Editing Laurier Liberals (section)

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox political party
| name = Laurier Liberals
| logo = Affiche_électorale_de_Wilfrid_Laurier.jpg
| colorcode = {{Canadian party colour|CA|Liberal}}
| founder = [[Wilfrid Laurier]]
| split = [[Liberal Party of Canada]]
| merged = Liberal Party of Canada
| foundation = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| country = Canada
| founded = 1917
| dissolved = 1921
}}

Prior to the [[1917 Canadian federal election|1917 federal election]] in [[Canada]], the [[Liberal Party of Canada]] split into two factions.  To differentiate the groups, historians tend to use two retrospective names:

* The '''Laurier Liberals''', who opposed [[conscription]] of soldiers to support [[Canada]]'s involvement in [[World War I]] and who were led by former Prime Minister Sir [[Wilfrid Laurier]]; and
* The '''[[Liberal-Unionist|Liberal Unionists]]''' who joined Sir [[Robert Borden]]'s [[Unionist Party (Canada)|Unionist government]].

Seeking broader support for the [[Conscription Crisis of 1917|imposition of conscription in 1917]], Borden invited the Liberals into a [[World War I|wartime]] [[coalition government]] with the [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservatives]].  Sir Wilfrid Laurier, an opponent of conscription who feared for the nation if an opposition was not represented in Parliament, refused the request.

Despite Laurier's refusal, the request split the Liberal Party largely along linguistic lines. Many provincial Liberal parties in English-speaking Canada and a number of Liberal [[Members of Parliament]] supported conscription and decided to support Borden's "Unionist" government.

Quebec Liberals, along with a minority of English candidates (such as [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]]) refused to join Borden and continued in the party under Laurier's leadership. The candidates ran as Liberals, and on military ballots, were labelled as "Opposition."

Of the 235 seats in the [[House of Commons of Canada]], only 82 returned Laurier Liberals in the election held December 17, 1917:
* 62 were elected in [[Quebec]] [[electoral district (Canada)|riding]]s,
* 1 from [[Alberta]], 
* 1 was from a [[Manitoba]] riding with a large [[francophone]] population, 
* 4 were from [[New Brunswick]], 
* 4 were from [[Nova Scotia]], 
* 2 were from [[Prince Edward Island]], and 
* 8 were from [[Ontario]].

With only 20 seats outside Quebec, the Liberal Party was reduced to a largely [[French-Canadian]] parliamentary rump in 1917.

The Conservatives attempted to make their alliance with Liberal Unionists permanent through the formation of the [[National Liberal and Conservative Party]]. However, under a new leader, William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Liberals were able to recover enough of their support in English Canada to form a [[minority government]] following the [[1921 Canadian federal election|1921 federal election]].<ref>{{Cite book|jstor=j.ctt1w1vn9k|title=A Study in Political Management|author=NEATBY, H. BLAIR|year=1973|doi=10.2307/j.ctt1w1vn9k|isbn=9780773595354|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/people/canadian-leaders/sir-wilfrid-laurier/|title=Canadian Leaders - Sir Wilfrid Laurier|website=Canada and the First World War}}</ref>