Rhinoceros Party of Canada
Former Federal Party
Founded	1963
Dissolved	1993
Political ideology	satirical, frivolous, animals as electoral candidates
Colours
Seats	0
Website	http://www.rhinoparty.com/

The Parti Rhinocéros, commonly known as the Rhinoceros Party in English, was a registered political party in Canada from the 1960s to the 1990s. Operating within the Canadian tradition of political satire, the Rhinoceros Party's basic credo, their so-called primal promise, was "a promise to keep none of our promises."^[1] They then promised outlandishly impossible schemes designed to amuse and entertain the voting public.^[2] Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... 1867 edition of Punch, a ground-breaking British magazine of popular humour, including a good deal of satire of the contemporary social and political scene. ... A joke party or a frivolous party is a political party which has been created for the purposes of entertainment or political satire. ... Animals as electoral candidates have been found in a number of countries. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1867 edition of Punch, a ground-breaking British magazine of popular humour, including a good deal of satire of the contemporary social and political scene. ...

The Rhinos were started in 1963 by Jacques Ferron,^[3] "Éminence de la Grande Corne du parti Rhinoceros". In the 1970s, a group of artists joined the party and created a comedic political platform to contest the federal election. Ferron (1979), poet Gaston Miron (1972) and singer Michel Rivard (1980) ran against Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in his Montreal seat. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... A political platform is a list of the principles which a political party supports in order to appeal to the general public for the purpose of having said partys candidates voted into office. ... Gaston Miron (French IPA: ) (January 8, 1928 – December 14, 1996) was an important poet, writer, and editor of the Quebec post Quiet Revolution. ... Michel Rivard was born in Montreal in 1951 and was the son of the comedian, Robert Rivard. ... Regions Political culture Foreign relations Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      The Prime Minister of Canada (French: Premier ministre du Canada), is the Minister of the Crown who is head of the Government of Canada. ... “Trudeau” redirects here. ... Nickname: Motto: Concordia Salus (well-being through harmony) Coordinates: , Country Province Region Montréal Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1][2][3]  - Total 365. ...

The party, which claimed to be the spiritual descendants of Cacareco, a Brazilian rhinoceros who was elected member of São Paulo's city council in the 1950s, listed Cornelius the First, a rhinoceros from the Granby Zoo, east of Montreal, as its leader.^[4] It declared that the rhinoceros was an appropriate symbol for a political party since politicians, by nature, are "thick-skinned, slow-moving, dim-witted, can move fast as hell when in danger, and have large, hairy horns growing out of the middle of their faces."^[5] For other uses, see Rhinoceros (disambiguation). ... Animals as electoral candidates have been found in a number of countries. ... Landmark buildings Edifício Italia (at left) and Copan (curved façade at center), in São Paulo Downtown. ... A city council is the most common style of legislative government in a city or town. ... Cornelius the First was a Canadian rhinoceros, from Granby, Quebec, who was the normal leader of the Rhinoceros Party of Canada from 1965 to 1993,and was the leader when the 121 seats 110,000 votes in 1980 was pleasing to there low amount of votes prvious elections, but failed... Le Zoo de Granby (English: The Granby Zoo) is a Zoo in Granby, Quebec. ...

Some members of the Rhino party would call themselves Marxist-Lennonist (a parody of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada), in reference to Groucho Marx and John Lennon.^[6] Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Groucho redirects here. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ...

As seen at right, the party used as its logo a woodcarving of a rhinoceros by Albrecht Dürer, with the words "D'une mare à l'autre" (a French translation of Canada's Latin motto a mari usque ad mare, playing on the word mare, which means pond in French) at the top. Dürers Rhinoceros is the name commonly given to a woodcut created by German painter and wood carver Albrecht Dürer in 1515. ... Albrecht Dürer (pronounced /al. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ...

