However, because the traditional Canadian political parties, the Liberals and Conservatives, have constantly changed their ideological principles to suite their electoral purposes, the Canadian party system has evolved into a brokerage system. This attempt to broker the diversity of ethnic, geographic, religious and linguistic differences has created a deep impasse in the political party system.
Due to the diversity of the Canadians, responding to the interests of the electorate has been the one of the major obstacles for political parties. The Canadian party system has undergone several transitions throughout history because of emerging interests and the inability for existing parties to accommodate these new groups. These changing representational demands have created pressures on the system, leading indirectly to the formation of new parties. .
The creation of new parties has also transformed the political party system from a pan-Canadian system of representation to a regional one. This is best exemplified by the results of the 1993 and 1997 elections where it was evident that no party could declare that it was national, instead each party had a regional stronghold. For example, many Quebecois have opted for regional representation through the Bloc Quebecois while many Westerners chose the former Reform party to represent their interests. The results of the 1993 federal election have been referred to as a "critical realignment". This realignment occurs when blocs of voters supporting the major parties are reshuffled and the issues dominating political debates are radically altered. .
According to Dobrowolsky, this change in the electorate has occurred because of the convergence of the party system. The traditional system comprised of Liberals, Conservatives, and CCF/NDP, evolved into a multiparty system with the creation of the former Reform Party and the Bloc Quebecois.
