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Ici Radio-Canada Première

Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) is a Canadian French-language radio network, the news and information service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known as Société Radio-Canada in French), the public broadcaster of Canada. It is the French counterpart of CBC Radio One, the CBC's similar English-language radio network.

The service is available across Canada, although not as widely as CBC Radio One. Only the provinces of Quebec and Ontario are served by more than one Première originating station. In all other provinces, the whole province is served by a single station with multiple transmitters. It reaches 90 percent of all Canadian francophones.

Each originating station outside Montreal airs a national schedule, taken from flagship station CBF-FM, complete with opted-out local/regional shows at peak times, depending on each market. News bulletins are aired live, irrespective of location.

The network may broadcast on either the AM or FM bands, depending on the market. A national version is available across North America on Sirius XM Canada channel 170. Première was available in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East live via the Hot Bird satellite. The satellite service closed in June 2012 as part of the budget measures affecting Radio Canada International.

History
Some French-language programming had aired on the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission's CRCM since 1933, but the CBC's French radio network traces its formal beginning to December 11, 1937, with the launch of CBF in Montreal.

In 1938, the station was expanded into a fledgling network with the launch of CBV in Quebec City and CBJ in Chicoutimi. Also that year, the long-running soap opera La Pension Velder, which ran until 1942 and was then revived in the 1950s as a television series, aired for the first time. The following year, the even more successful and influential Un Homme et son péché was launched.

For the first month of World War II, Radio-Canada aired 24 hours a day, broadcasting war news from Europe. Also that year, the network broadcast its first Montreal Canadiens hockey game.

In 1940, another popular radio soap, Jeunesse dorée, made its debut. In 1941, the network, which had previously relied on Canadian Press reporters, launched its own news division and two shortwave radio stations in Montreal to serve francophones outside Quebec. Throughout the 1940s, its expansion inside Quebec was primarily through private affiliate stations.

In 1942, the network controversially refused to give airtime to the "No" side in the Conscription Plebiscite. Nonetheless, 72.9 per cent of Quebec voters were opposed.

In 1945, the International Service was launched. In 1946, the network launched an experimental FM station in Montreal (which would become CBFX), and expanded outside Quebec for the first time with the launch of CKSB as a private affiliate in St. Boniface, Manitoba, near Winnipeg.

The network also had seven privately owned affiliates:
 * CHGB, Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, 250 watts
 * CHLT, Sherbrooke, 1,000 watts
 * CHNC, New Carlisle, 1,000 watts
 * CJBR, Rimouski, 1,000 watts (purchased by Radio-Canada in 1977)
 * CJFP, Rivière-du-Loup, 250 watts
 * CKRN, Rouyn, 250 watts
 * CKCH, Hull, 250 watts
 * CKCV, Quebec City, 1,000 watts

In 1948, the influential children's series Tante Lucille and Gérard Pelletier's public affairs program Les Idées en marche debuted. Also that year, three studios in Montreal's King's Hall building were destroyed in an explosion, leading Radio-Canada to centralize its operations in a new building on boulevard Dorchester.

In 1952, the network became autonomous from the CBC head office in Toronto. Previously, all programming decisions had to be reviewed by the Toronto staff in advance.

Through the 1960s, the network began to expand across Canada, taking over Toronto's CJBC in October 1964, and launching Ottawa's CBOF in 1964 and Vancouver's CBUF in 1967. As well, influential broadcaster Lise Payette launched her first program, Place aux femmes, in 1965.

The network eliminated tobacco advertising in 1969, and eventually dropped all commercial advertising in 1974, except for Montreal Canadiens hockey games (which would move to the Radiomédia network in 1997). The Maison Radio-Canada, which remains the flagship facility for all of Radio-Canada's broadcast services, was officially opened by Pierre Trudeau in 1973, and Radio-Canada's FM network was launched in 1974. Through the remainder of the 1970s, the network began to directly acquire many of its private affiliate stations, including CHFA in Edmonton, CFRG in Gravelbourg and CFNS in Saskatoon, although with the CBC's financial difficulties in the 1980s, this process was slowed down considerably.

The network was rebranded as Première Chaîne in 1997, concurrently with the rebranding of all of the CBC's radio networks.

In 1999, Radio-Canada applied to the CRTC for a license to launch a third all-news station in Montreal, on the 690 AM frequency CBF had surrendered in 1997 when it moved to FM. The application was rejected. Radio-Canada filed an appeal of the decision with the Federal Court of Appeal, which denied the request in October of that year.

In 2002, two of the network's last three remaining private affiliate stations, CKVM in Ville-Marie and CFLM in La Tuque, disaffiliated from the network, and the final private affiliate, CHLM in Rouyn-Noranda, was directly acquired by the network in 2004. The network now directly owns all of the stations that broadcast its programming.

On June 5, 2013, it was announced that Première Chaîne would be re-branded as Ici Première on August 9, 2013 as part of a wider re-branding of the CBC's French-language outlets. This was a nod to the network's system cue since the 1930s, Ici Radio-Canada ("This is Radio-Canada"). Following highly publicized complaints about the new "Ici" name, prompted primarily by the removal of the historic "Radio-Canada" brand, the new name was changed to Ici Radio-Canada Première instead.

News
Première's flagship 60-minute news program is Ça nous regarde, a national news and discussion program similar to CBC Radio One's The World at Six and As It Happens.

Regional differences
There are various regional adjustments to the national schedule. In the Atlantic provinces the national schedule airs live, with programme trailers announcing the broadcast time as one hour later.

All Première outlets produce a regional program in the morning (Monday to Friday) from their respective studios. For afternoon programs, in some provinces or regions, a program may originate from a studio in the largest station in their area and broadcast to all stations in a given region; for example: stations in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and St. John's broadcasts the program produced in Moncton and CBEF Windsor broadcast the show produced in Toronto at CJBC.

In the summer, the morning show for the Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland are produced in turn by the stations of Halifax and of Charlottetown and the afternoon program of the Rimouski, Matane and Sept-Îles stations is produced alternately in each of the stations and broadcast on these three stations.

For Saturday morning shows, they are produced respectively in Moncton (for the Maritimes), Montreal (for the province of Quebec, except the Outaouais region), Ottawa (for Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais region), Sudbury (for Ontario, except Ottawa and Kenora), and Vancouver (for the Western provinces, as well as Kenora, Ontario).

In Northern Canada, CFWY-FM in Whitehorse, Yukon rebroadcasts the programs of CBUF-FM Vancouver. This station is not owned by the CBC, but by the Franco-Yukon Association. Conversely, Ici Nord Québec, anchored by CBFG-FM Chisasibi and transmitted to nine other First Nations communities in the Nord-du-Québec region via FM repeater transmitters, airs the same schedule as CBF-FM, but with four hours of regional programming inserted on weekdays, three of these in the Cree language.

The feed for Sirius XM Canada airs live across North America and simulcasted from CBF-FM in Montreal, meaning programmes are broadcast using the Eastern Time Zone. The entire schedule is aired as of 2016.

Listeners in Europe, Middle East and North Africa were able to receive direct programming from CBF-FM Montreal, with RCI's own shows inserted into the schedule in the morning and evening. This ceased in June 2012.

Holiday programming
During certain holidays, a single program may be heard on a provincewide or a regionwide basis. In Quebec, stations outside Montreal, Quebec City and Outaouais airs a morning program and an afternoon show produced by different outlets in turn. In Ontario, holiday editions of morning shows are produced at CJBC, CBON or CBEF, and is broadcast on all three stations. In most holidays, the afternoon show is produced at the station that had not produced the morning show of that day. And all Première outlets in Western Canada present special pan-regional programming on holidays replacing local programs - Les matins de l'Ouest and Le retour de l'Ouest.

On Christmas Day and New Year's Day, all stations nationwide carry the same schedule from Montreal, live or taped, depending on location. Also, on the weeks of Christmas and New Year's, regional morning shows begin at 6:00 in all areas, except Montreal where it could begins at 5:00 or 6:00 one year and another.

Stations
In addition to primary production centres listed here, most stations in the network also serve a larger region through rebroadcasters. Due to the significant number of such rebroadcast frequencies, those are listed in each individual station's article rather than here.

Historically, Première has broadcast primarily on the AM band, but many stations have moved over to FM. Over the years, a number of CBC radio transmitters with a majority of them on AM have either moved to FM or had shut down completely. See: List of defunct CBC radio transmitters in Canada

title: Ici Radio-Canada Première


text: User talk:64.12.97.10

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User talk:64.12.97.10


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Baron Huntingfield

Baron Huntingfield is a title created three times, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Ireland. The first two creations were by writ, but little more is known about them, except that John de Huntingfield, who was created Baron Huntingfield in 1362, married Margery (or Margaret) de Welles, daughter of John de Welles, 4th Baron Welles. John was dead by December 1376, when Margery remarried. Both titles probably became extinct or fell into abeyance on the death of their first holders. The third creation, Baron Huntingfield, of Heveningham Hall in the County of Suffolk, was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1796 for Sir Joshua Vanneck, 3rd Baronet, Member of Parliament for Dunwich. His son, the second Baron, also represented this constituency in the House of Commons. His great-grandson, the fifth Baron (who succeeded his uncle), was Conservative Member of Parliament for Eye and Governor of Victoria. the titles are held by the latter's grandson, the seventh Baron, who succeeded his father in 1994.

The Vanneck Baronetcy, of Putney in the County of Surrey, was created in the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1751 for Joshua Vanneck, a London merchant of Dutch origin. His eldest son, the second Baronet, represented Dunwich in Parliament. He was succeeded in this seat and the baronetcy by his younger brother, the third Baronet, who was elevated to the peerage as Baron Huntingfield in 1796.

Sir Peter Vanneck, Lord Mayor of London in 1978, was the second son of the fifth Baron.

The former seat of the Vanneck family was Heveningham Hall near Heveningham and Huntingfield in Suffolk. However, the house was sold to the government in 1970.

As of 30 June 2006, the present holder of the barony has not successfully proven his succession to the baronetcy and is therefore not on the Official Roll of the Baronetage, with the baronetcy considered dormant. However, the case is under review by the Registrar of the Baronetage (for more information follow this link).

