David Orchard

David Orchard (born June 28, 1950) is a Canadian author and political figure, member of the Liberal Party of Canada, who was the Liberal Party candidate for the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River in the 2008 federal election.

Previously, Orchard was a member of the now defunct Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC Party), and opposed the party's merger with the Canadian Alliance to form the Conservative Party of Canada.

Orchard has never held political office in Canada, but has been involved in leadership conventions and other political activities.

He is perhaps best known for his campaign to oppose the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement.

Orchard has become a prominent activist against the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement arguing it would weaken Canada's sovereignty and control of its resources.

He also campaigned against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas and the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI).

Orchard is a fourth-generation organic grain farmer, and also the author of the bestselling book The Fight for Canada: Four Centuries of Resistance to American Expansionism.

He was also a co-founder of CCAFT (Citizens Concerned About Free Trade) in 1985.

Orchard was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Educated in Borden, Orchard went on to study arts and science and then law at the University of Saskatchewan in nearby Saskatoon, although he did not graduate.

He later studied French at Quebec City's Université Laval.

Orchard is the fourth-generation on his family farm on which he has farmed organically for over 30 years.

Orchard sees himself as a "Red" or moderate Tory and claims to be ideologically inspired by his political idols former prime ministers John Diefenbaker, Lord Richard Bennett, Sir Robert Borden and Sir John A. Macdonald.

He is passionately opposed to Canadian economic integration with the U.S., including the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he says impedes Canada's economic and cultural sovereignty.

He has criticized many aspects of the United States foreign policy including wars and invasions of small nations.

Orchard supports government social programs, and is a strong supporter of the environment.

Orchard is a devoted monarchist, and opposes a weakening of federal powers in favour of the provinces.

He also supported the campaign against the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords, calling them "The mortal weakening of the central government".

He also advocates that 3 to 5% of the Gross Domestic Product go to military spending.

He is opposed to gun control.

He is a social conservative, and (according to the National Post) opposes same-sex marriage, a charge he has denied.

Orchard describes his own views as being conservative in the "historical mainstream" and "centrist" of the PC party, and claimed they would appeal to moderate Canadians.

Orchard's beliefs are perhaps best likened to that of the traditional, British Tory, which although historically common in Canada, lost much of their relevance since the rise of the so-called neoconservative faction.

He has been shunned by many conservatives, who often accuse him of being out of step with modern conservatism and too far to the left.

Such claims were common during his bids for PC leader, when he was accused being an opportunist who tried to practise entryism, and take over the Progressive Conservative Party and steer it sharply to the left and away from the conservatism of Brian Mulroney and Margaret Thatcher.

He has never been elected to the House of Commons of Canada or to any public office.

He placed a distant fourth, although with the highest percentage vote received by a Progressive Conservative candidate in Saskatchewan since 1993.

Orchard ran twice for the PC leadership: in 1998 and in 2003.

In his first attempt, he finished a distant second to former prime minister Joe Clark on the final ballot but attracted a very different group of supporters to the Tory party in doing so.

Many of Orchard's supporters were former members of the other political parties in Canada and two of Orchard's most prominent endorsers in the leadership bid were the leaders of the Green parties of British Columbia and Ontario.

During the relatively quiet race, Clark referred to Orchard as a "tourist" in the Tory party because of his left-leaning economic platform and opposition to the free trade agreements brokered by the Mulroney government.

In one debate, opponent Brian Pallister quipped that "Mr. Orchard is so left-wing, he thinks Svend Robinson is a right-wing maniac."

However, Orchard did gain respect from PC circles when he chose to stick with the Tories after Clark's victory.

Orchard and his political advisor, Marjaleena Repo, worked hard after his failed leadership bid to rebuild several Saskatchewan PC constituency associations and improve PC membership sales across Canada.

As a Progressive Conservative, he sought election in the federal riding of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in the 2000 federal election.

Orchard was one of Clark's staunchest defenders during the lead-up to the August 2002 convention that saw Clark resign as Tory leader after the disintegration of the parliamentary PC-Democratic Representative Caucus coalition in May 2002.

Respect for Orchard grew in the Red Tory wing of the PC Party: roughly one-quarter of the party membership supported him during the 2003 PC leadership campaign, including Joe Clark's wife, Maureen McTeer.

Orchard ultimately came in third on the third ballot in the 2003 PC convention, behind Nova Scotia Member of Parliament (MP) Peter MacKay and Calgary lawyer Jim Prentice.

Orchard decided to support Peter MacKay over Jim Prentice due to the latter's implicit support for a United Alternative (merger of the party with the Canadian Alliance (CA) party).

He lost in the 2008 Canadian federal election, placing second in the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, as the Liberal candidate.