The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada has undergone many transformations as a political party. This political group began as the Conservative Party before donning the name Progressive Conservative in 1942. It has experienced numerous rises and falls since then before finally merging with Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance in 2004. It is currently known as the Conservative Party of Canada. Here is the story of the Progressive Conservative Party:
Canada was consummated by a number of conferences and negotiations that would later be termed the Confederation in 1867. The Conservative Party was the establishing political party in the country. For almost twenty nine years after the Confederation, the Conservative Party was assigned with the governing of Canada. Following that period, however, the group has experienced varying levels of elected power.
In particular, the supporting of conscription by the Conservative Party meant that they lost the French-Canadian votes. Despite various tactics following a series of losses, the Conservative Party was unable to reclaim its former position. In 1942, John Bracken a Progressive Party member pursued the Conservative leadership. Although he had no prior experience, Bracken won the position, resulting in the change of name of the party to the Progressive Conservative Party.
John Bracken served as the first official leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1942. This position was later occupied by George Alexander Drew in 1948. His leadership continued for eight years until he resigned in 1956. During this period, William Earl Rowe stepped in on two separate occasions as acting Leader. John George Diefenbaker was probably one of the more notable leaders of the PC Party. He adopted the position in December, 1956 and a few months later was sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada. Diefenbaker remained the party leader until 1967. Robert Lane Stanfield took up the title following Diefenbaker, remaining until 1976. Charles Joseph Clark became Leader of the Opposition soon afterwards. Three years later, Clark ascended to the position of Prime Minister. He ended his role as Leader in 1983. Martin Brian Mulroney was elected Leader before being voted in as Prime Minister in 1984. Mulroney was head of the party until 1993. A. Kim Campbell was next in line as Leader but she occupied the position only for six months as she was sworn in as Prime Minister during the same period of time. Charest J. Jean was first acting then permanent Leader until 1998. Elise Eleanore Wayne took up the position for a short period of time as acting Leader but was replaced by Charles Clark who maintained it until 2003. Peter Gordon MacKay was the final leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. He sustained the title from 2003 to 2004.
The ascension of Peter MacKay would mark the beginning of the end of the Progressive Conservative Party. Soon after he was voted in as Leader, MacKay began discussions with Canadian Alliance and Stephen Harper. It was an interesting turn of events considering that the two political parties had spent ten years vying for the same votes. Together, the parties consolidated in the Conservative Party of Canada. In December, 2003 the Conservative Party of Canada registered with Elections Canada. Shortly afterwards, Stephen Harper was named Leader of the party with Peter MacKay being granted the title deputy Leader. The Progressive Conservative Party has been a part of the Canada's political history for a long period of time. The party continues to transform and develop, adapting to find a place in the newer political scene.
Some of the big Canadian banks have stopped offering secured credit cards, or at least they do not advertise such product on their websites. Refresh Financial offers a secured card, with an easy application process. You can also check with one of the TD Bank local branches if they still offer secured credit cards.
If you only pay the minimum required amount per month for your loan, you are not reducing your overall balance each month. The amount you pay will be immediately consumed by the interest you incur. Therefore, the only mathematically plausible way to gradually reduce credit card debt is to pay more than the minimum required amount per month. For most debtors, this can be a difficult financial goal to achieve. Therefore, you may have to assess your monthly expenditures and create a budget. Cut down unnecessary expenses and use the money instead to pay down your debt.
Credit card debt can pull you into a vicious cycle of borrowing money to pay off debt. Also, it's the number one contributor to bad credit. Credit card debt can hinder your ability to obtain important loans such as mortgages, and will seriously hurt your personal financial well-being. Therefore, getting rid of credit card debt as soon as possible is the only solution to the problem. Here are some strategies Canadians can try to get rid of overbearing credit card debt:
If your monthly income is not sufficient to pay more than the minimum required amount, you can consider obtaining an advance on your salary from your employer. Let your employer know that you are in dire financial straits, and he or she may be willing to consider giving you an advance to reduce your debt.
It's never wise to get payday loans or similar high interest loans to pay down credit card debt. If another loan is absolutely necessary to reduce the remaining balance of your debt, then consider getting a loan from a local credit union, which often come with very low interest rates and are easy to pay back.
If you have multiple credit card debts, the best option might be to consolidate all the small debts into one. When you consolidate debt, instead of getting multiple bills with varying interest rates each month, you get one bill with a single interest rate. Consolidated loans can keep you from accruing new debt each month, and also allow you save a little each month. Most debt consolidation packages also come with spending plans to help you ease your debt.
Balance transfer cards allow holders to transfer the remaining balance of one credit card to another, even if it's issued by another company. If you have a large overdue amount on one card, it's possible to transfer this balance to a new card and pay down the debt without discontinuing using a credit card. It's possible to transfer balances of store cards or gas station cards as well. There are extra perks offered with balance transfer, such as options to save. The only caveat is that you can only transfer the balance if it's equal to or less than the monthly limit on a card. For example, if you want to transfer $2,000, but the limit on the new card is $1,000, you can only transfer $1,000.
If you have a massive credit card debt, it will be difficult to obtain a legitimate loan or another card to pay down the debt. When your credit is bad, your best option is a secured credit card. You can get one with an initial cash deposit. Afterwards, you can use it monthly for a limited period to pay down existing debt. When the time is up, you have to repay the amount due in full. Secured credit cards are a good way to settle old credit card debts before they become even heftier due to interest and late fees. Talk to a debt counsellor to determine which of the above strategies will be best for your financial situation.