Barons Huntingfield, First creation (1351)

 * William de Huntingfield, 1st Baron Huntingfield (1329–1376)

Barons Huntingfield, Second creation (1362)

 * John de Huntingfield, 1st Baron Huntingfield

Vanneck Baronets, of Putney (1751)

 * Sir Joshua Vanneck, 1st Baronet (died 1777)
 * Sir Gerard Vanneck, 2nd Baronet (c. 1743–1791)
 * Sir Joshua Vanneck, 3rd Baronet (1745–1816) (created Baron Huntingfield in 1796)

Barons Huntingfield, Third creation (1796)

 * Joshua Vanneck, 1st Baron Huntingfield (1745–1816)
 * Joshua Vanneck, 2nd Baron Huntingfield (1778–1844)
 * Charles Andrew Vanneck, 3rd Baron Huntingfield (1818–1897)
 * Joshua Charles Vanneck, 4th Baron Huntingfield (1842–1915)
 * William Charles Arcedeckne Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield (1883–1969)
 * Gerard Charles Arcedeckne Vanneck, 6th Baron Huntingfield (1915–1994)
 * Joshua Charles Vanneck, 7th Baron Huntingfield (born 1954)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Hon. Gerald Charles Alastair Vanneck (born 1985).

title: Baron Huntingfield


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Assiniboia

Assiniboia District refers to two historical districts of Canada's Northwest Territories. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation.

Historical usage
For more information on the history of the provisional districts, see also Districts of the Northwest Territories

(Old) District of Assiniboia
The District of Assiniboia was a name used to describe the Red River Colony, mainly for official purposes, between 1812 and 1869. Nominally the district included all of the territory granted in the Selkirk Concession. However, much of this was ceded to the United States in 1818 (from the Treaty of 1818) and in 1838 the district was redefined as the circular region within 50 miles of Fort Garry, which was the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. The actual area of settlement, centered at present-day Winnipeg, was limited to the Red River valley between Lower Fort Garry and Pembina, North Dakota, and the Assiniboine River valley between Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The District was governed by a Hudson's Bay Company-appointed Governor of Assiniboia, who was advised by members of the Council of Assiniboia.

In 1869 Rupert's Land, including the District of Assiniboia, was transferred to Canada without consultation of the residents of the settlement. This, and the arrival of Canadian surveyors, led to the Red River Rebellion, in which a Provisional Government and Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia was established by Métis leader Louis Riel to negotiate the admission of the District as a province of Canada. The original proposal, which suggested that the new province consist of all of the fertile belt between Winnipeg and British Columbia, was rejected by the Canadian federal government as it conflicted with their plans to manage the settlement of the Northwest Territories directly. As a compromise, a small part of the district, consisting mainly of the settled areas, was admitted to Canada as the Province of Manitoba in 1870 though the federal government retained control of crown land and natural resources until 1930. In some accounts of the history of Manitoba, the term Old Assiniboia is used to describe the pre-1870 settlement, though the terms Red River Colony, Red River Settlement and Selkirk Settlement are more common.

District of Assiniboia
The (Second) District of Assiniboia was later created (1882) as a regional administrative district of Canada's North-West Territories. Most of it was absorbed into the Province of Saskatchewan in 1905, except for the westernmost quarter, which became part of Alberta.

The east boundary of the district coincided with the modern Manitoba–Saskatchewan boundary, the line between the 29th and 30th ranges west of the First Meridian of the Dominion Land Survey. This boundary has jogs at each correction line. Any roads built on this boundary are now designated Road 174 West under the Manitoba system or Range Road 1300 under the Saskatchewan system.

The north boundary was the 9th Correction Line, approximately 52° north, now also designated Township Road 350.

The west boundary was the line between the 10th and 11th ranges west of the Fourth Meridian. This line, now designated Range Road 110, has jogs at each correction line. The northwest corner of the Assiniboia District is commemorated by a cairn 10 km south of Coronation, Alberta.

Between 1876 and 1883, Battleford (in the District of Saskatchewan) was the territorial capital of the North-West Territories. The territorial capital was moved to Regina, located in Assiniboia, in 1883, and on the formation of the province of Saskatchewan in 1905, Regina became the capital of the province. Its location was chosen by Edgar Dewdney, the territorial lieutenant-governor. Dewdney had reserved for himself substantial land adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railway line on the site of what became the town, and thereby considerably enriched himself. This was the occasion of a considerable scandal in the early days of the Territories. The District of Assiniboia survived in its original geographical configuration as the Anglican Diocese of Qu'Appelle until the 1970s when the portion of the diocese (and former District of Assiniboia) lying within the province of Alberta was ceded to the Diocese of Calgary.

title: Assiniboia


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ICI Musique

ICI Musique is the French-language music radio service of Canada's national public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Société Radio-Canada). It is the French equivalent of the English CBC Music, although it has a different programming focus.

History
The network was originally launched as Le FM de Radio-Canada in 1974, with stations in Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City and Chicoutimi.

The network grew slowly. For a long time, its only full-fledged stations outside of Quebec were in Ottawa and Moncton. It presently covers the majority of Quebec, all provincial capitals (though Regina, Victoria, Edmonton, St. John's, Fredericton and Charlottetown are only served by rebroadcasters) and other large cities such as Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

The network was rebranded as La chaîne culturelle ("The cultural network") in 1997 and later as Espace musique in September 2004, the latter as part of a major repositioning of the CBC's French services. Many high-brow cultural programs were moved to Première Chaîne, while the new Espace musique service adopted a more populist approach focusing on four genres – classical, jazz, world, and folk music – and French-language song.

For about two weeks in late August / early September 2004 leading up to the Espace musique relaunch, the network did not have any name, at least officially. The network "stunted" with a continuous stream of classical music and jazz, aside from hourly newscasts simulcast from Première Chaîne and regular reminders that la Chaîne culturelle had shut down and (later) that it would relaunch as Espace musique on September 7.

The rebranding was controversial. The network's previous format, largely classical music, had been similar to that of CBC Radio Two, and was indeed regarded by some as superior to its English-language counterpart, leading many cultural commentators to criticize the new format. However, Bureau of Broadcast Measurement ratings taken soon after the relaunch suggested that the service has indeed become more popular.

Unlike most CBC broadcast networks, from its inception until fall 2010, all ICI Musique transmitters aired the same programming simultaneously on all stations regardless of location, except for (from 2004 to 2010) two weekday evening programs that were interchanged on the British Columbia transmitters.

Since September 2010, the network has adopted the practice of the CBC's other French-language networks, whereby network programs are broadcast live in the Eastern, Atlantic, and Newfoundland time zones, then aired on tape delay (at the same local times as in the Eastern time zone) in Western Canada. At the same time the network devolved responsibility for the 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (9:30-1:00 AT; formerly from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. / 10:00-4:00 AT) time slot to regional stations. Separate daytime programs were slated to be produced by each of the network's originating stations - the exceptions having been CBAX-FM Halifax, which carried programming produced at CBAL-FM Moncton; and CBCX-FM Calgary / Edmonton, which carried regional programs from CKSB-FM Winnipeg.

On May 4, 2011, the network began transmitting on Sirius XM satellite radio channel 153 across North America. "Ici musique chansons" was later moved to channel 163.

On June 5, 2013, it was announced that Espace musique would be re-branded as ICI Musique as part of a wider re-branding of the CBC's French-language outlets around the brand "Ici". The changes took effect on-air in June 2014, along with the re-branding of the network's website espace.mu as icimusique.ca.

On April 10, 2014, further budget cuts were announced for the CBC/Radio-Canada, affecting also Espace Musique, whose regional programming (namely Beau temps, mauvais temps on weekday mornings) was cancelled on June 20. Since then, the ICI Musique network feed has essentially been a retransmission of flagship CBFX-FM in Montreal.

title: ICI Musique


text:
1783 in music

Events

 * August 23 – Maria Anna Mozart marries Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold.
 * September 24 – The Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia, opens with a performance of Giovanni Paisiello’s opera Il mondo della luna.
 * John Broadwood patents a piano pedal in England.

Classical music

 * Johann Adolph Hasse - Missa Ultima in g minor
 * Carl Friedrich Abel – 6 Symphonies, Op. 17
 * Johann Georg Albrechtsberger – Mass in D major
 * Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – 2 Sonaten, 2 Fantasien und 3 Rondos für Kenner und Liebhaber, Wq.58
 * Ludwig van Beethoven – Three Piano Sonatas, WoO 47 ("Kurfuerstensonaten") in E-flat, F, and D
 * Muzio Clementi
 * 3 Piano Sonatas, Op.9
 * 3 Piano Sonatas, Op.10
 * Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf – Six Symphonies after Ovid's Metamorphoses
 * Jane Mary Guest – 6 Sonatas, Op. 1
 * Joseph Haydn
 * Baryton Trio Hob. XI:101, 103, and 108
 * Cello Concerto in D
 * Michael Haydn – Symphony in E-flat major
 * Anton Kraft – 3 Cello Sonatas, Op. 2
 * Joseph Martin Kraus – String Quartets, Op.1 (published, Berlin: J.J. Hummel, Plate 561)
 * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 * Luci care, luci belle, K.346/439a
 * Mia speranza adorata, K.416
 * Vorrei spiegarvi, o Dio, K.418
 * Duo for Violin and Viola, K.423
 * Duo for Violin and Viola, K.424
 * Symphony No. 36 in C major, K. 425
 * Great Mass in C minor, K. 427
 * Così dunque tradisci, K.432/421a
 * Ecco quel fiero istante, K.436
 * Mi lagnerò tacendo, K.437
 * Due pupille amabili, K.439
 * Country Dance in G major, K.610
 * Giovanni Paisiello – La passione di Gesù Cristo
 * Antonio Rosetti – Sextet in D major, M.B24/II:19
 * Daniel Gottlob Türk – 12 Leichte Klaviersonaten
 * Giovanni Battista Viotti
 * Concerto for Piano No. 7 in G
 * Violin Concerto No.10 in B-flat major
 * Samuel Wesley – Magnificat

Opera

 * Felice Alessandri – Artaserse
 * Pasquale Anfossi – La finta ammalata
 * Domenico Cimarosa
 * I due baroni di Rocca Azzurra
 * Oreste
 * La villana riconosciuta
 * Vincenzo Fabrizi – I tre gobbi rivali
 * André Grétry – La Caravane du Caire
 * Niccolò Piccinni – Didon
 * Antonio Sacchini – Renaud
 * William Shield – The Poor Soldier

Published popular music

 * "I had a horse, I had nae mair", "The Rigs o' Barley", and other songs by Robert Burns

Methods and theory writings

 * Anton Bemetzrieder
 * Abstract of the Talents and Knowledge of a Musician
 * New Lessons for the Harpsichord
 * Johann Michael Weissbeck – Protestationschrift oder Exemplarische Widerlegung
 * Georg Friedrich Wolf – Kurzer aber deutlicher Unterricht im Klavierspielen

