The Canadian Socialist League (CSL) was the first nationwide
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
organization founded in Canada. It originated in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
in 1898, but was strongest in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
and
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
.
The leaders espoused a moderate
socialism based on Christian reform principles. Members of the league formed provincial socialist parties. In 1905 these parties merged into the
Socialist Party of Canada
The Socialist Party of Canada (SPC) was a political party that existed from 1904 to 1925, led by E. T. Kingsley. It published the socialist newspaper ''Western Clarion''.
History
Establishment
The founding of the Socialist Party of Canada bega ...
(SPC).
Foundation
![Citzen and Country 4 May 1900 Advertisement](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Citzen_and_Country_4_May_1900_Advertisement.jpg)
The Canadian Socialist League (CSL) was formed in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
in 1898 by former members of the
Socialist Labor Party
The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...
.
The founders rejected the Labor party leadership of
Daniel De Leon
Daniel De Leon (; December 14, 1852 – May 11, 1914), alternatively spelt Daniel de León, was a Curaçaoan-American socialist newspaper editor, politician, Marxist theoretician, and trade union organizer. He is regarded as the forefather o ...
.
Support for the league appeared about the same time in the summer of 1899 in Montreal and
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
.
In
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
the CSL was organized by
George Weston Wrigley
George Weston Wrigley (1847–1907) was a Canadian journalist and social reformer.
He was a believer in the Social Gospel and was an opponent of industrial capitalism, which he blamed for many social ills.
He was the editor of several newspaper ...
and
Thomas Phillips Thompson
Thomas Phillips Thompson (25 November 1843 – 20 May 1933) was an English-born journalist and humorist who was active in the early socialist movement in Canada.
Early years
Thomas Phillips Thompson was born on 25 November 1843 in Newcastle upon ...
, both former
Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...
, in an effort to pull together the reform forces that had become fragmented after the
Patrons of Industry were defeated in the
1896 federal election.
The CSL had a local in
Port Moody
Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south an ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, by January 1900, which became the focus of its activities in that province.
John M. Cameron, a former member of the Utopian
Ruskin colony, was the organizer in British Columbia.
A formal organizing convention for the Ontario Socialist League was held in Toronto in November 1901 to provide the base for the national organization.
Wrigley, editor of the CSL's organ ''Citizen and Country'', dominated the league with his
Christian socialism.
The CSL leader said
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
was applied Christianity and "Christ was the first socialist."
The league rejected the ideology of
class struggle, and emphasized reform and public ownership.
It has been described as a transitional group of
Ruskinian romantics
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
and moderate Christian socialists.
Although
Marxist-oriented socialists made the group more radical, the CSL was still wedded to
reformist
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 ...
ideals.
The CSL was broad and flexible, open to radicals, labourites, socialists, and women's rights activists.
Leadership was mostly male and English-speaking. Women who were active in the organization were typically married and did not work for a living.
Activities
The CSL was primarily concerned with educating the electorate about socialism, and was not a parliamentary party in the modern sense.
It held meetings to stir up interest in socialism and to debate subjects such as the relationship between socialism and Christianity.
Disputes soon erupted between Protestant ministers and Marxists.
The minister
Charles Sheldon of
Topeka
Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
, author of the best-selling novel ''
In His Steps
''In His Steps'' is a best-selling religious fiction novel written by Charles Monroe Sheldon. First published in 1896, the book has sold more than 50,000,000 copies, and ranks as one of the best-selling books of all time. The full title of th ...
'', was invited to Toronto to address the league and accepted the position of honorary president of the league's executive.
In his writings Sheldon discussed social problems such as unemployment, poverty, racialism, alcohol, corruption and so on, always asking "
What would Jesus do?
The phrase "What would Jesus do?", often abbreviated to WWJD, became popular particularly in the United States in the early 1900s after the widely read book by Charles Sheldon entitled, '' In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do''. The phrase had a r ...
"
Edith Wrigley, wife of the publisher
George Wrigley, edited the women's column in the ''Citizen and Country''.
She was also active in the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...
(WCTU). In her short-lived column "The Kingdom of the Home" she discussed issues such as suffrage, charity, prohibition, prostitution and the
servant problem. (The so-called "servant problem" was the problem that middle-class families had with cleaning, cooking, and especially entertaining at the level that was socially expected. It was too much work for any one person to do herself, but middle-class families, unlike wealthy families, could not afford to pay the wages necessary to attract and retain skilled household employees.) Her message was typical of
maternal feminism, that love and purity, the values of the home sphere, should also guide politics. Other women activists in the CSL were
Emily Stowe
Emily Howard Stowe (née Jennings, May 1, 1831 – April 30, 1903) was a Canadian physician who was the first female physician to practise in Canada, the second licensed female physician in Canada and an activist for women's rights and suff ...
and
Augusta Stowe-Gullen
Ann Augusta Stowe-Gullen (July 27, 1857 – September 25, 1943), was a Canadian medical doctor, lecturer and suffragist. She was born in Mount Pleasant, Ontario as the daughter of Emily Howard Stowe and John Fiuscia Michael Heward Stowe. A plaqu ...
