Natural Law Party of Canada candidates in the 2000 Canadian federal election


The Natural Law Party of Canada fielded several candidates in the 2000 federal election, none of whom were elected. Information about these candidates may be found here.

[Ontario]

Eglinton—Lawrence">Eglinton—Lawrence (federal electoral district)">Eglinton—Lawrence: Matthew Macleod

Macleod is a musician. He has released an album entitled Comedies, Histories, Tragedies, and performed a solo concert at EcoFair 2003. He received 133 votes, finishing seventh against Liberal incumbent Joe Volpe.

Hamilton East">Hamilton East (federal electoral district)">Hamilton East: Helene Anne Darisse

Darisse, also called Helene Darisse-Yildirim, is a teacher and video producer from the Niagara Falls area. She holds Bachelor of Education and Master of Arts degrees, and is a member of the Ontario Straw Bale Building Coalition , and the Canadian Yoga Alliance.
Darisse was a perennial candidate for the Natural Law Party at both the federal and provincial levels.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalOshawaNatural Law2637/9Ivan Grose, Liberal
1995 provincialWelland—ThoroldNatural Law2325/5Peter Kormos, New [Democratic Party of Ontario|New Democratic Party]
1997 federalSt. CatharinesNatural Law2450.517/7Walt Lastewka, Liberal
1999 provincialSt. CatharinesNatural Law2720.584/6Jim Bradley, Liberal Party|Liberal]
2000 federalHamilton EastNatural Law979/9Sheila Copps, Liberal

Hamilton West">Hamilton West (federal electoral district)">Hamilton West: Rita Rassenberg

Rassenberg was born in Switzerland, and moved to Canada in her 20s. She has worked as an office administrator, bookkeeper, sales manager and real-estate estate.
She was a frequent candidate for the Natural Law Party at both the provincial and federal levels.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalHamilton WestNatural Law3966/7Stan Keyes, Liberal
1995 provincialHamilton WestNatural Law2845/6Lillian Ross, Progressive [Conservative Party of Ontario|Progressive Conservative]
1999 provincialHamilton WestNatural Law2310.567/7David Christopherson, New Democratic Party
2000 federalHamilton WestNatural Law948/10Stan Keyes, Liberal

[Lanark—Carleton]: Britt Roberts

Roberts was a perennial candidate for the Natural Law Party. He campaigned in the federal elections of 1993, 1997 and 2000, and also campaigned for the Natural Law Party of Ontario in 1999.
Roberts became active in transcendental meditation while attending the University of Toronto, and studied yogic flying at a Natural Law conference in the United States in 1983. He completed a Master of Business Administration degree in Iowa, and moved to Ottawa in 1994. Roberts has been active in the Maharishi Global Development Fund.
During the 1999 provincial election, Roberts described the Natural Law Party's development as follows: "It's about providing a new paradigm. In the first stage, people just ignore it, and then they ridicule. Then, they admit that they agreed with it all along. We may still be at the early stages of that process, but it is coming." He was 45 years old at the time.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalLanark—CarletonNatural Law2627/9Ian Murray, Liberal
1997 federalLanark—CarletonNatural Law1817/7Ian Murray, Liberal
1999 provincialLeeds—GrenvilleNatural Law2445/5Bob Runciman, Progressive Conservative
2000 federalLanark—CarletonNatural Law1070.178/8Scott Reid, Canadian Alliance

Niagara Falls">Niagara Falls (federal electoral district)">Niagara Falls: Bill Amos

William Norman Amos was a property manager and real-estate salesperson in Niagara Falls. He began practising transcendental meditation in 1974, and later became active with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's international network. He ran for the Natural Law Party of Canada four times and the Natural Law Party of Ontario twice, and was involved in the proposed Maharishi Veda Land Canada theme park in his home city.
While running in a federal by-election in 1996, Amos argued that there was scientific proof that regular meditation by one per cent of the population would bring about a reduction in crime and unemployment rates. He also promised to eliminate Canada's Goods and Services Tax, and suggested the introduction of a thirty per cent flat tax to eliminate Canada's deficit and debt. When asked for his opinion on Canada's Young Offenders Act, he said that he would promote meditation in youth jails to reduce crime. He was forty-nine years old at the time.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalNiagara FallsNatural Law1690.397/8Gary Pillitteri, Liberal
1995 provincialNiagara FallsNatural Law3551.274/5Bart Maves, Progressive Conservative
federal by-election, 17 June 1996Hamilton EastNatural Law640.2411/13Sheila Copps, Liberal
1997 federalNiagara FallsNatural Law1540.376/6Gary Pillitteri, Liberal
1999 provincialNiagara FallsNatural Law3170.784/6Bart Maves, Progressive Conservative
2000 federalNiagara FallsNatural Law1550.406/6Gary Pillitteri, Liberal

Ottawa—Vanier">Ottawa—Vanier (federal electoral district)">Ottawa—Vanier: Pierrette J. Blondin

Blondin has a Master of Education degree. She was a frequent candidate for the NLP at the provincial and federal levels. During the 1995 provincial election, she described herself as having twenty-eight years' experience as a teacher in the Ottawa-Carleton French School Board, and fifteen years' experience with transcendental meditation.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalGlengarry—Prescott—RussellNatural Law4560.85/6Don Boudria, Liberal
1995 provincialPrescott and RussellNatural Law4461.06/6Jean-Marc Lalonde, Liberal
1999 provincialOttawa—VanierNatural Law5801.465/6Claudette Boyer, Liberal
2000 federalOttawa—VanierNatural Law1870.397/9Mauril Belanger, Liberal

St. Catharines">St. Catharines (federal electoral district)">St. Catharines: Jim Morris

Morris listed himself as the lead hand at Dominion Controls. He was a frequent candidate for the NLP at the provincial and federal levels.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1995 provincialOxfordNatural Law2756/7Ernie Hardeman, Progressive Conservative
1997 federalOxfordNatural Law1817/7John Finlay, Liberal
1999 provincialOxfordNatural Law2037/7Ernie Hardeman, Progressive Conservative
2000 federalSt. CatharinesNatural Law2030.435/7Walt Lastewka, Liberal

[Toronto Centre—Rosedale]: David Gordon

David Gordon is an advertising executive, and was based in Toronto during the period of his federal campaigns. He gave demonstrations in "yogic flying" during the 1993 federal election, and argued that the Natural Law Party would allow young Canadians to "gain enlightenment and perfection in their own lives and at the same time materialize their noble sentiments for an ideal civilization in Canada".
He ran for the Natural Law Party of Canada twice and was a candidate for the Natural Law Party of Ontario in 1995.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalScarborough CentreNatural Law1900.476/10John Cannis, Liberal
1995 provincialSudburyNatural Law3151.045/7Rick Bartolucci, Liberal
2000 federalToronto Centre—RosedaleNatural Law2247/9Bill Graham, Liberal