Births

 * January 12 – Erik Gustaf Geijer, writer and composer (d. 1847)
 * January 20 – Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
 * January 26 – Helmina von Chézy, librettist (d. 1856)
 * February 9 – Vasily Zhukovsky, librettist and poet (died 1852)
 * February 15 – Johann Nepomuk Poissl, composer
 * March 8 – Gottfied Wilhelm Fink, German composer (died 1846)
 * March 26 – Johann Baptist Weigl, composer
 * April 21 – Reginald Heber, librettist and clergyman (died 1826)
 * May 10 – Niccola Benvenuti, composer
 * May 14 – Jacques Jules Bouffil, composer and musician (died 1868)
 * May 22 – Thomas Forbes Walmisley, composer (died 1866)
 * June 29 – August Alexander Klengel, pianist, organist and composer
 * September 23 – Jane Taylor, librettist and poet (died 1824)
 * October 13 – Frantiszek Soltyk, composer
 * December 14 – Johann Christoph Kienlen, composer
 * December 28 – Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg, composer
 * date unknown – Charles-François-Jean-Baptiste Moreau, French librettist (died 1832)

Deaths

 * January 5 – Friedrich Wilhelm Riedt, flautist, music theorist and composer (born 1710)
 * January 10 – Phanuel Bacon, librettist and writer (born 1700)
 * January 14 – Giacobbe Cervetto, cellist and composer (born 1682)
 * January 31 – Caffarelli, castrato singer (born 1710)
 * February 10 – James Nares, composer (born 1715)
 * February 21 – Richard Duke, violin maker (born 1718)
 * March 1 – Thomas Lowe, tenor (born c.1719)
 * March 23 – Gaspard Fritz, composer
 * April 7 – Ignaz Holzbauer, composer (born 1711)
 * May 11 – Juliane Reichardt, composer and pianist (born 1752)
 * May 18 – Lucrezia Aguiari, coloratura soprano (born 1741)
 * July 27 – Johann Kirnberger, music theorist/violist (born 1721)
 * October 7 – William Tans'ur, composer, teacher and arranger of hymn tunes (born c.1706)
 * October 29 – Jean le Rond d'Alembert, music theorist and philosopher (born 1717)
 * November 3 – Charles Collé, songwriter (born 1709)
 * December 16 – Johann Adolph Hasse, singer, composer and music teacher (born 1699)
 * December 20 – Antonio Soler, composer (born 1729)

title: 1783 in music


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Freedom Party of Ontario

The Freedom Party of Ontario (FPO, Parti de la Liberté – Ontario) is a provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was founded on January 1, 1984, in London, Ontario by Robert Metz and Marc Emery. The Freedom Party has fielded candidates in every provincial election since 1985, and in several by-elections. It has also participated in numerous public policy debates, often on contentious social issues.

In 1980, a schism occurred in the libertarian movement in Ontario, with several members of the Libertarian Party, unhappy with its direction and democratic structure, left to follow the Objectivist Unparty. In 1984, the Unparty changed its name to the Freedom Party of Ontario.

Ideology
The Freedom Party's founding principle is that "every individual, in the peaceful pursuit of personal fulfillment, has an absolute right to his or her own life, liberty, and property." The Freedom Party membership's stated objectives are four-fold: encouraging voters to vote for FPO candidates in provincial elections and by-elections, influencing government through the election of FPO candidates to the Ontario legislature, protecting every Ontarian's right to life, liberty and property, and lastly building and supporting the FPO by becoming a network of individuals dedicated to carrying out the aforementioned principles, described in detail above.

The party has, from its inception in 1984, explained that "the Freedom Party believes that the purpose of government is to protect our freedom of choice, not to restrict it." The party advocates government that takes into account only claims backed by evidence. It submits that all government laws and decisions must be logical, and must at all times serve the purpose of ensuring that no person's life, liberty, or property is taken without his consent.

Founding
The Freedom Party of Ontario was founded by a number of people based in the London, Ontario area, including Robert Metz and Marc Emery of London, who had founded The London Tribune (a broadsheet daily newspaper) in London in 1980 and, later published the London Metrobulletin (beginning in March 1983 ). Toward the end of 1983, Metz assumed the registration of the Toronto-based Unparty which folded and closed its Toronto office. Elections Ontario approved the party's name change on October 19, 1983. Because Metz and Emery were turning their attention to electoral politics, the final issue of the London Metrobulletin was published in December 1983. Freedom Party of Ontario was officially launched on January 1, 1984, with its head office in London. Freedom Party of Ontario's founding platform was summarized in the statement: "Freedom Party believes that the purpose of government is to protect our freedom of choice, not to restrict it."

1984–2002
The FPO was best known during the 1980s for its campaigns against censorship and provincial laws that restricted Sunday shopping. Robert Metz, the party's first president, spoke for the FPO in 1987 when he argued that the Sunday shopping debate was fundamentally about freedom of choice for the retailer and consumer. Leading FPO members also opposed legal restrictions on pornography that depicts consensual sex between consenting adults, and opposed the prohibition of marijuana, arguing that the state did not have the right to legislate in such matters.

On economic issues, the FPO supported tax reductions and opposed provincial welfare programs. It was also critical of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and of affirmative action programs. Some prominent former members of Voice of Canadians (VOC), a now-defunct group that opposed official multiculturalism and official bilingualism, have affiliated with the FPO since the 1990s.

Metz became the first leader of the party in 1987, and served until 1994 when he was replaced by Jack Plant. Plant stepped down in 1997, and was replaced by Lloyd Walker. All of the party's leaders between 1987 and 2002 were from London, and the party's activities were organized primarily from that city. The party newsletter, Freedom Flyer, was published on an occasional basis, and back copies are available online.

The Freedom Party has opposed government restrictions on free speech and freedom of expression throughout its existence, arguing that the state has no right to intervene except in cases of fraud, defamation, or the commission of crimes such as sex with children. Marc Emery frequently challenged Canada's censorship laws during his years as an FPO organizer, via the private bookstore he operated in London. He continued to do so after resigning from FPO in 1990.

The FPO took a civil libertarian stance on hate speech and the rights of individuals to express political opinions, whether those opinions are rational or irrational, unoffensive or offensive, popular or unpopular. In 1999, the London police wrote to Raphael Bergmann and Tyler Chilcott alleging that they were members of the Northern Alliance. The letter stated that, as they belonged to an "extreme right-wing" group they were "required" to report to the police to explain their opinions. The FPO's then leader, Lloyd Walker requested that Solicitor-General David Tsubouchi provide a list of "extreme" political beliefs that could result in such police action. No response was provided by the government, and nothing more came of the matter. here. Bergmann and Chilcott were never FPO members and the party did not support their views, simply their right to express them.

Since 2002 under leadership of Paul McKeever
The party was partly restructured in 2002, when Oshawa lawyer Paul McKeever replaced Walker as party leader. McKeever argues that the FPO is now targeted toward building an electoral base and that a new organization, Freedom Party International, has taken on its prior advocacy role. FPI now publishes the former FPO journal, Consent.

McKeever (born 1966) has been the party's leader since 2002. He graduated from Trent University with an Honours Bachelor of Science in 1989 and a Master of Arts from the University of Western Ontario in 1991 and a law degree from the same university in 1995. He currently practises civil litigation and employment law.

McKeever became a member of the Freedom Party of Ontario in 1992, joined its executive in 1999, and became party leader in 2002 following the resignation of Lloyd Walker. He is the party's first leader not to reside in London, Ontario. McKeever is also owner and operator of the "Mondo Politico" website, which reviews the political positions of various parties, including his own.

McKeever was a candidate for the Freedom Party of Ontario in the 1999 election in Toronto Centre-Rosedale, where he received 344 votes, or 0.8% of all votes cast. In the 2003 provincial in the riding of Oshawa, he came in fifth out of six candidates with 518 votes or 1.3% of all votes cast. McKeever was the Freedom Party's candidate in the March 30, 2006 Whitby—Ajax by-election and received 198 votes, 0.6% of all ballots cast. During the 2007 provincial election McKeever ran in London West where he received 234 votes, 0.5% of all ballots cast. He was a candidate in the September 17, 2009 provincial by-election in the Toronto riding of St. Paul's and received 61 votes (0.2%).

Under McKeever's leadership, the Freedom Party of Ontario nominated 24 candidates in the 2003 provincial election and 15 candidates in the 2007 provincial election. 56 Freedom Party candidates contested the 2011 provincial election and 42 Freedom Party candidates contested the 2014 provincial election. The Freedom Party of Canada has not nominated any candidates in federal elections.

The FPO promoted an electoral platform entitled "The Right Direction" for the 2003 election, arguing that with the PCs turning away from Mike Harris's Common Sense Revolution, the FPO was the only remaining party with "common sense".

On October 4, 2005, the FPO released its 2007 election platform. It focused on competition in health care and education, repealing price controls on electricity, the replacement of property taxes with consumption taxes, and the elimination of the provincial income tax.

The party failed to win any seats in the 2022 Ontario general election.

Other Freedom parties
The FPO is affiliated with the Freedom Party of Canada (FPC), an unregistered political party which was founded by Paul McKeever and Robert Metz on July 20, 2001. It is also affiliated with Freedom Party International, which is not a political party but an organization founded to advocate and promote the party's philosophy, and to serve as the authority that must be consulted by any persons wishing to form an affiliated political party. FPO, FPC, FPUSA and FPI are not affiliated with the Freedom Party of British Columbia, the Freedom Party of Manitoba or other parties styled as "Freedom Party".

