# Blair Longley

Blair Timmothy Longley (born September 25, 1950) is a Canadian politician and activist who has served as the leader of the Marijuana Party since 2004.

## Early life

Blair Longley (born Timothy Peach) was born on September 25, 1950, in Vancouver, British Columbia, and grew up in North Vancouver.

## Career

Longley attended the founding meeting of the Green Party of Canada at Carleton University in November 1983. He went on to be an active member of the Rhinoceros Party of which he was an official agent from 1985 to 1987.
He joined the Marijuana Party shortly after its foundation and became the party's leader in 2004, following the resignation of Marc-Boris St-Maurice.
He has been a candidate for the House of Commons of Canada on four occasions, for three different parties. He ran for the Green Party in the 1984 election in the riding of Burnaby placing a distant fourth of four candidates with 364 of 58,991 votes. In 1988, he ran against opposition leader John Turner, with no party affiliation, and placed ninth of twelve candidates with 52 of 54,654 votes.
Longley ran for the Bloc Pot in the 2003 Quebec provincial election. He later ran for the Marijuana Party in the riding of North Okanagan—Shuswap in 2004 and placed fifth of eight candidates with 492 of 51,765 votes, then in 2008 in the riding of Hochelaga, Quebec, placing eighth of nine with 183 of 45,683 votes.
Following the legalization of cannabis in Canada, Longley said it was "going to be harder than ever now for the Marijuana Party to exist". Only four candidates ran for the Marijuana Party in the 2019 federal election. As of 2018 Longley was the Marijuana Party's chief agent and leader, and so was ineligible to run in federal elections. Since legalization, Longley shifted the Marijuana Party's message towards scrutinizing the "rapid capitalization" of the drug.

## Electoral record

vte2008 Canadian federal election: Hochelaga :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Réal Ménard | 22,720 | 49.73 | −5.85 | $28,893 |
| | Liberal | Diane Dicaire | 9,442 | 20.67 | +3.43 | not listed |
| | New Democratic | Jean-Claude Rocheleau | 6,600 | 14.45 | +5.54 | $21,479 |
| | Conservative | Luc Labbé | 4,201 | 9.20 | −3.01 | $8,586 |
| | Green | Philippe Larochelle | 1,946 | 4.26 | −0.60 | not listed |
| | neorhino.ca | Simon Landry | 230 | 0.50 | – | not listed |
| | Communist | Marianne Breton Fontaine | 184 | 0.40 | | $898 |
| | Marijuana | Blair T. Longley | 183 | 0.40 | −0.32 | not listed |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Christine Dandenault | 177 | 0.39 | −0.09 | not listed |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 45,683 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 644 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,327 | 58.24 | −0.07 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 79,542 |
| Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada. |||||||
2004 Canadian federal election: North Okanagan—Shuswap :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Darrel Stinson | 24,014 | 46.39% | – | $73,168 |
| | New Democratic | Alice Brown | 12,528 | 24.20% | – | $36,696 |
| | Liberal | Will Hansma | 11,636 | 22.47% | – | $51,772 |
| | Green | Erin Nelson | 2,333 | 4.50% | – | $960 |
| | Marijuana | Blair Longley | 492 | 0.95% | – | $400 |
| | Independent | Gordon Campbell | 401 | 0.77% | – | |
| | Canadian Action | Claire Foss | 257 | 0.49% | – | $1,558 |
| | Independent | K. No. Daniels | 104 | 0.20% | – | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 51,765 | 100.00% |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 174 | 0.34% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,939 |
vteQuebec provincial by-election, September 20, 2004: Nelligan :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Yolande James | 7,812 | 52.58 |
| | Independent | Michel Gibson | 4,038 | 27.18 | |
| | Parti Québécois | Sahar Hawili | 1,538 | 10.35 |
| | Action démocratique | Tom Pentefountas | 1,039 | 6.99 |
| | Green | Ryan Young | 251 | 1.69 | – |
| | UFP | Josée Larouche | 120 | 0.81 | – |
| | Bloc Pot | Blair Longley | 58 | 0.39 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 14,856 | 100.00 | |
| Rejected and declined votes | Rejected and declined votes | Rejected and declined votes | 62 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,918 | 28.60 | |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 52,163 | | |
| Sources: Official Results, Government of Quebec |||||||
2003 Quebec general election: D'Arcy-McGee :
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal | Lawrence Bergman | 23,968 | 91.29 | +0.68 |
| Parti Québécois | Mathieu Breault | 1,087 | 4.14 | +1.02 |
| Action démocratique | Sylvain James Bowes | 520 | 1.98 | +0.73 |
| Equality | William F. Shaw | 406 | 1.55 | -2.81 |
| Bloc Pot | Blair T. Longley | 274 | 1.04 | – |
1988 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Quadra :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Liberal | John Turner | 24,021 |
| Progressive Conservative | Bill Clarke | 16,664 |
| New Democratic | Gerry Scott | 11,687 |
| Reform | J.R. Jack Ford | 1,112 |
| Rhinoceros | John Turner (no relation) | 760 |
| Libertarian | Walter Boytinck | 129 |
| Communist | Bert Ogden | 75 |
| Independent | Albert A. Ritchie | 74 |
| Independent | Blair T. Longley | 52 |
| Confederation of Regions | Nora Galenzoski | 35 |
| Commonwealth of Canada | G.J. Joseph Jackman | 23 |
| Independent | Allen Soroka | 22 |
1984 Canadian federal election :
| Candidate | Votes |
| New Democratic | Svend Robinson | 28,318 |
| Progressive Conservative | Bill Langas | 20,697 |
| Liberal | Mike Hillman | 9,612 |
| Green | Blair T. Longley | 364 |