Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Former Federal Party
Leader	J.S. Woodsworth, M.J. Coldwell, Hazen Argue
President	M.J. Coldwell, Frank Scott, David Lewis
Founded	1932
Dissolved	1961 Entered into coalition with the Canadian Labour Congress to form the New Democratic Party
Headquarters	Ottawa
Ideology	Democratic socialism
International affiliation	Socialist International
Official colours	Green and Yellow
Seats in the House of Commons	n/a
Politics of Canada Political parties Elections

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) (French: Fdration du commonwealth coopratif, then Parti social dmocratique du Canada) was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction. In 1944, it became the first socialist government in North America (based in Saskatchewan). In 1961, it disbanded and was replaced by the New Democratic Party. The full, but little used, name of the party was Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Farmer-Labour-Socialist).

1 Origins
2 Electoral performance
- 2.1 Election results 1935-1958
3 Organization
4 CCF song
5 Footnotes
6 Bibilographical references
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Origins

The CCF aimed to alleviate the suffering of the Great Depression through economic reform and public "co-operation". Many of the party's first Members of Parliament (MPs) were former members of the Ginger Group of left-wing Progressive and Labour MPs.

The decision to create the "Commonwealth Party" was made shortly after the 1930 federal election at a meeting in United Farmers of Alberta MP William Irvine's office.^[1] According to author Margaret Stewart, the meeting consisted of Irvine and several other left-wing MPs: Agnes Macphail, MP; Ted Garland, MP; Humphrey Mitchell, MP; Abraham Albert Heaps, MP; Angus MacInnis, MP; J.S. Woodsworth, MP.^[1] Also involved in the plans to found a new party were members of the League for Social Reconstruction such as F.R. Scott and Frank Underhill.^[2]

CCF founding meeting, Regina, 1933

At its founding convention in 1932, the party settled on the name "Co-operative Commonwealth Federation - (Farmer-Labour-Socialist)" and selected J.S. Woodsworth as party leader.^[3] Woodsworth had been an Independent Labour Party MP since 1921, and a member of the Ginger Group of MPs. The party's 1933 convention, held in Regina, Saskatchewan, adopted the Regina Manifesto as the party's program. The manifesto outlined a number of goals, including: Public ownership of key industries; Universal pensions; Universal health care; Children's allowances; Unemployment insurance; Workers compensation.^[4]

It concluded that "No CCF Government will rest content until it has eradicated capitalism and put into operation the full programme of socialized planning which will lead to the establishment in Canada of the Co-operative Commonwealth."^[3]

[edit] Electoral performance

Federal CCF Caucus, in 1942 with new leader M.J. Coldwell. Left to right, Tommy Douglas, George Castledon, Angus MacInnis, Coldwell, Clarie Gillis , Joe Noseworthy, Sandy Nicholoson, and Percy Wright.^[5]

In its first election in 1935, seven CCF MPs were elected to the House of Commons. Eight were elected in the following election in 1940. But the party was divided with the outbreak of World War II: Woodsworth was an uncompromising pacifist, and this upset many supporters of the Canadian war effort. After Woodsworth died in 1942, a new leader, Major Coldwell, was elected, and threw the party's support behind the war. The party won a critical York South by-election in February 1942, and in the process prevented the Conservative leader, former Prime Minister Arthur Meighen, from entering the House of Commons. In the 1945 election, 28 CCF MPs were elected, and the party won 15.6% of the vote.

However, the party was to have its greatest success in provincial politics in the 40s. In 1943, the Ontario CCF became the official opposition in that province, and in 1944, the Saskatchewan CCF formed the first socialist government in North America with Tommy Douglas as premier. Douglas introduced universal healthcare to Saskatchewan, a policy that was soon adopted by other provinces and implemented nationally by the Liberals under Lester B. Pearson

Federally, during the Cold War, the CCF was accused of having communist, dictatorial leanings. The party moved to address these accusations in 1956, by replacing the Regina Manifesto with a more moderate document, the Winnipeg Declaration. Nevertheless, the party did poorly in the 1958 election, winning only eight seats.

After much discussion, the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress decided to join forces to create a new political party, which could make social democracy more popular with Canadian voters. In 1961, the CCF became the New Democratic Party.