Election results

 * March 31, 1988 provincial by-election – London North, 548 votes (1.7%), fifth of six candidates
 * November 3, 1988 provincial by-election – Welland—Thorold, 260 votes (0.9%), fourth of five candidates
 * April 1, 1993 provincial by-election – Don Mills, 161 votes (0.9%), seventh of eight candidates
 * November 24, 2005 provincial by-election – Scarborough—Rouge River, 59 votes (0.4%), sixth of six candidates.
 * March 31, 2006 provincial by-elections:
 * Toronto—Danforth, 93 votes, (0.3%), sixth of nine candidates
 * Whitby—Ajax, 198 votes, (0.6%), fifth of seven candidates (FpO candidate was party leader Paul McKeever)
 * Nepean—Carleton, 74 votes, (0.2%), sixth of six candidates
 * September 14, 2006 provincial by-election – Parkdale—High Park, 111 votes (0.4%), seventh of eight candidates
 * September 6, 2012 provincial by-elections:
 * Vaughan, 90 votes (0.3%), eighth out of nine candidates.
 * Kitchener—Waterloo, 95 votes (0.2%), sixth out of ten candidates.
 * August 1, 2013 provincial by-elections:
 * Scarborough—Guildwood (Matthew Oliver), 80 votes (0.3%), ninth out of ten candidates
 * Etobicoke—Lakeshore (Wayne Simmons), 57 votes (0.2%), last out of eight candidates
 * Ottawa South (Dave McGruer), 85 votes (0.2%), eighth out of nine candidates
 * Windsor—Tecumseh (Andrew Brannan), 124 votes (0.5%), last out of seven candidates
 * London West (Al Gretzky), 1,838 votes (5.0%), fourth out of six candidates

Party leaders

 * 1) Robert Metz (1987–1994)
 * 2) Jack Plant (1994–1997)
 * 3) Lloyd Walker (1997–2002)
 * 4) Paul McKeever (2002–)

(Note: The party did not have an official leader from 1984 to 1987. Robert Metz was its president during this period. Lloyd Walker was initially chosen as leader on an interim basis.)

title: Freedom Party of Ontario


text:
Viktor Chernomyrdin

Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (Ви́ктор Степа́нович Черномы́рдин, ; 9 April 1938 – 3 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union (13 February 1985 – 17 July 1989), after which he became first chairman of Gazprom energy company and the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of Russia (1992–1998) based on consecutive years. He was a key figure in Russian politics in the 1990s and a participant in the transition from a planned to a market economy. From 2001 to 2009, he was Russia's ambassador to Ukraine. After that, he was designated as a presidential adviser.

Chernomyrdin was known in Russia and Russian-speaking countries for his language style, which contained numerous malapropisms and syntactic errors. Many of his sayings became aphorisms and idioms in the Russian language, two examples being the expression "We wanted the best, but it turned out like always." (Хотели как лучше, а получилось как всегда) and "The thing that never happens just happened again" (Никогда такого не было, и вот опять).

Chernomyrdin died on 3 November 2010 after a long illness. He was buried beside his wife in Novodevichy Cemetery on 5 November, and his funeral was broadcast live on Russian federal TV channels.

Early life and education
Chernomyrdin was born in Chernyi Otrog, Orenburg Oblast, Russian SFSR. His father was a labourer and Viktor was one of five children. Chernomyrdin completed school education in 1957 and found employment as a mechanic in an oil refinery in Orsk. He worked there until 1962, except for his military service from 1957 to 1960. His other occupations on the plant during this period included machinist, operator and chief of technical installations.

He became a member of the CPSU in 1961. In 1962, he was admitted to Kuybyshev Industrial Institute (which was later renamed Samara Polytechnical Institute). In his entrance exams he performed very poorly. He failed the maths sections of the test and had to take the exam again, getting a C. He got only one B, in Russian language, and Cs in the other tests. He was admitted only because of very poor competition. In 1966, he graduated from the institute. In 1972, he completed further studies at the Department of Economics of the Union-wide Polytechnic Institute by correspondence.

Early career
Chernomyrdin began developing his career as a politician when he worked for the CPSU in Orsk between 1967 and 1973. In 1973, he was appointed the director of the natural gas refining plant in Orenburg, a position which he held until 1978. Between 1978 and 1982, Chernomyrdin worked in the heavy industry arm of the CPSU Central Committee.

In 1982, he was appointed deputy Minister of the natural gas industries of the Soviet Union. Concurrently, beginning from 1983, he directed Glavtyumengazprom, an industry association for natural gas resource development in Tyumen Oblast. During 1985–1989 he was the minister of gas industries.

Founder of Gazprom
In August 1989, under the leadership of Chernomyrdin, the Ministry of Gas Industry was transformed into the State Gas Concern, Gazprom, which became the country's first state-corporate enterprise. Chernomyrdin was elected its first chairman. The company was still controlled by the state, but now the control was exercised through shares of stock, 100% of which were owned by the state.

When the Soviet Union dissolved in late 1991, assets of the former Soviet state in the gas sector were transferred to newly created national companies such as Ukrgazprom and Turkmengazprom. Gazprom kept assets located in the territory of Russia, and was able to secure a monopoly in the gas sector.

Gazprom's political influence increased markedly after Russian President Boris Yeltsin appointed the company's chairman Chernomyrdin as his Prime Minister in 1992. Rem Viakhirev took Chernomyrdin's place as chairman both of the board of directors and of the managing committee. Gazprom was one of the backbones of the country's economy in 1990s, though the company underperformed during that decade. In the 2000s, however, Gazprom became the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company.

Prime Minister of Russia
In May 1992, Boris Yeltsin appointed Chernomyrdin as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of fuel and energy. On 14 December 1992, Chernomyrdin was confirmed by the VII Congress of People's Deputies of Russia as Prime Minister.

According to Felipe Turover Chudínov, who was a senior intelligence officer with the foreign-intelligence directorate of the KGB, Chernomyrdin secretly decreed in the early 1990s that Russia would become an international hub for narcotics trafficking including importing cocaine and heroin from South America and heroin from Central Asia and Southeast Asia and exporting narcotics to Europe, North America including the United States and Canada, and China and the Pacific Rim.

While he had been critical of his predecessor Gaidar, Chernomyrdin largely continued Gaidar's policies.

In April 1995, he formed a political bloc called Our Home – Russia, which won 10% of the vote and 55 seats to come third in the 1995 Russian legislative election.

In 1995, Chernomyrdin signed a decree calling for the development of a national strategy for tiger conservation

On 18 June 1995, as a result of Shamil Basayev-led terrorists taking over 1500 people hostage in Budyonnovsk, negotiations between Chernomyrdin and Basayev led to a compromise which became a turning point for the First Chechen War. In exchange for the hostages, the Russian government agreed to halt military actions in Chechnya and begin a series of negotiations.

When Boris Yeltsin was undergoing a heart operation on 6 November 1996, Chernomyrdin served as Acting President for 23 hours.

Chernomyrdin remained Prime Minister until his sudden dismissal on 23 March 1998. Following the 1998 Russian financial crisis in August, Yeltsin re-appointed Chernomyrdin as Prime Minister, and attempted to groom him as his successor. However, the Duma twice refused to confirm Chernomyrdin as the head of the government. Rather than risking a third rejection and thus forcing the dissolution of the State Duma and political crisis, Chernomyrdin withdrew his nomination and the President asked the more popular Yevgeny Primakov to form a new cabinet.

Diplomatic career
During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 Chernomyrdin was a special representative of Russia in Yugoslavia.

In December 1999 Chernomyrdin was elected a member of the State Duma. In May 2001, Vladimir Putin appointed Chernomyrdin Ambassador of Russia to Ukraine. This action was interpreted by some Russian media agencies as a move to distance Chernomyrdin from the centre of Russian politics. In 2003, he dismissed talk of an apology for the Holodomor Famine made by the Soviet Union.

In February 2009 Chernomyrdin again strained the relations between Ukraine and Russia when he in an interview said "It is impossible to come to an agreement on anything with the Ukrainian leadership. If different people come in, we'll see". The Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a response it could declare Chernomyrdin "persona non-grata" over the row.

On 11 June 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev relieved Chernomyrdin as Russian Ambassador in Kyiv, and appointed him as "presidential adviser and special presidential representative on economic cooperation with CIS member countries". In a parting shot at the Ukrainian government, Chernomyrdin stated that Russia should not apologise to Ukraine over voicing its suspicions about Ukraine being unable to pay for its natural gas, and further stated that Russia wants Ukraine to pay for the gas it consumes, and hence Russia is right to be concerned about the solvency of the Ukrainian state.

Death
Chernomyrdin died on the morning of 3 November 2010 after a long illness. According to people close to Chernomyrdin, such as singer Lev Leshchenko, the former Prime Minister was deeply affected by the death of his wife Valentina, seven and a half months earlier.

Chernomyrdin was buried beside his wife in Novodevichy Cemetery on 5 November 2010. On 3 November Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed an order to show Chernomyrdin's funeral in a live broadcast on Russian federal TV channels (only the funerals of the former President Boris Yeltsin and Patriarch Alexy II were granted the same right in recent years). The head of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergey Naryshkin, supervised the funeral ceremony. Condolences on the death of Chernomyrdin were voiced on 3 November 2010 by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, other state figures in Russia and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich.

Sayings
In Russian-speaking countries, Chernomyrdin is known for his numerous malapropisms and syntactically incorrect speech, somewhat similar to Irish bulls. His idioms received the name Chernomyrdinki, and are somewhat comparable to Bushisms in style and effect. One of his expressions "We wanted (to do) it better, but it turned out as always" (Хотели как лучше, а получилось как всегда in Russian) about the economic reforms in Russia was widely quoted (sometimes rendered in English as "We wanted the best, you know the rest" or "We tried our best, you know the rest.") The phrase was uttered after a highly unsuccessful monetary exchange performed by the Russian Central Bank in July 1993.

