The British Columbia Social Constructive Party (also known as the Social Constructives and the BC Reconstructive Party) was formed in 1936 by a breakaway from the British Columbia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation after Robert Connell was expelled from the party over doctrinal differences. Connell had been leader of the CCF until his expulsion. Three other MLAs of the seven-person CCF

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

, Jack Price, R. B. Swailes, and Ernest Bakewell, left the party and joined Connell to form the Social Constructives. The four member caucus, having one more MLA than the CCF, was large enough to allow Connell to remain

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the

British Columbia Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria. Members are elected from provincial r ...

. Other defectors included Victor Midgely, former leader of the One Big Union, and

Bill Pritchard Bill Pritchard is a British singer-songwriter, instrumentalist (guitars, keyboards), musical arranger and producer. Despite being little known in his native country he has achieved considerable recognition in France and elsewhere. Biography Pri ...

, editor and owner of the BC CCF's newspaper, ''The Commonwealth''.Price, Christine
"A Very Conservative Radical": Reverend Robert Connell's encounter with Marxism in the BC CCF
Simon Fraser University MA Thesis, 2006 The party worked closely with

Rolf Wallgren Bruhn Rolf Wallgren Bruhn (September 4, 1878 – August 30, 1942) was a Swedish-born farmer, lumberman and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Salmon Arm in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1924 to 1942 as a Conservat ...

an independent MLA who had formerly been a Conservative. Bruhn helped write the new party's platform and conducted a speaking tour with Connell during the 1937 general election but declined to join the party and stood for re-election as an independent though with the Constructives' endorsement.Elections BC - Electoral History of British Columbia 1871-1986 Part One 19th General Election 1937
/ref> Connell was expelled for publicly rejecting the party platform adopted by the BC CCF at its 1936 convention as too radical for calling for the

socialization In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cultur ...

of banking and credit. The new party ran on a moderate left of centre program standing between the governing

Liberal Party of British Columbia The British Columbia Liberal Party, often shortened to the BC Liberals, is a centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition. Subsequent to the 2020 British Columbia general ...

and the CCF. The new party lacked the organizational strength of either the CCF or the Liberals and was unable to field candidates in even one-third of the province's electoral districts. The party also refused to hold nominating conventions for candidates in order to prevent groups from taking over the party. Instead, individuals were invited to stand as candidates and then appointed. In the context of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the party's platform of moderate

reformism Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...

proved unable to distinguish itself from a Liberal Party that was leaning left and using the slogan of "socialized capitalism". The "Social Constructives" stood 14 candidates (out of a possible 48) in the 1937 general election but failed to win any seats, although their endorsee Bruhn was re-elected as an Independent; Bruhn later rejoined the Conservatives. The Social Constructives received 8,086 votes to the CCF's 119,400. Disappointed with the results, Connell came to the conclusion that change was not possible through a

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...

but only through working within mainstream parties.

References

{{reflist Political parties established in 1936 Defunct political parties in Canada Social Constructive Party 1936 establishments in British Columbia

See also

References