provincialNiagara FallsNatural Law3170.784/6Bart Maves, Progressive Conservative
2000 federalNiagara FallsNatural Law1550.406/6Gary Pillitteri, Liberal

Ottawa—Vanier

Pierrette J. Blondin

Blondin has a Master of Education degree. She was a frequent candidate for the NLP at the provincial and federal levels. During the 1995 provincial election, she described herself as having twenty-eight years' experience as a teacher in the Ottawa-Carleton French School Board, and fifteen years' experience with transcendental meditation.http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/freenet/rootdir/menus/government/provelect/ridings/presruss/blondin.txt

Electoral record
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalGlengarry—Prescott—RussellNatural Law4560.85/6Don Boudria, Liberal
1995 provincialPrescott and RussellNatural Law4461.06/6Jean-Marc Lalonde, Liberal
1999 provincialOttawa—VanierNatural Law5801.465/6Claudette Boyer, Liberal
2000 federalOttawa—VanierNatural Law1870.397/9Mauril Belanger, Liberal

St. Catharines

Jim Morris

Morris listed himself as the lead hand at Dominion Controls.http://www.theglobeandmail.ca/series/election/2000Federal/candidates-new/891.html He was a frequent candidate for the NLP at the provincial and federal levels.

Electoral record
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1995 provincialOxfordNatural Law2756/7Ernie Hardeman, Progressive Conservative
1997 federalOxfordNatural Law1817/7John Finlay, Liberal
1999 provincialOxfordNatural Law2037/7Ernie Hardeman, Progressive Conservative
2000 federalSt. CatharinesNatural Law2030.435/7Walt Lastewka, Liberal

Toronto Centre—Rosedale

David Gordon

David Gordon is an advertising executive, and was based in Toronto during the period of his federal campaigns. He gave demonstrations in "yogic flying" during the 1993 federal election, and argued that the Natural Law Party would allow young Canadians to "gain enlightenment and perfection in their own lives and at the same time materialize their noble sentiments for an ideal civilization in Canada".[15]

He ran for the Natural Law Party of Canada twice and was a candidate for the Natural Law Party of Ontario in 1995.

Electoral record
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalScarborough CentreNatural Law190 0.476/10John Cannis, Liberal
1995 provincialSudburyNatural Law3151.045/7Rick Bartolucci, Liberal
2000 federalToronto Centre—RosedaleNatural Law2247/9Bill Graham, Liberal

Notes and References

  1. He sought assistance from the Maharishi Global Development Fund to bankroll the project, which was estimated to cost about twenty million dollars. The idea does not seem to have come to fruition. See Kate Jaimet, "Yogic hopes fly high in Chelsea: Maharishi followers want to build houses to finance college," Ottawa Citizen, 19 January 1999, C2.
  2. Kate Jaimet, "Opposition candidates fight Liberal bastion in Hull-Aylmer," Ottawa Citizen, 13 November 1999, C3.
  3. Pommet's electoral record is as follows:
    Electoral record
    ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
    1997 federalGatineauNatural Law4480.825/7Mark Assad, Liberal
    1998 provincialChapleauNatural Law1670.415/6Benoît Pelletier, Liberal
    federal by-election, 15 November 1999Hull—AylmerNatural Law1030.588/9Marcel Proulx, Liberal
    2000 federalGatineauNatural Law4720.946/9Mark Assad, Liberal
  4. http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/HFER/hfer.asp?Language=E&Search=Cresdetail&Election=8550 History of Federal Ridings since 1867 (Nickel Belt: 1993/10/25)
  5. Jolicoeur's electoral record is as follows:
    Electoral record
    ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
    1992 United Kingdom federalGillinghamNatural Law1905/5James Couchman, Conservative
    1993 federalNickel BeltNatural Law1730.396/8Ray Bonin, Liberal
    1998 provincialSaint-FrançoisNatural Law1065/6Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, Liberal
    2000 federalSherbrookeNatural Law4950.986/8Serge Cardin, Bloc Québécois
    The 1992 results are taken from "Election 1992: Results", Financial Times, 11 April 1992, London p. 10.
  6. Levert received 99 votes (0.22%) in Northumberland, finishing sixth against incumbent Doug Galt. Source: Official Results, Elections Ontario .
  7. http://www.matthewmacleod.com/ Matthew Macleod home page
  8. "The Candidates: Niagara Falls", Hamilton Spectator, 2 June 1999, C2.
  9. Lee Prokaska and Jim Poling, "The baker's dozen byelection", Hamilton Spectator, 7 June 1996, B2.
  10. Lee Prokaska and Jim Poling, "The baker's dozen byelection", Hamilton Spectator, 7 June 1996, B2.
  11. Denise Davy, "13 battle for Hamilton East: The environment, gay rights and GST among issues debated by candidates", Hamilton Spectator, 23 May 1996, D5. See also Bill Amos, "Radiated coherence can solve problems", Hamilton Spectator, 13 June 1996, A8.
  12. John Mentek, "GST: each candidate offers a different solution", Hamilton Spectator, 24 May 1996, B1.
  13. Dan Nolan, "Candidates latch onto Young Offenders Act", Hamilton Spectator, 14 June 1996, B2.
  14. Lee Prokaska and Jim Poling, "The baker's dozen byelection", Hamilton Spectator, 7 June 1996, B2.
  15. Charlotte Parsons, "Heaven on Earth is party's main aim", Globe and Mail, 21 August 1993, A13.

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