Honours and awards

 * State awards of the Russian Federation and USSR
 * Order of Merit for the Fatherland
 * 1st class (24 March 2009) – for outstanding contribution to strengthening the international prestige of the Russian Federation and many years of fruitful activity
 * 2nd class (23 March 1998) – for outstanding contribution to the development of the Russian state
 * 3rd class (9 April 2008) – for outstanding contribution to the development of Russian-Ukrainian relations
 * 4th class (9 April 2010) – for long-term fruitful state activity
 * Order of Friendship (8 April 2003) – for outstanding contribution to the strengthening and development of friendship and cooperation between Russia and Ukraine
 * Order of the October Revolution (1986)
 * Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1979)
 * Order of the Badge of Honour (1974) – for achievements in the construction and development of the design capacity of the first stage of Orenburg gas complex
 * Jubilee Medal "300 Years of the Russian Navy" (7 June 1996)
 * Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" (6 September 1997)
 * Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan" (23 August 2005)
 * Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin" (1970)
 * Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" (1985)

 * President and the Government of the Russian Federation
 * Diploma of the President of the Russian Federation (12 December 2008) – for active participation in the drafting of the Constitution and a great contribution to the democratic foundations of the Russian Federation
 * Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (9 November 1993)
 * Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (14 August 1995) – for active participation in the preparation and conduct of the 50th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945
 * Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (12 July 1996) – for active participation in organizing and conducting the election campaign of President of Russian Federation in 1996
 * Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (30 July 1999) – for his great personal contribution to a political settlement between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO, consistent defense of Russia's position in the Balkans
 * Diploma of the Russian Federation Government (9 April 2003) – for his great personal contribution to the development of Russian-Ukrainian trade and economic cooperation
 * Diploma of the Russian Federation Government (9 April 2008) – for long-term fruitful state activity

 * Foreign awards
 * Medal "100th Anniversary of Birth of Georgi Dimitrov" (People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1982)
 * Mkhitar Gosh (Armenia, 4 December 1998) – for outstanding contribution to the elimination of the consequences of the Spitak earthquake, humanitarian assistance and reconstruction work. Medal awarded 18 April 2002
 * Order of Parasat (Kazakhstan, 1 September 1999) – for his contribution to the development of oil and gas industry in Kazakhstan
 * Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class (Ukraine, 8 April 2003) – for outstanding contribution to the development of bilateral relations between Russia and Ukraine, weighty personal contribution in strengthening the friendly ties between the Russian and Ukrainian peoples
 * Order of Merit, 3rd class (Ukraine, 17 June 2009) – for his contribution to the development of Ukrainian-Russian relations, the long-term diplomatic activity

 * Awards of states of the Russian Federation
 * Order "For Merit" (Republic of Ingushetia, 19 June 2001) – for outstanding contribution to the establishment and development of the economy of Ingushetia
 * Order of the "Key of Friendship" (Kemerovo Region, 7 March 2008)

 * Faith awards
 * Order of St. Sergius, 2nd class (Russian Orthodox Church, 29 March 2007) – for their efforts in strengthening the unity of Orthodox peoples
 * Order of Christmas, 2nd class (UOC)
 * Jubilee medal "1020 years of the Baptism of Kievan Rus" (PCM, 25 November 2008)

 * Departmental awards
 * Honorary Worker of the Ministry for Oil and Gas Construction (1 April 1988)
 * Veteran of Labour in the Gas Industry (8 April 1998)
 * Honorary Worker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2 April 2003) – for active participation in the implementation of Russian foreign policy

 * Other recognitions
 * A Russian icebreaker is named after Chernomyrdin

title: Viktor Chernomyrdin


text:
Baron Newborough

Baron Newborough is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland; both titles are extant. The first creation came in 1716 in favour of George Cholmondeley, later 2nd Earl of Cholmondeley. See Marquess of Cholmondeley for further history of this creation.

The second creation came in 1776 in favour of Sir Thomas Wynn, 3rd Baronet. He represented Caernarvonshire, St Ives and Beaumaris in the House of Commons and also served as Lord Lieutenant of Caernarvonshire. His son, the second Baron, represented Caernarvonshire in Parliament. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his younger brother.

The third Baron. He served as High Sheriff of Anglesey in 1847. On his death the titles passed to his grandson, the fourth Baron (the son of the Hon. Thomas John Wynn). He died as a result of an illness contracted on active service during the First World War and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fifth Baron.

When the fifth Baron died in 1957 the titles were inherited by his first cousin, the sixth Baron. He was the son of the Hon. Charles Henry Wynn, third son of the third Baron. He was succeeded in 1965 by his eldest son as the seventh Baron. the titles are held by the seventh Baron's son, the eighth Baron, who succeeded his father in 1998.

The Wynn Baronetcy, of Bodvean in the County of Caernarfon, was created in the Baronetage of Great Britain on 25 October 1742 for the first Baron's grandfather Thomas Wynn. He represented Caernarfon in the House of Commons and was also a court official. His son, the second Baronet, represented both Caernarfon and Caernarvonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his son, the third Baronet, who was elevated to the peerage in 1776.

The family seat is no longer Peplow Hall, near Hodnet, Shropshire. The family also own the 12,500 acres Rhug Estate near Corwen, Denbighshire (the new family seat) and once owned Glynllifon (Plas Glynlifon), near Llandwrog, Gwynedd, Wales.

Wynn Baronets, of Bodvean (1742)

 * Sir Thomas Wynn, 1st Baronet (1677–1749)
 * Sir John Wynn, 2nd Baronet (1701–1773)
 * Sir Thomas Wynn, 3rd Baronet (1736–1807) (created Baron Newborough in 1776)

Barons Newborough (1776)

 * Thomas Wynn, 1st Baron Newborough (1736–1807)
 * Thomas John Wynn, 2nd Baron Newborough (1802–1832)
 * Spencer Bulkeley Wynn, 3rd Baron Newborough (1803–1888)
 * William Charles Wynn, 4th Baron Newborough (1873–1916)
 * Thomas John Wynn, 5th Baron Newborough (1878–1957)
 * Robert Vaughan Wynn, 6th Baron Newborough (1877–1965)
 * Robert Charles Michael Vaughan Wynn, 7th Baron Newborough (1917–1998)
 * Robert Vaughan Wynn, 8th Baron Newborough (b. 1949)

The heir presumptive is the present holder's first cousin Anthony Charles Vaughan Wynn (b. 1949) The heir presumptive's heir presumptive is his brother Andrew Guy Wynn (b. 1950) The heir presumptive's heir presumptive's heir apparent is his son Alexander Charles Guy Wynn (b. 1981)

title: Baron Newborough


text:
Ontario Libertarian Party

The Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP; Parti libertarien de l'Ontario) is a minor libertarian party in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1975 by Bruce Evoy and Vince Miller, the party was inspired by the 1972 formation of the United States Libertarian Party. The party is guided by a charter of principles, and its own Ontario charter of rights and freedoms.

In the 2018 Ontario general election, the Libertarian Party, under the leadership of Allen Small, was one of only five such organizations running a candidate in a majority of the province's electoral districts. Jacques Boudreau was appointed interim party leader in March 2021, replacing elected leader Keith Komar after he stepped down. In October 2021, Mark Snow was elected leader at the Party's convention. Under Snow, the party promotes an Ontario charter of rights which includes a section on immigration restrictions based on the eligibility of obtaining a job at an English speaking workplace. The party fielded only 16 candidates in the 2022 Ontario general election, over 100 fewer candidates than the province's previous election held in 2018.

Election results

In 1995, under the leadership of John Shadbolt, the party's total vote declined to 6,085 votes. Shadbolt resigned one day after the 1995 election, and was replaced by George Dance on an interim basis. Sam Apelbaum was chosen as the party's full-time leader at a convention in October 1996.

Changes to the Ontario Election Act, enabling fixed election dates at four-year intervals, allowed the party to prepare well in advance for the 2007 general election. As a result, the party fielded 25 candidates and obtained a total of 9,249 votes.

In the 2011 general election, the party ran 51 candidates and won a total of 19,387 votes, 0.45% of the popular vote. This was more than double the number of candidates and votes received in the 2007 general election.

The party's most successful election was in the 2014 general election, with Libertarian candidates receiving 0.81% of the vote.

The party failed to win any seats in the 2022 Ontario general election.

Party leaders

 * Terry Coughlin (elected at founding meeting, July 24, 1975)
 * Paul Mollon (1977 election)
 * Scott Bell (1981 and 1985 elections)
 * Kaye Sargent (1987 election)
 * Clarke Slemon (elected October 22, 1988)
 * James Stock (1990 election)
 * John Shadbolt (? – June 9, 1995)
 * George Dance (interim) (June 9, 1995 – October 1996)
 * Sam Apelbaum (October 1996 – November 5, 2011)
 * Allen Small (November 5, 2011 – July 20, 2018)
 * Rob Ferguson (interim) (July 21, 2018 – November 2, 2019)
 * Keith Komar  (November 2, 2019 – March 7, 2021)
 * Jacques Boudreau (interim) (March 7, 2021 – October 24, 2021)
 * Mark Snow (October 24, 2021 – Present)

title: Ontario Libertarian Party


text:
Jack McConnell

Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister for Finance from 1999 to 2000 and Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs from 2000 to 2001. He has been a Labour life peer in the House of Lords since 2010 and previously served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 to 2011.

Born in Irvine, Ayrshire, McConnell studied at the University of Stirling and worked as a mathematics teacher at Lornshill Academy. His political career began when he was elected to the Stirling District Council, while he was still teaching. He served as a member of the Scottish Constitutional Convention, having campaigned in-favour for a Scottish Parliament in the 1997 devolution referendum. Elected to serve as an MSP for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election, McConnell was appointed Minister for Finance under the Donald Dewar government. After Dewar's death in 2000, he ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Labour Party in Scotland, having been defeated by Henry McLeish. McLeish appointed McConnell as Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs.

In 2001, McLeish resigned in the aftermath of the Officegate scandal and McConnell was elected unopposed as the Scottish Labour leader. He was appointed First Minister on 22 November 2001, becoming the youngest office holder. As first minister, he implemented a ban on smoking in public places, signed a Co-operation Agreement with Malawi, and successfully bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games to be hosted in Glasgow. In the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, the Labour Party in Scotland became the second largest party, with the SNP having one seat more. This therefore lead to McConnell losing office, becoming the first First Minister to have been defeated from office.

After losing office as first minister, McConnell sat as the Leader of the Opposition in Holyrood, until his resignation as leader. He sat as a backbencher and stood down as an MSP in the 2011 election. In 2010, McConnell became a member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. He made a commitment to continuing his work to tackle poverty in Africa and to develop the relationship between Scotland and Malawi.

Early life and education
Jack Wilson McConnell was born on 30 June 1960 in Irvine, Ayrshire. He is the eldest of four children born to William Wilson McConnell (1937–2018) and Elizabeth McCallum McConnell (née Jack; 1936–2020). McConnell was brought up on Glenscorrodale Farm near Lamlash on the Isle of Arran, where his father was a sheep farmer and a member of the Arran Farmer’s Society. He was educated at Lamlash Primary and Arran High School.

McConnell attended the University of Stirling, where he was President of the Students' Association from 1980 to 1982 and National Union of Students Scotland Vice-President from 1982 to 1983. He met Margo MacDonald and Richard Leonard at university. In the late 1970s, he occupied the principal's office in protest against student homelessness. He also took part in a siege to occupy the administration offices at the university and slept in sleeping bags in the university’s court room. He graduated in 1983 with a BSc Dip Ed.

Early career
After graduating, McConnell worked as a mathematics teacher at Lornshill Academy in Alloa, Clackmannanshire. In 1984, McConnell was elected to the Stirling District Council, while still teaching at Lornshill. He served as Treasurer from 1988 until 1992, and was the Leader of the council from 1990 to 1992.