.
![Margaret Haile](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Margaret_Haile.JPG)
In 1902 the CSL nominated
Margaret Haile
Margaret Haile () was a Canadian socialist in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a teacher and journalist by profession. She was active in the socialist movements in both Canada and the United States. Frederic Heath's "Socialism in ...
as its candidate for North Toronto in the 1902 provincial election.
Haile was also active in the WCTU, and took a maternal feminist position.
As a woman she was opposed by various factions, and an attempt was made to exclude her from the ballot.
The ''Toiler'', the labour paper, would not endorse her.
She won only 81 votes in the election, but was hailed by ''Citizen and Country'' as the first woman to run in a political election in the British Empire.
Provincial groups
In April 1900 the United Socialist Labor Party (USLP) was formed in British Columbia as a splinter group from the Socialist Labor Party (SLP).
The first socialist convention was held in British Columbia in October 1900.
The CSL cooperated with the USLP at this meeting, where the red flag flew over the hall during the sessions despite attempts by the police to have it hauled down. A provincial federation within the CSL was agreed but was not in fact established.
In 1901 the Socialist Party of British Columbia was formed, allied with the
Socialist Party of America.
Hermon F. Titus, editor of the Seattle ''Socialist'', helped organize this more radical group.
He said that Wrigley "stood for capitalistic thought, for compromise and for pasturage on both sides of the fence."
By January 1902 there were more than sixty CSL branches in Canada, including
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, Ontario,
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
, British Columbia, and the
Northwest Territories.
The Ontario Socialist League, Socialist Party of Manitoba and Socialist Party of British Columbia had been formed by CSL members.
In March 1902 John Cameron organized a CSL local in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
, recruiting from members of the labour party.
In November 1902 the Socialist Party of Manitoba was formed.
In 1902
James Hurst Hawthornthwaite
James Hurst Hawthornthwaite (1869 – November 1, 1926) was an Irish-born land agent, businessman and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Nanaimo City from 1901 to 1908 and from 1909 to 1912 as a Socialist and Newcastle fro ...
, an independent labour candidate who was elected to the British Columbia legislature for the coal-mining constituency of Nanaimo, joined the Revolutionary Socialist Party of Canada.
This party had split from the Socialist Party of British Columbia due to ideological differences.
The Revolutionary Socialist Party proved short-lived. A series of organizational mergers and splits followed in British Columbia.
In 1902
Richard Parmater Pettipiece
Richard Parmater (Parm) Pettipiece (1875 – 10 January 1960) was a Canadian socialist and publisher. He was one of the founders of Socialist Party of Canada, and one of the leaders of the Canadian socialist movement in British Columbia in the earl ...
bought an interest in ''Citizen and Country'', which he moved to Vancouver.
With the help of Wrigley the paper began to appear in July 1902 as the ''Canadian Socialist''.
It was renamed to ''Western Socialist'', then was merged with two other newspapers and appeared on 8 May 1903 as the ''
Western Clarion
The ''Western Clarion'' was a newspaper launched in January 1903 that became the official organ of the Socialist Party of Canada (SPC).
At one time it was the leading left-wing newspaper in Canada. It lost influence after 1910–11 when various gro ...
''.
The ''Western Clarion'' had a guaranteed circulation of 6,000 three days a week.
Although privately owned the paper expressed the views of the Socialist Party of British Columbia, but gave coverage to controversies among Canadian socialist groups.
Socialist Party of Canada
In May 1903 there were discussions about merging the Socialist Parties of Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia into a national party, but the project was put off due to lack of money.
At the end of December 1904 the SPBC held its fourth convention, where delegates were told the locals in Winnipeg, Toronto, and Fredericton, New Brunswick were interested in forming a
Socialist Party of Canada
The Socialist Party of Canada (SPC) was a political party that existed from 1904 to 1925, led by E. T. Kingsley. It published the socialist newspaper ''Western Clarion''.
History
Establishment
The founding of the Socialist Party of Canada bega ...
(SPC).
Wrigley and Thomson helped merge the CSL into the SPC.
By 1905 all of the Canadian socialist organizations had come together in the SPC.
The party was formed officially on 19 February 1905.
The SPC was the first socialist party in Canada to be a serious force in electoral politics. It was radical, advocated the
overthrow of capitalism, and rejected the
Second International
The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second International continued th ...
.
When the SPC became dominant, this was a step backward for women, since the men who dominated the SPC refused to support women's causes such as suffrage and fair wages.
Ian McKay considers that the blend of ideas from
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
and
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression " survival of the fi ...
into the radical religious materialism of the Canadian Socialist League can be traced in successor socialist groups in Canada for the next twenty years.
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
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{{refend
1898 establishments in Quebec
Christian socialist organizations
Socialist parties in Canada