Policies and politics

Bryan Gold of the Rhinoceros Party described the party platform as two feet high and made of wood. "My platform is the one I'm standing on." A candidate named Ted "not so" Sharp ran in Flora MacDonald's Ontario riding with the campaign slogan "Fauna, not flora", promising to give fauna equal representation. He also took a stand on capital punishment: "If it was good enough for my grandfather, then it's good enough for me." In the 1988 election, the Rhinoceros Party ran a candidate named John Turner in the same riding as Liberal leader John Turner, and received 760 votes.^[7] Penny Hoar, a safe sex activist, distributed condoms in Toronto while running under the slogan "Politicians screw you — protect yourself."^[8] A political platform is a list of the principles which a political party supports in order to appeal to the general public for the purpose of having said partys candidates voted into office. ... The Honourable Flora MacDonald For the Scottish Jacobite heroine, see Flora Macdonald Flora Isabel MacDonald, PC, CC, O.ont (born June 3, 1926) is a Canadian politician. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English (de facto) Government - Lieutenant-Governor David C. Onley - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area... Fauna is a collective term for animal life. ... In Botany a Flora (or Floræ) is a collective term for plant life and can also refer to a descriptive catalogue of the plants of any geographical area, geological period, etc. ... Map of the Popular Vote with bar graphs showing seat totals in the provinces and territories The Canadian Parliament after the 1988 election The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons. ... The Liberal Party of Canada (French: ), colloquially known as the Grits (originally Clear Grits), is a Canadian federal political party. ... John Napier Turner, PC, CC, QC, MA, BCL, LLD (born June 7, 1929) was the seventeenth Prime Minister of Canada from June 30, 1984 to September 17, 1984. ... This article is about the male contraceptive device. ...

Other platform promises of the Rhinoceros Party included:

• Repealing the law of gravity^[9][10]
• Paving Manitoba to create the world's largest parking lot^[10]
• Providing higher education by building taller schools^[7]
• Instituting English, French and illiteracy as Canada's three official languages^[7]
• Tearing down the Rocky Mountains so that Albertans could see the Pacific sunset^[10]
• Making Montreal the Venice of North America by damming the St. Lawrence River^[11]
• Abolishing the environment because it's too hard to keep clean and it takes up so much space^[7]
• Annexing the United States, which would take its place as the third territory, after the Yukon and the Northwest Territories (Nunavut did not yet exist) in Canada's backyard, in order to eliminate foreign control of Canada's natural resources^[12]
• Ending crime by abolishing all laws^[13]
• Paving the Bay of Fundy to create more parking in the Maritimes^[7]
• Turning Montreal's Saint Catherine Street into the world's longest bowling alley^[7]
• Adopting the British system of driving on the left; this was to be gradually phased in over five years with large trucks and tractors first, then buses, eventually including small cars and bicycles last
• Selling the Canadian Senate at an antique auction in California^[10][12]
• Putting the national debt on Visa^[14]
• Declaring war on Belgium because a Belgian cartoon character, Tintin, killed a rhinoceros in one of the cartoons^[15]
• Offering to call off the proposed Belgium-Canada war if Belgium delivered a case of mussels and a case of Belgian beer to Rhinoceros "Hindquarters" in Montréal (the Belgian Embassy in Ottawa did, in fact, do this)^[15]
• Painting Canada's coastal sea limits in watercolour so that Canadian fish would know where they were at all times^[11]
• Banning guns and butter, since both kill^[11]
• Banning lousy Canadian winters^[7]
• Renaming the country Nantucket^[7]
• Donate a free rhinoceros to every aspiring artist in Canada^[12]