Early political involvement
McConnell initially joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) when he was 16 years old. After trying to come to terms with Scottish nationalism, he suspended his membership and instead joined the Scottish Labour Party when he was 19.

From 1992 to 1998, McConnell served as the General Secretary of the Labour Party in Scotland. His major breakthrough was in his handling of the 1997 General Election success, where Labour attained a large overall majority victory over the Conservatives. Together the Labour Party in Scotland, the Scottish Liberal Democrats, and the Scottish National Party eliminated every seat the Conservatives held in Scotland. In 1998, he served as a member of the Scottish Constitutional Convention where he pioneered the Scottish devolution referendum success, establishing the Scottish Parliament.

As a strong proponent of Scottish devolution, McConnell helped push for reform. Between 1989 and 1998 he was a member of the Scottish Constitutional Convention, where he was playing an important role in the creation of the Scotland Act, which created a Scottish Parliament for the first time.

Election to Holyrood
As General Secretary, he managed Labour Party in Scotland's successful devolution referendum campaign in 1997. Following the successful devolution campaign and the creation of a Scottish Parliament, McConnell was elected as an MSP, for Motherwell and Wishaw, in the first Scottish Parliament in May 1999.

Finance Minister; 1999–2000
He was appointed immediately by Donald Dewar, the then First Minister, to the post of Minister of Finance. As Finance Minister one of his primary jobs was to establish the budgeting procedures for the new Scottish government, which included consulting the public on budget priorities. As Minister responsible for External Relations he established Concordats with the UK Government and opened Scotland House in Brussels.

McConnell was elected an MSP in the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999. He was appointed Minister for Finance in the new Scottish Executive by then First Minister Donald Dewar. One of his first moves as Finance Minister was to establish the budgeting procedures for the new Scottish Executive, including publishing a consultation document asking the public and MSPs how the budget should be spent. His department also passed the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 through Parliament, which set out the finance and auditing procedures of the Executive.

Education Minister; 2000–2001
On 11 October 2000, Dewar died of a brain haemorrhage. After the Labour leadership intervened to stop the Enterprise Minister Henry McLeish being appointed Dewar's successor without a vote, McConnell stood in the leadership contest. The election was held on Saturday 21 October, only 72 hours after Dewar's funeral, and the surprise result saw McConnell defeated with 36 votes to McLeish's 44 votes.

McLeish appointed him Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs. Some analysts considered this post to be a "poisoned chalice", as he would be required to resolve both a crisis in the Scottish Qualifications Authority over exam marking, and pay disputes with the teaching unions.

Leadership of the Scottish Labour Party
McLeish resigned as first minister on 8 November 2001 over the Officegate scandal, regarding the sub let of his constituency office. McConnell was seen by many political analysts as the likely successor and he later launched his bid for leader. On 13 November, McConnell made a press conference in Edinburgh after reports emerged he had an extra-marital affair seven years prior. He admitted to having an affair and in a statement with his wife, Bridget McConnell, he stated: "If I become first minister, it would be very wrong for my family or anybody else to suffer because my behaviour then is still a secret today. That is why we are now being open about the fact that I did have an affair seven years ago. At the time I made mistakes, including denying the facts publicly and privately".

McConnell emerged as the only candidate and on 17 November, he was officially elected unopposed as Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland after receiving the support of 97.23% of MSPs. In his acceptance speech, he stated he was "deeply honoured to receive such overwhelming support" and highlighted that much work still needed to be done "to make devolution a success" and achieve "first class public services".

First term; 2001–2003
McConnell was nominated for the post of First Minister by a vote of the Scottish Parliament on 22 November, defeating Scottish National Party leader John Swinney, Scottish Conservative leader David McLetchie and Independent MSP Dennis Canavan by 70 votes to 34, 19 and 3 respectively. On 27 November, the Queen issued him a Royal Warrant of Appointment and he was sworn in at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. As a result of him becoming First Minister, he was appointed Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland and to the Privy Council, earning the title 'The Right Honourable' for life. McConnell continued to led the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition that had existed under the Dewar and McLeish administrations.

Cabinet appointments
Shortly after being appointed McConnell began making appointments to his cabinet. Jim Wallace remained in the post of deputy first minister while Cathy Jamieson took over Mr McConnell's education brief and Wendy Alexander and Ross Finnie remained as ministers. Sam Galbraith and Angus MacKay stood down and Jackie Baillie, Sarah Boyack and Tom McCabe reshuffled out of government, while Susan Deacon was offered the post of social justice minister but refused the offer and moved to the backbenches. Cathy Jamieson, Mike Watson, Malcolm Chisholm, Iain Gray, Patricia Ferguson and Andy Kerr were all promoted to cabinet.

Sporting event bids
In February 2002, Scotland joined forces with the Republic of Ireland in a bid to host the 2008 European Football Championship. McConnell was initially unconvinced that it was worth spending around £100 million on the tournament, but he later put his support behind the joint bid with the Irish.

Although the bid lost out to Austria/Switzerland, McConnell later supported other attempts to land major supporting events including London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games and Glasgow's bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Sectarianism
In December 2002, McConnell launched his government's campaign against sectarianism.

Second term; 2003–2007
McConnell was re elected MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw at the Scottish Parliament elections. The Labour Party in Scotland won 50 seats, the largest number, and formed another coalition government with the Liberal Democrats which won 17 seats. On 15 May, McConnell was re appointed First Minister of Scotland and on the same day the Scottish government published A Partnership for a Better Scotland which set out the government's priorities for the four-year term ahead.

This was followed by the “Fresh Talent initiative” which was created and developed to focus at addressing the demographic decline in Scotland and ageing Scottish population by attracting young and skilled immigrants, primarily from other European Union countries (such as Poland and Slovakia primarily) to be attracted to Scotland as a place to live and work.

Public smoking ban
One of McConnell's most famous achievements during his tenure in government was the successful campaign to ban smoking in Scottish public places, such as pubs, public transport and restaurants, making Scotland the first country within the United Kingdom to do so, which led to McConnell receiving praise for his leadership on this issue, ultimately leading other countries to follow.

McConnell attended the 31st G8 summit which was held in Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland, and welcomed guests invited to the conference to Glasgow Prestwick Airport on arrival.

2007 Scottish election
The Scottish Parliament general election of 3 May 2007 saw McConnell re elected as the MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw with a majority of 5,938 votes, representing 48% of the vote with a turnout of 50.3%. The Labour Party in Scotland was defeated by the SNP with the SNP winning 47 seats to Labour's 46, leaving the SNP short of an overall majority in the Parliament.

Leader of the Opposition
As Labour was left the second largest party in Holyrood, the SNP was invited first to form a government. The Lib Dems turned down a coalition deal with the SNP and Scottish Greens and ruled out a deal with Labour. On 16 May 2007, the election to nominate a first minister in the Scottish Parliament was held, with Alex Salmond receiving 49 votes to 46, as the Lib Dems and Conservatives abstained. The following day, the SNP officially formed the first nationalist administration of the Scottish Executive and McConnell became Leader of the Opposition. On 17 May 2007, McConnell told Salmond he would abstain in a Parliament vote to appoint ministers. In his first speech as opposition leader, McConnell listed a series of 'hypocritical' remarks that SNP ministers had made about the Labour administration. "My predecessor had problems over a muddle. I can only describe Mr Salmond's first decisions as a guddle. He has learned nothing in opposition, despite what he said about doing so. He will regret deprioritising culture, sport and housing, but those who value them will regret it more. Those who want to see action on affordable homes will regret it too." As Leader of the Opposition in Holyrood, McConnell took part in First Minister's Questions (FMQs). In one session of FMQs, he claimed the new SNP administration was making several U-turns on transport policy and its position on student debt and council taxes.

Resignation as leader
On 15 August 2007, McConnell announced his intention to resign as Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland. In a statement, he said it was his "honour" to serve as leader and empathised the need for Labour to learn lessons following its defeat in May. Immediately after his resignation, he was nominated by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to succeed Richard Wildash as British High Commissioner to Malawi. McConnell was succeeded as leader by Wendy Alexander.

Backbench MSP
After his resignation, McConnell sat in Labour's opposition backbenches at Holyrood and continued to represent his Motherwell and Wishaw constituency until the 2011 Scottish Parliament election. On 28 May 2010, it was announced that McConnell would be made a life peer and enter the House of Lords as a working peer on behalf of the Labour Party.

House of Lords; 2010–present
On 28 June 2010, he was created a life peer as Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, of the Isle of Arran in Ayrshire and Arran, and was introduced in the House of Lords the same day. In August 2010 he announced that he would not be seeking re-election to the Scottish Parliament.

Other positions
In August 2007, he was appointed an adviser to the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative in Malawi and Rwanda, and in October 2008, he was appointed by Gordon Brown as the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Conflict Resolution Mechanisms, a position which ceased following Labour's defeat in the 2010 General election.

He is a UK Ambassador for Action for Children; a Fellow of the 48 Group Club, which promotes relationships between the United Kingdom and China and an Ambassador for Pump Aid. On 8 March 2012, Optical Express announced the appointment of Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale joining the Board as non executive director. He was a non executive director at DCM (Optical Holdings) from 2011 to 2015. As of 30 November 2018, McConnell holds the position of Chancellor at the University of Stirling.

Personal life
In 1990, McConnell married to Bridget McConnell, a cultural administrator and former Chief Executive Officer of Glasgow Life. They met in the late 1980s, where they both worked in Stirling District Council. On 5 March 1991, a sheriff ruled McConnell could become the legal father of Bridget's children, Hannah and Mark; whom she had in her previous marriage with Richard Brown. During McConnell's leadership bid for the Scottish Labour Party in November 2001, he revealed in a press conference that he had been involved in an extra marital affair seven years previously. He admitted the affair had been "an open secret for seven years" and "It caused significant hurt to a number of people and I regret that very much to this day".

In 2016, McConnell refused to bail out his sister, Anne McConnell, who was jailed for stealing £9,000 from a disabled pensioner's bank account. She told police she needed money to pay her mortgage and blamed her crime on her menopause and hoped "Jack would help her pay it back".

title: Jack McConnell


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Metal Church

Metal Church is an American heavy metal band formed in 1980. Originally based in San Francisco, California, they relocated to Aberdeen, Washington the following year and briefly called themselves Shrapnel. Led by guitarist and songwriter Kurdt Vanderhoof, the band has released thirteen studio albums and is considered to be an integral part of the Seattle heavy metal music scene of the 1980s. They achieved considerable popularity that decade, with two of their first three albums entering the Top 100 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The band's early lyrical topics such as conflict and paranoia later expanded into philosophical, political and social commentary.

