Editing Canadian Alliance (section)

=== 2000 federal election ===

In the fall of 2000, the Liberals called a [[2000 Canadian federal election|snap election]] that caught the Alliance off-guard. Nonetheless, the party went into the election with great hopes, campaigning on tax cuts, an end to the federal gun registration program, and their vision of "family values". Day was expected to have greater appeal to Ontario voters. At one point, the Alliance was at 30.5 per cent in the polls; some thought they could win the election, or at least knock the Liberals down to a [[minority government]]. However, the Liberals responded by accusing the Alliance of having a "hidden agenda" (e.g., to introduce [[two-tier health care]], and threatening [[gay rights]] and [[abortion]] rights), which the party denied.

Though disappointed with the election results in Ontario, the Alliance increased its presence to 66 MPs, including two MPs from Ontario. Nationally, the party increased its popular vote to 25 per cent. The Alliance remained the Official Opposition in the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]]. The Liberals increased their large majority mostly at the expense of the NDP, and the Tories under [[Joe Clark]] lost many seats and remained in fifth place, but Clark was elected in [[Calgary Centre]] in the middle of Alliance country, so the overall political landscape was not significantly changed. Like Reform, the Alliance was perceived mostly as a Western protest party.