The Rhino Party also declared that, should they somehow actually win an election, they would immediately dissolve and force a second election. It has been suggested that gravitation be merged into this article or section. ... Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Latin: Glorious and free) Capital Winnipeg Largest city Winnipeg Official languages English French (de facto) Government Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard Premier Gary Doer (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 14 Senate seats 6 Confederation July 15, 1870 (5th) Area  Ranked 8th Total 647,797... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... World illiteracy rates by country Literacy is the ability to read and write. ... For individual mountains named Rocky Mountain, see Rocky Mountain (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Alberta (disambiguation). ... Pacific redirects here. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... The Saint Lawrence River (French fleuve Saint-Laurent) is a large west-to-east flowing river in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. ... Ceremonies during the annexation of Hawaii. ... This article is about Yukon Territory in Canada. ... For the former United States territory, see Northwest Territory. ... For the Canadian federal electoral district, see Nunavut (electoral district). ... The Bay of Fundy (French: ) is a bay located on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. ... The Bay on Saint Catherine Street next to the Christ Church Cathedral Place des Arts Saint Catherine Street (officially rue Sainte-Catherine) is the primary commercial artery of downtown Montreal. ... The Senate of Canada (French: Le Sénat du Canada) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the House of Commons. ... “VISA” redirects here. ... The Adventures of Tintin (French: ) is a series of Belgian comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé, the pen name of Georges Remi (1907–1983). ... Mussels A mussel is a bivalve shellfish that can be found in lakes, rivers, creeks, intertidal areas, and throughout the ocean. ... Watercolor is a painting technique making use of water-soluble pigments that are either transparent or opaque and are formulated with gum to bond the pigment to the paper. ... In economics, the guns versus butter model is the classic example of the production possibility frontier. ...

Michel Rivard once went on TV (during free air time given to political parties) and stated: "I have but two things to say to you: Celery and Sidewalk. Thank you, good night."

A British Columbia splinter group proposed running a professional dominatrix for the position of party whip, renaming "British Columbia" to "La La Land", moving the provincial capital, and merging with the Progressive Conservative Party so as "not to split the silly vote." Motto: Splendor sine occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English (de facto) Government Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 36 Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 5th Total 944... French dominatrix Maîtresse Françoise. ... In politics, a whip is a member of a political party in a legislature whose task is to ensure that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The Rhinoceros Party never succeeded in winning a seat in Parliament. In the 1984 federal election, however, the party won the fourth-largest number of votes, after the three main political parties, but ahead of several well-established minor parties. Rhino candidates sometimes came in second in certain ridings, humiliating traditional Canadian parties in the process. In the 1980 federal election, for instance, the Rhinoceros party nominated a professional clown/comedian named Sonia "Chatouille" Côté ('chatouille' means tickles in French) in the Laurier riding in Montréal. Côté came in second place, after the successful Liberal candidate, but ahead of both other major parties: the third place New Democrat, and the fourth-place Progressive Conservative candidate.^[16] Chatouille received almost twice as many votes as the PC candidate. Regions Political culture Foreign relations Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      The Senate Chamber of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. ... The Canadian federal election of 1984 was called on July 4, 1984, and held on September 4 of that year. ... For the song by Chamillionaire, see Ridin. In the British Isles since Anglo-Saxon times, a riding is traditionally a sub-division (especially in three) of a county[1]. The term has similar or analogous meanings in other countries. ... The House of Commons after the 1980 election The 1980 Canadian federal election was called when the minority Progressive Conservative government led by Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. ... Laurier—Sainte-Marie is the name of a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada. ... The Liberal Party of Canada (French: ), colloquially known as the Grits (originally Clear Grits), is a Canadian federal political party. ... This article is about the Canadian political party. ...

Early in the party's history, when it was mainly composed of French-speaking Québécois, they chose as their official translator a party member who was the only unilingual anglophone party member at the time.

Although not recognized in the United States, former baseball pitcher Bill Lee ran for President of the United States in 1988 on the Rhinoceros Party ticket. ^[17] Bill The Spaceman Lee (born December 28, 1946 in Burbank, California) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. ...

Political successors

The party abstained from the 1993 federal election while they questioned the constitutionality of new rules that required the party to run candidates in at least 50 ridings at a cost of $1,000 per candidature.^[18] On September 23, 1993, Canada's Chief Electoral Officer, Jean-Pierre Kingsley, refused to accept the party's abstention and ordered the removal of the Rhinoceros Party from the Registry of Canadian Political Parties, effectively eliminating them from the Canadian political system. Kingsley also directed the party's official agent, Charlie (le Concierge) McKenzie, to liquidate all party assets and return any revenues to the Receiver General of Canada. On instructions from the party, McKenzie refused. After two years of threatening letters, Ottawa refused to prosecute McKenzie, who now claims to hold the distinction of being Canada's "least-wanted fugitive". Popular vote map with bar graphs showing seat totals in the provinces and territories. ... is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... The Chief Electoral Officer was created in 1920 by the Dominion Elections Act (Canada). ... Jean-Pierre Kingsley is the Chief Electoral Officer of Elections Canada. ... Look up fugitive in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