Metal Church has had a revolving lineup of vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers throughout its 44-year career, and Vanderhoof remains the group's sole consistent creative force, despite reducing his role strictly to composition in 1986 after tiring of performing live. The "classic" lineup of Vanderhoof, vocalist David Wayne, guitarist Craig Wells, bassist Duke Erickson, and drummer Kirk Arrington recorded the band's first two studio albums, Metal Church (1984) and their major breakthrough The Dark (1986). By the end of the 1980s, Vanderhoof and Wayne had parted ways with the band and were replaced by vocalist Mike Howe and guitarist John Marshall respectively. Metal Church's popularity continued with their third album Blessing in Disguise (1989), which spawned one of their best-known songs "Badlands". After releasing two more studio albums with Howe, The Human Factor (1991) and Hanging in the Balance (1993), the band first broke up in 1996.

Metal Church reformed in 1998 with most of their "classic" lineup, including Vanderhoof's return to performance, resulting in the Masterpeace album. They endured numerous lineup changes thereafter, releasing three further studio albums while fronted by Ronny Munroe (who replaced Wayne in 2003) before disbanding once again in July 2009. The group reunited for the second time in October 2012, and released their tenth studio album Generation Nothing a year later. Following Munroe's departure in the fall of 2014, Metal Church considered disbanding for the third time before Howe was rehired in April 2015 as the band's lead singer. He recorded two more albums with the group, which had enjoyed a renewed popularity during the mid-to-late 2010s, before his death on July 26, 2021. Howe has since been replaced by Marc Lopes, who debuted on the band's thirteenth studio album Congregation of Annihilation (2023).

Formative years (1980–1984)
Then-based in San Francisco, Kurdt Vanderhoof formed the band in 1980 with various musicians. This era included a brief audition period with future Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. The three-song, instrumental Red Skies demo was released in 1981, featuring Vanderhoof, guitarist Rick Condrin, bassist Steve Hott, and drummer Aaron Zimpel.

Vanderhoof returned to his hometown of Aberdeen in 1981 and began the new group Shrapnel with Craig Wells, Duke Erickson, drummer Tom Weber, and vocalist Mike Murphy. Murphy departed before their next demo, which was recorded without vocals, and Weber departed shortly thereafter. The enlistment of Kirk Arrington and David Wayne completed the group's classic lineup. They released the demo Four Hymns and spent following years touring and accruing material, readopting the Metal Church moniker in 1983. The song "Death Wish" is featured on the compilation album Northwest Metalfest.

First two records and commercial success (1984–1988)
In 1984, Metal Church released their self-titled debut album, which included three songs from the Four Hymns demo and a cover of Deep Purple's "Highway Star". They sold 70,000 copies of the album independently before signing to Elektra. According to Wayne, Ulrich and Metallica bandmate James Hetfield urged Elektra to sign the band before another label did.

By the time Metal Church released their second studio album, The Dark, in 1986, they were touring with high-profile acts including Metallica. The Dark was a commercial success, helped by the fact that the band's first music video, "Watch the Children Pray", received frequent airplay on MTV. As a result, the album managed to enter the US Billboard 200, and saw Metal Church support the album with a world tour that lasted from October 1986 to July 1987, playing with bands such as King Diamond, Celtic Frost, Testament, Overkill, D.R.I., Trouble and, individually, with each of the "big four" of thrash metal (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax).

Shortly after the album's release, however, they were plagued by lineup changes: Vanderhoof ceased performing live with the group in 1986, to be replaced briefly by Mark Baker and more extensively by former Metallica roadie John Marshall. Vanderhoof nonetheless continued to work with the group in composing thereafter, co-writing much of their subsequent material. Wayne also departed shortly thereafter and was replaced by former Heretic singer Mike Howe. Wayne teamed up with the remaining members of Heretic to form Reverend.

Further albums and first breakup (1989–1996)
With Howe and Marshall, Metal Church released their third studio album, Blessing in Disguise, in 1989. Critics responded favorably to the album, including some assertions that it was the group's strongest effort. Blessing in Disguise was even more successful than its predecessors, peaking at number 75 on the Billboard 200; this was Metal Church's highest chart position, until it was surpassed 27 years later by XI. The album's success was attributed to the music video for "Badlands" getting airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball, and its opening track "Fake Healer" receiving some attention from mainstream radio stations, most notably KNAC and Z Rock; unlike "Badlands", however, no music video was released for "Fake Healer". After spending much of 1989 and 1990 touring heavily behind Blessing in Disguise (performing with numerous bands such as Metallica, W.A.S.P., Accept, Annihilator, Saxon, Meliah Rage, Forced Entry and D.B.C.), the band had switched labels from Elektra to Epic.

Metal Church released its fourth studio album, and only album on Epic, The Human Factor, in 1991. Critics applauded the group for transitioning to a major label and successfully retaining the vitality of their sound, while also releasing a record with conceptual accessibility beyond the heavy metal genre. Unlike their previous two albums, however, The Human Factor failed to chart on the Billboard 200.

The band followed with their fifth studio album, 1993's Hanging in the Balance, on Mercury Records. After touring almost non-stop in support of that album for about two years, Metal Church officially disbanded for the first time in 1996, citing management problems and poor record sales as factors.

Reunion of classic lineup and Masterpeace (1998–2001)
The members of Metal Church began compiling their first live album in 1998, Live, which featured songs from their first two records performed by their classic lineup. During the production of Live, Wayne, Vanderhoof, Wells, Arrington, and Erickson decided to reform the band and began work on a new studio album. Wells was forced to depart the band due to familial obligations, however, and was replaced by the returning Marshall. The live album Live in Japan (recorded on the band's 1995 Japanese tour) was also released in 1998, only in Japan.

The resulting album, Masterpeace, was released in 1999 on Nuclear Blast Records. Critics responded positively, hailing it as a focused product that increased the energy over previous releases, despite it ultimately failing to break new ground. Arrington and Erickson were unable to tour behind the album, so the band enlisted members of Vanderhoof's side projects, bassist Brian Lake and drummer Jeff Wade, for live performances later that year.

Wayne expressed regret regarding Masterpeace, which influenced his musical output that followed. He again departed in 2001 due to personal and creative differences, forming the group Wayne with Wells and releasing the curiously titled debut album Metal Church thereafter. Vanderhoof objected to the album's name and cover art; according to Wayne, the purpose of the album's name was to alert the audience of his involvement. Erickson and Marshall also ceased involvement with Metal Church after Wayne's departure.

Munroe-led lineup, Wayne's death, and second breakup (2002–2009)
Vanderhoof's eponymous band released A Blur in Time in 2002, and he began working on new material for Metal Church's next album thereafter. In 2003, he and Arrington recruited singer Ronny Munroe, former Malice guitarist Jay Reynolds, and bassist Steve Unger to form a new lineup of Metal Church. The band's seventh studio album, The Weight of the World, was released in the following year. Critics generally reacted to the record with a lukewarm response, recognizing its accomplishments while noting its lack of consistency and innovation.

On May 10, 2005, former Metal Church singer David Wayne died of complications from injuries sustained in a car accident that occurred months before. He was 47 years old.

In 2006, Arrington left the band due to health complications with diabetes. His replacement was Jeff Plate, who previously worked with Savatage, Chris Caffery and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Later that year, the band released their eighth studio album, A Light in the Dark, which featured a re-recording of "Watch the Children Pray" as a tribute to Wayne. Vanderhoof said that the tribute was a way of showing fans that he harbored no ill will towards Wayne despite the contentious situation that existed between them before his death.

Reynolds left the group in 2008 and was replaced by Rick Van Zandt. The band's ninth studio album, This Present Wasteland, released that September, which was hailed generally as an effective release consistent with their previous material. After subsequent touring, the band took a hiatus from performing due to Vanderhoof's back problems. They nonetheless continued studio work, while Munroe and Vanderhoof also completed the former's solo album.

After Vanderhoof's health improved, they returned to performing and composing new material. On July 7, 2009, however, the group announced unexpectedly that they were disbanding following a final performance at Rocklahoma two days later, cancelling numerous further live dates. They cited industry frustrations as a major factor influencing the decision. Several former members remained musically active, including Munroe and Vanderhoof in Presto Ballet and Plate in Machines of Grace.

Second reformation, Generation Nothing and rotating singers (2012–2015)
In October 2012, the band announced resumption of activity around a lineup featuring Vanderhoof, Munroe, Unger, Reynolds (soon replaced by Van Zandt), and Plate. Their first performances came the following January during the 70,000 Tons of Metal event, a heavy metal cruise. During one of these two shows, the band performed their debut album, Metal Church, in its entirety. Shortly thereafter, Vanderhoof told Music Life Radio that Metal Church had been working on a new album. In order to promote their tenth studio album, the band played festivals in the summer of 2013. The album, Generation Nothing, was released in October.

Munroe left the band in September 2014 to "pursue other interests". The band announced its plans to continue nonetheless. On April 30, 2015, Metal Church announced on their Facebook page that former singer Mike Howe had rejoined the band, some 20 years after first leaving the band.

According to Howe, Metal Church was on the verge of disbanding once more before he agreed to rejoin the band. He explained to Spotlight Report in May 2016: "Kurdt Vanderhoof got ahold of me in August of 2014, and he proposed [me] coming back to the band. He said Ronny [Munroe] left the band and he didn't really wanna carry on with Metal Church unless maybe I would consider coming back. So I said, 'Well, I don't know. I'm open to it. But let's see what kind of music we can come up with.' So Kurdt went back to the studio and started writing songs in the vein of 'Hanging In The Balance', where we left off twenty years ago, and he sent them to me over the Internet. And I was, like, 'Damn! The guy still has it and he's doing great work.' So he sent me another batch, and that batch was just as good [as], if not better than, the other. So, from there, I said, 'Well, I can't say no to this. And let's just see how it goes.' And we started writing lyrics and getting together, and it's morphed into being back in Aberdeen in the studio making the new Metal Church record."

XI and Damned If You Do (2016–2020)
Metal Church released their eleventh studio album, XI, on March 25, 2016, and it was their first album with Howe on vocals since 1993's Hanging in the Balance. Hailed by some critics as a comeback album, XI received positive reviews from critics, and was Metal Church's first album in 27 years (since Blessing in Disguise) to enter the Billboard 200; the album peaked at number 57, making it the band's highest chart position in their career. On the album's supporting tour, guitarist Rick Van Zandt had to go in for emergency eye surgery to repair a detached retina, and was temporarily replaced by former Firewolfe guitarist Paul Kleff, and Savatage guitarist Chris Caffery. The band co-headlined a West Coast North American tour with Armored Saint in June 2016, and along with Amon Amarth, Suicidal Tendencies and Butcher Babies, they supported Megadeth on the latter's Dystopia tour in September–October 2016.

