John Diefenbaker liked to quote an old Irish couplet when he referred to Liberal Party principles, "Oh marciful providence fashioned us hollow, O purpose that we might our principles swallow".

As PM, Jean Chretien bragged that the Liberals were not weighed down by some hide bound ideology (that means a set of principles to the rest of us) and so could react with total pragmatism.

When one refers to the Liberals as a conviction party, the reference is more likely or at least more aptly a reference to the several party insiders convicted during the Adscam affair.