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The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (in french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l...

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (in french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the 142 years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985. It currently forms the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The first Conservative Party in Upper Canada was made up of United Empire Loyalists and supporters of the wealthy Family Compact that ruled the colony and opposed responsible government. Once responsible government was granted in response to the 1837 Rebellions, the Tories re-emerged as moderate reformers who opposed the radical policies of the Reformers and then the Clear Grits. The modern Conservative Party originated in the Liberal-Conservative coalition founded by Sir John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier in 1854. It is a variant of this coalition that formed the first government in Ontario with John Sandfield Macdonald as Premier. Sanfield Macdonald was actually a Liberal and sat concurrently as a Liberal Party of Canada MP in the