François Gourd, a prominent Rhino, later started another political movement, the entartistes. The entartistes attracted attention in the 1990s by planting cream pies in the faces of various Canadian politicians. In 2006, he lead a group that set up Neorhino.ca in an attempt to recapture the Rhinoceros Party spirit ^[19], and ran as a Neorhino candidate in the 2007 Outremont by-election. Went by the name François yo Gourd while he was a member of the Rhinoceros Party of Canada. ... The entartistes are a satirical political group in Canada, who throw cream pies at political and cultural figures whom the group deems to be in need of public embarrassment. ... Neorhino. ... Location of Outremont in the Montreal area. ...

Other Rhinoceros Party members founded the Parti citron (Lemon Party), which attempted to bring a similar perspective to provincial politics in Quebec.^[10] The Lemon Party of Canada (Parti Citron) is a Goldstein-approved Canadian federal political party. ...

Since the party's dissolution, a number of independent election candidates have informally claimed the Rhinoceros Party label even though the party itself no longer existed. There have also been a number of unsuccessful attempts to revive the Rhinos as a legally incorporated political party. In 2001, Brian "Godzilla" Salmi, who received his nickname because of the Godzilla suit he wore while campaigning, tried to revive the Rhinoceros Party to contest the British Columbia provincial election. While they pulled some pranks that earned some media coverage, only two of their candidates (Liar Liar in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant and Helvis in Vancouver-Burrard) appeared on the ballots, as the party claimed the $1000 candidate registration fee was a financial hardship. Unregistered candidates included Geoff Berner, who received national wire service coverage for promising "cocaine and whores to potential investors." The party disbanded shortly thereafter. Salmi later legally changed his name to Satan. In 2007, Salmi filed a lawsuit against the federal government of the election rules that lead to the disbanding of the Rhinoceros party, demanding $50 million compensation. As Salmi's name is now legally "Satan", the lawsuit was filed under the name Satan versus Her Majesty The Queen.^[20] This article is about the character itself. ... British Columbia riding map showing the winning parties and their vote percentage of each riding. ... Vancouver-Mount Pleasant is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. ... Vancouver-Burrard is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. ... Geoff Berner is a Canadian singer / songwriter / accordion player originating from Vancouver, British Columbia. ...

Electoral results

Note: In the Canadian federal election of 1965, the Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the Canadian House of Commons. ... In the Canadian federal election of June 25, 1968, the Liberal Party won a majority government under its new leader, Pierre Trudeau. ... The House of Commons after the 1972 election The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons. ... The House of Commons after the 1979 election The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons. ... The House of Commons after the 1980 election The 1980 Canadian federal election was called when the minority Progressive Conservative government led by Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. ... The Canadian federal election of 1984 was called on July 4, 1984, and held on September 4 of that year. ... Map of the Popular Vote with bar graphs showing seat totals in the provinces and territories The Canadian Parliament after the 1988 election The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons. ...

(1) The Rhinoceros Party ran 12 candidates in the 1972 election, but was not recognized as a registered party by Elections Canada, and therefore its candidates were listed as independents. (Source: Toronto Star, October 31, 1972.) The Toronto Star is Canadas highest-circulation newspaper, though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within Ontario. ...

References

is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When Youre Not Anywhere at All was the second comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre. ... Left to right: Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman, Phil Austin, and David Ossman in 2001 The Firesign Theatre is a comedy troupe consisting of Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, and Philip Proctor. ... is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... The Montreal Mirror is an English language alternative newsweekly based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

See also

• List of frivolous political parties
• Independent Rhinoceros candidates, 1997 Canadian federal election

This is a list of political parties that have been created for frivolous purposes. ... Although the Rhinoceros Party of Canada folded after the 1988 federal election, several independent candidates since them have adopted the Rhinoceros label. ...

External links

• Parti Rhinoceros