Page "Reform Party of Canada" Paragraph 58

Reform had also failed in 1997 to establish itself as the clear right-wing alternative to the Liberal Party.

The Progressive Conservative Party, which had been steadily rebuilt under Charest, enjoyed a modest revival in the 1997 election.

It won 20 seats, up from the dismal two it had won during in the 1993 election.

The split in the right-wing vote between Reform and the PCs possibly aided the Liberals to win a second majority government.

Some political pundits claimed that it was a divided right which allowed the Liberals to gain a second majority government, and claimed that if the two parties did not put away their differences, the result could repeat itself.