List of conservative parties in Canada
Following the election and despite Alliance leadership troubles, the PCs were unable to make significant gains in opinion polls and former Prime Minister Joe Clark resigned as leader.Mackay began a process of talks which led to the merger of the PCs with the Alliance and the creation of a new Conservative Party of Canada.Martin had been a very successful and popular finance minister under much of Chrétien's term and was expected to dominate politics and win a commanding majority, perhaps of record size, once he was at the helm.The merger of the conservative movement was not viewed as a large impediment to this goal when it occurred almost simultaneously with Martin's rise to power.However, the sponsorship scandal, which saw some Liberal supporters fraudulantely acquire government funds, and particularly Martin's response to it caused him to slip in the polls.This campaign was actually given a boost by Harper, who began to muse about winning a majority government, when polls showed most Canadians were uncomfortable with such a prospect, and by some Conservative candidates who made statements on controversial social issues.Harper briefly mused about giving up the leadership following the election defeat but carried forward with considerable optimism despite trailing the Liberals significantly in the polls.In the spring of 2005, it projected the Conservatives back into the lead in the polls and Martin held a rare live address on television to ask Canadians to give him 10 more months to govern, in which time the Gomery Commission would finish its work and release a report on its investigation, and then he would call an election.During the summer, the Conservatives slipped back in the polls again and there were renewed questions of Harper's leadership and the potential success of the new party.