[edit] Election results 1935-1958

Election	Leader	# of candidates nominated	# of seats won	# of total votes	% of popular vote
1935	J.S. Woodsworth	117	7*	386,253	8.78%
1940	J.S. Woodsworth	94	8	388,058	8.42%
1945	M.J. Coldwell	205	28	815,720	15.55%
1949	M.J. Coldwell	181	13	785,910	13.42%
1953	M.J. Coldwell	170	23	636,310	11.28%
1957	M.J. Coldwell	162	25	707,828	10.71%
1958	M.J. Coldwell	169	8	692,668	9.49%

* Not including Agnes Macphail who worked with the CCF but was elected as a United Farmers of Ontario-Labour MP.

[edit] Organization

The CCF estimated its membership as being slightly more than 20,000 in 1938, less than 30,000 in 1942 and over 90,000 in 1944.^[6] Membership figures declined following World War II to only 20,238 in 1950 and would never again reach 30,000.^[6]

By the late 1940s the CCF had official or unofficial weekly newspapers in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, twice-monthly papers in Ontario and Manitoba and a bimonthly in the Maritimes. A French-language paper in Quebec was also attempted at various times. The party also produced various educational books, pamphlets and magazines though these efforts declined in the 1950s.

[edit] Party leaders

Name	Term start	Term end	Riding as leader
J.S Woodsworth	August 1, 1932	March 21, 1942	Winnipeg North Centre, Winnipeg Centre
M.J. Coldwell	March 22, 1942	August 10, 1960	Rosetown–Biggar
Hazen Argue	August 11, 1960	August 2, 1961	Assiniboia, Wood Mountain

[edit] National Chairmen

Four past and future National Chairmen in September 1944: National CCF delegation attending the Conference of Commonwealth Labour Parties in London,England. Pictured from left to right: Clarie Gillis, MP for Cape Breton South; David Lewis, National Secretary; M.J. Coldwell, National Leader, MP for Rosetown–Biggar; Percy E. Wright, MP for Melfort; and Frank Scott, national chairman.

The national chairman was the equivalent of "party president" in most Canadian political parties, and was sometimes referred to as such, in that it was largely an organizational role. In the case of the CCF, the national chairman oversaw the party's national council and chaired its meetings. Following an initial period, in which Woodsworth held both roles, it was usually distinct and secondary to the position of party leader. National president originally was also a title the leader held, as both Woodsworth and Coldwell held that title when they held seats in the House of Commons. In 1958, after Coldwell lost his seat, the position of national chairman was merged formally into the president's title and was held by David Lewis.^[7]

J.S. Woodsworth (1932-1938)
M.J. Coldwell (1938-1942)
F.R. Scott (1942-1950)^[8]
Percy Wright (1950-1954)^[9]
David Lewis (1954-1958)^[10]
David Lewis as party president (1958-1961)^[10]

[edit] National Secretaries

The national secretary was a staff position (initially part-time, full time beginning 1938) which was responsible for the day-to-day organizing of the party. The national secretary was the only full-time employee at the party's national headquarters until 1943 when a research director, Eugene Forsey, and an assistant to the leader were hired.

M.J. Coldwell (1934-1936)
David Lewis (1936-1950)^[8]
Lorne Ingle (1950-58)^[11]^[12]
Carl Hamilton (1958-1961)^[13]

[edit] CCF song

The CCF had a song, which would be later popularized by the movie Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story

First verse:

A call goes out to Canada

It comes from out the soil–

Come and join the ranks through all the land

To fight for those who toil

Come on farmer, soldier, labourer,

From the mine and factory,

And side by side we'll swell the tide–

C.C.F. to Victory.^[14]

[edit] Footnotes

^ ^a ^b Stewart, Margaret; Doris French Shackelton (1959). Ask no quarter; a biography of Agnes Macphail. Toronto: Longmans,Green. p. 98. http://catalogue1.torontopubliclibrary.ca/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/5/3?searchdata1=1361073{CKEY}&searchfield1=GENERAL^SUBJECT^GENERAL^^.
^ Young, p. 31
^ ^a ^b Morton (1986), p. 12
^ Young, Appendix A, pp. 304-313
^ Smith, Cameron (1992). Love & Solidarity: A Pictorial History of the NDP. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. p. 88. ISBN 0-7710-8209-6.
^ ^a ^b Young, Appendix B, Table III, p. 320.
^ Young, p. 235
^ ^a ^b Braithwaite, Dennis (1950-07-29). "C.C.F. Disavows Marx Class Struggle Idea, Tempers High in Debate". The Toronto Daily Star: pp. 1,7.
^ Staff (1952-08-09). "Make Own Foreign Policy, Follow U.N. CCF Meet Urges". The Toronto Daily Star: pp. 1,2.
^ ^a ^b Stewart (2000), p. 211
^ Young, p.127n
^ Smith (1989), p. 294
^ Stewart (2000), p. 212
^ "Foreward". CCYM Sings. Saskatchewan Coucil for Archives and Archivists. http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/election/en/images/big/77.jpg. Retrieved 2010-07-17. CCYM is the Co-operative Commonwealth Youth Movement, the image is from a larger collection of scans in jpeg format.

