The Liberal Party originated in the reformist opposition groups that emerged in the mid-19th century in what are now the provinces of Quebec and Ontario “Rouges” (Reds) in the former and Clear Grits in the latter. The looseness and instability of all party formations at the time were especially persistent on what came to be called the Liberal side. Both before and after the 1867 creation of the Canadian federation, the Conservatives under Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, were more successful than the Liberals in forging a durable coalition. In 1873 Alexander Mackenzie did become the first Liberal prime minister, but his parliamentary group was undisciplined and lacked policy coherence. The party was swept from office
