Records in this series devoted to the Liberal party of Canada and Roméo LeBlanc's activities within the party cover the period from 1969 to 1993. The majority of the files contains documents from 1972 to 1984 when Mr. LeBlanc was a Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Westmorland-Kent riding. During that time, Mr.LeBlanc held a minister position at various government departments. In addition, Mr.LeBlanc was a prominent and an influential member of the Liberal party.
The first group of documents describes Roméo LeBlanc as a Member of Parliament for Westmorland-Kent riding. They display how he achieved victory in the 1972 federal election and identify the factors that played the most significant role in his successful re-elections in 1974, 1979, and 1980. There are documents which show the level of the collaboration between the headquarters of the Liberal party and its regional branches/associations in supporting Liberal candidates in Atlantic Canada, in general, and in Westmorland-Kent, in particular.
The documents include statistical tables with the results of the federal elections for the county, and by the polls, information about other candidates and their chances to win elections and the tactics used by the Liberal party to assure victory of the Liberal candidates. The files portraying Roméo LeBlanc's work as the Westmorland-Kent Member of Parliament largely consist of correspondence. Most of the correspondence is dedicated to two main subjects: the development of government policy and normative acts on supporting the most prominent industries of the region - fisheries and tourism, and the development of the mechanism for the implementation of the long-term projects which will contribute to the economical expansion of the region and provide social security for the people who work at these industries.
The second group of documents portrays Roméo LeBlanc as a prominent party member.The files consist of documents related to party conventions: they are mainly in form of minutes of the meetings, scripts of Roméo LeBlanc's speeches and his notes. Other files reflect the process of development of the main party documents such as a constitution of the Liberal party and its policies on various issues. The documents focusing on the 1990 Calgary conference, the 1992 and the 1993 Biennial conventions clearly show the role Roméo LeBlanc played in party life and in supporting Liberal leaders.
The third group of documents reflects Roméo LeBlanc's activities on promoting the main principles of liberalism and its ideas among Canadian political and intellectual elite and consist of documents related to the Communication committee and the journal De Novo which were actively involved in policy development. The importance of the Communication committee increased significantly during the 1970s, when the Liberal party was in power. The committee provided the government with knowledgeable expertise on various domestic and foreign issues. It worked directly with Cabinet Ministers and the Prime Minister. Minutes of the committee and its documents show the role of Roméo LeBlanc as a chair of the committee went far beyond his official mandate. The De Novo Journal was considered by the Liberals to be a new venture in promoting Liberal ideas across the country. Although there are no documents indicating that Roméo LeBlanc was an editor- in-chief of the journal or was directly involved in its production, the accumulated materials give an indication that he was a moving force behind the journal. The documents consist of correspondence between the journal organizing committee, editorial staff and writers about the content of the journal, its distribution and promotion. There are eight issues of the journal dated from Spring 1985 to Fall 1987. De Novo files contain lists of subscribers and donors, some accounting information as well as the materials used for promotion and advertising.
There is finaly a series of memoranda, newsletters, and press releases issued by the Liberal party, which fall into two categories: documents that are addressed to the Cabinet Ministers and Liberal members of the Parliament; documents that are addressed to all members of the Liberal party. Memoranda are either produced by the leaders of the party or by its prominent members. Newsletters and press releases are mostly prepared by the Research Bureau of the National Liberal Caucus. Most files associated with the Liberal party are accompanied by numerous handwritten notes.