[edit] Bibilographical references

Ascher, Abraham; ed. (1976). The Mensheviks in the Russian Revolution: Documents of Revolution. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500750068.
Avakumovic, Ivan (1978). Socialism in Canada : a study of the CCF-NDP in federal and provincial politics. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 077100978X.
Azoulay, Dan (1999). "A Desperate Holding Action: The Survival of the Ontario CCF/NDP, 1948–1964". in Azoulay, Dan. Canadian political parties:historical readings. Toronto: Irwin Publishing. pp. 342–363. ISBN 0772527032.
Boyko, John (2006). Into the Hurricane: Attacking Socialism and the CCF. Winnipeg, Canada: J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing Inc. ISBN 189728909X.
Caplan, Gerald (1973). The Dilemma of Canadian Socialism: The CCF in Ontario. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0771018967.
Chamberlin, William Henry (1987). The Russian Revolution: 1917–1921. 2 (2 ed.). Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691008167.
Horowitz, Gad (1968). Canadian Labour in Politics. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0802019021.
Kosovsky, Vladimir (1943) (in Yiddish). Vladimier Medem on the Twentieth Anniversary of His Death. New York: American Representation of the General Jewish Workers' Union of Poland. http://search1.library.utoronto.ca/UTL/index?N=0&Nr=p_catalog_code:4108422&showDetail=first.
Lewis, David (1981). The Good Fight: Political Memoirs 1909–1958. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada. ISBN 0771595980.
Lewis, David; Frank Scott (1943/2001). Make this YOUR CANADA: A Review of CCF History and Policy. Canada: Hybrid Publishers Co-operative Ltd.. ISBN 0-9689709-0-7.
MacDonald, Donald C. (1998). The Happy Warrior: Political Memoirs (2 ed.). Toronto, ON, Canada: Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-307-1.
McHenry, Dean Eugene (1950). The Third Force in Canada; the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation 1932–1948. Berkeley: University of California Press.
McLeod, Thomas; Ian McLeod (2004). The Road to Jerusalem (2 ed.). Calgary: Fifth House. ISBN 1-894856-48-1.
Morton, Desmond (1977). NDP: Social Democracy in Canada (2 ed.). Toronto: A. M. Hakkert Ltd.. ISBN 0-88866-581-4.
Penner, Norman (1988). Canadian Communism: the Stalin years and beyond. Toronto: Methuen. ISBN 0458812005.
Scott, Frank R. (1986). A New Endeavour: Selected Political Essays, Letters, and Addresses. Edited and introduced by Michiel Horn. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-5672-5.
Shackleton, Doris French (1975). Tommy Douglas. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 0771081162.
Smith, Cameron (1989). Unfinished Journey: The Lewis Family. Toronto: Summerhill Press. ISBN 0-929091-04-3.
Stewart, Walter (2000). M.J.: The Life and Times of M.J. Coldwell. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited. ISBN 0773732322.
Stewart, Walter (2003). Tommy: the life and politics of Tommy Douglas. Toronto: McArthur & Company. ISBN 1-55278-382-0.
Tobias, Henry Jack (1972). The Jewish Bund in Russia from its origin to 1905. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804707642.
Young, Walter D. (1969). The anatomy of a party: the national CCF 1932–61. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0802052215.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v – d – e Federal political parties in Canada

Represented in the House of Commons	Conservative – Liberal – New Democratic – Bloc Qubcois

Other parties recognized by Elections Canada	Green – Christian Heritage – Progressive Canadian – Marxist-Leninist – Marijuana – Canadian Action – Communist – Libertarian – First Peoples – Western Block – Animal Alliance-Environment Voters – Neorhino.ca – People's Political Power – Work Less – Newfoundland and Labrador First –

Eligible to be registered	Pirate – United

Notable historical parties	Anti-Confederate – Bloc populaire – Canadian Alliance – Conservative (historical) – Co-operative Commonwealth – Labour – Labour-Progressive – New Democracy – Progressive Conservative – Progressive/United Farmers – Ralliement crditiste – Reform – Rhino – Social Credit – Unionist

Portal:Canadian politics – List of political parties – Politics of Canada

Preceded by Ginger Group	Co-operative Commonwealth Federation 1932 - 1961	Succeeded by New Democratic Party

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