When asked in October 2016 if he intended write another album with Metal Church, Howe stated, "We have every intention of doing that and that's what it's all about. If you're not putting on new music, then it's time to go away for me. In Metal Church... it's always been like a two-year cycle band, but we put our album out this year in March. So our album is actually only being out for six months. But we have plans on this fall getting back to writing and try to put something out next year. We're also looking at some dates for the spring possibly back in the States and maybe back over here. But our drummer Jeff, he's also on the TSO. He leaves from the end of October through December. So we might take that time to start writing new record."

Metal Church released a live album on April 28, 2017, titled Classic Live, which was recorded on the 2016 XI tour. This is the band's first live album since 1998's Live in Japan, and their first live album with Howe on vocals.

On March 21, 2017, drummer Jeff Plate announced his departure from Metal Church. As the result of his departure, the band withdrew from a North American tour with Alter Bridge and In Flames that was scheduled to take place in May 2017. Plate was replaced by former W.A.S.P. drummer Stet Howland.

In a May 2017 interview, Vanderhoof stated that Metal Church had begun writing and demoing their twelfth studio album, which would be tentatively due in early 2018.

On October 1, 2018, Metal Church teased an audio sample of a song from their twelfth studio album. The album, Damned If You Do, was announced shortly after and it was released on December 7, 2018. In support of Damned If You Do, Metal Church co-headlined a North American tour with Doro in April–May 2019, and performed at Megadeth's first-ever Megacruise that October.

In a July 2019 interview with Italy's Metalforce, Howe said that Metal Church would likely begin writing new material in 2020. Vanderhoof stated in an interview with Metal Wani in April 2020 that Metal Church would "probably start writing that later in the summer." He concluded, "We're gonna sit and we're gonna wait till there's a new album, and then we'll go out and do the normal promoting it or backing it up by touring and playing shows. But we're gonna wait till there's a new record."

Metal Church released their first compilation album From the Vault on April 10, 2020. It contains four new studio tracks, five B-side tracks from the Damned If You Do sessions, three song covers and two tracks culled from their performance at Club Citta in Kawasaki, Japan. The band stated on their Facebook page in July 2021 that their thirteenth studio album would be released in 2022.

Howe's death, new singer, Congregation of Annihilation and next album (2021–present)
On July 26, 2021, Metal Church announced Howe had died that morning at his home in Eureka, California, at the age of 55. His death was ruled to be a suicide by hanging. In October 2021, after announcing the return of his short-lived early 1990s band Hall Aflame, Vanderhoof hinted on his Facebook page that Metal Church would continue on with a yet-to-be-announced replacement for Howe. A month later, drummer Stet Howland revealed that he and the remaining members of the band had started to "communicate again" following Howe's death. Although he did not specify the current state of Metal Church, Howland declared, "We're all slowly digesting. We just started talking again a few weeks ago, and we're barely talking about anything except making jokes, and we have our banter, we're starting to joke and communicated again together. Building on the future will come, but right now... we're just like hugging right now, we're all like 'I love you, man'. That's kind of where we're at. I know everybody wants to know more, when there's more you'll hear about it." By mid-2022, rumors had suggested that Ronny Munroe would rejoin the band, but resulted in him joining Vicious Rumors.

In a September 2022 interview with Metal Rules, Vanderhoof revealed that the band had found a replacement for Howe, but added that they were "keeping a lid" on the identity of their new singer "for the time being." He also revealed that a new Metal Church album, which they had begun writing just before Howe's death, would be released in 2023. The band played one of their first shows in four years at Belgium's Alcatraz Open Air in August 2023.

On February 2, 2023, Metal Church announced Marc Lopes as their new lead vocalist. A month later, the band announced their thirteenth album, Congregation of Annihilation, would be released on May 26. Four days prior to the album's release, former Metal Church drummer Kirk Arrington died at the age of 61. The band supported Congregation of Annihilation with a world tour, including a series of headlining tours in North America and Australia; Metal Church was scheduled to North America again in the spring of 2024, but it was cancelled because of Vanderhoof's "ongoing back issue." A live album featuring Howe's final live performances, titled The Final Sermon (Live in Japan 2019), will be released on July 26, 2024 to coincide with the third anniversary of his death.

An authorized book by author James R. Beach and co-author and archivist Brian L. Naron, titled Beyond the Black: The Story of Metal Church, was released in November 2023. In addition to past and present members of Metal Church, the book includes interviews with the band's road crew members, record producers and contemporaries, and a foreword by former Grim Reaper guitarist Nick Bowcott.

In a December 2023 interview with Metal Wani, Lopes stated that Metal Church will begin working on new material for their next album in late 2024.

Members
Current members
 * Kurdt Vanderhoof – rhythm guitar, keyboards (1980–1986, 1998–2009, 2012–present)
 * Steve Unger – bass, backing vocals (2003–2009, 2012–present)
 * Rick Van Zandt – lead guitar (2008–2009, 2012–present)
 * Stet Howland – drums, percussion (2017–present)
 * Marc Lopes – lead vocals (2023–present)

Discography
Studio albums
 * Metal Church (1984)
 * The Dark (1986)
 * Blessing in Disguise (1989)
 * The Human Factor (1991)
 * Hanging in the Balance (1993)
 * Masterpeace (1999)
 * The Weight of the World (2004)
 * A Light in the Dark (2006)
 * This Present Wasteland (2008)
 * Generation Nothing (2013)
 * XI (2016)
 * Damned If You Do (2018)
 * Congregation of Annihilation (2023)

Live albums
 * Live (1998)
 * Live in Japan (1998)
 * Classic Live (2017)

Compilation albums
 * From the Vault (2020)

Demos
 * Red Skies (1981)
 * Hitman (1983)
 * Four Hymns (1983)

Singles
 * "Gods of Wrath" (1985)
 * "Start the Fire" (1986)
 * "Watch the Children Pray" (1986)
 * "Iron Man" (1988) (with Sir Mix-a-Lot)
 * "Badlands" (1989)
 * "Fake Healer" (1989)
 * "Date with Poverty" (1991)
 * "In Harm's Way" (1991)
 * "In Mourning" (1991)
 * "The Human Factor" (1991)
 * "Gods of Second Chance" (1993)
 * "Mirror of Lies" (2006)
 * "No Tomorrow" (2016)
 * "Killing Your Time" (2016)
 * "Reset" (2016)
 * "Needle and Suture" (2016)
 * "Fake Healer" (2017) (with Todd La Torre)
 * "Damned If You Do" (2018)
 * "By the Numbers" (2018)
 * "Pick a God and Prey" (2023)
 * "Making Monsters" (2023)

title: Metal Church


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Irbit

Irbit (Ирби́т ) is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located 203 km from Yekaterinburg by train or 250 km by car, on the right bank of the Nitsa. Population:

It was previously known as Irbeyevskaya Sloboda (until 1662).

History
Founded in 1631 as Irbeyevskaya Sloboda (Ирбе́евская слобода́), its name was changed in 1662 to Irbit. It was granted official town status by Catherine the Great in 1775 for the town's loyalty to the Empress during the Pugachev uprising of 1773–1774. In 1776, she awarded the town its official crest.

In the 19th century, the Irbit Fair was an important event for the trade in Siberian fur and Chinese tea.

Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of the administrative divisions, Irbit serves as the administrative center of Irbitsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the Town of Irbit —an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the Town of Irbit is incorporated as Irbit Urban Okrug.

Economy
After World War II, various branches of industry, such as engineering, manufacturing of construction materials, pharmaceutical, light, and food-manufacturing industries developed rapidly. During the war a motorcycle-manufacturing plant was moved here from Moscow. For more than fifty years, over three million motorcycles had been produced here. The factory now produces only two thousand motorcycles a year, most of which are for export. In the Soviet times, however, hundreds of thousands were produced. Today it produces different types of motorcycles and spare parts for them, specializing in heavy motorcycles with sidecars. Irbit is also the former world headquarters for Russian motorcycle manufacturer Ural Motorcycles. In 2022, the Ural factory moved to Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan.

Irbit dairy plant is the largest milk-processing plant in the Urals. In 2004, it processed 66,000 tons of milk. Irbit bakery plant manufactures different types of breads and batons, cakes, croutons, toasts. Irbit chemico-pharmaceutical plant produces drugs, chemical substances, fluids for chemical industry.

Natural resources
Water resources are represented by the Nitsa and Irbit Rivers. Mineral resources include diatomaceous earth and glass-making sand deposits.

Transportation
The town is crossed by the long distance railway Yekaterinburg–Tavda–Ustye-Akha and by road traffic routes, directed to Kamyshlov, Artyomovsk, Turinsk, and Tyumen.

Culture
The Irbit State Museum of Fine Art contains some important works including etchings by famous European artists. At the moment the museum is the only one in Russia specializing in engravings. In its collection there are engravings by Italian, Dutch, Flemish, German, French, English, Spanish, Swiss, Austrian, Polish, Bulgarian, Belgian, and North American artists. The collection includes works from Albrecht Dürer to Francisco Goya. Russian art is represented by the works of A. F. Zubova, I. A. Sokolova, E. P. Chemesova, Mikhail Dobuzhinsky, Alexander Deyneka, and many others. The domestic collection represents the artists of Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Tagil.

There is also a 200-year-old theater in the town.

Although Irbit no longer attracts as many visitors as it once did, the Irbit State Motorcycle Museum is being built in the town with the intention of bringing foreign motorcycle enthusiasts to the IMZ-Ural motorcycle factory. Each summer thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts come to Irbit from around the world to take part in the Irbit bike show and in the Motocross races.

A public park is located in the northern part of the town.

Education
There are several educational institutions in Irbit. Affiliates of the Ural State Technical University and the Institute of Commerce and Law provide higher education. Motorcycle training college and Agricultural training college, Medical and Pedagogical training schools are facilities of professional education. There are also ten secondary schools and seventeen pre-school institutions.

Notable people
The following people were born in Irbit:
 * Serge Timashev, scientist
 * Victor Raskin, linguist
 * Olga Chernyavskaya, athlete
 * Alexander Izgoev, Kadet politician

title: Irbit