The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal
democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...
[The following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party:
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social-democratic[These sources describe the CCF as a social-democratic political party:
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*] political party in Canada
This article lists political parties in Canada.
Federal parties
In contrast with the political party systems of many nations, Canadian parties at the federal level are often only loosely connected with parties at the provincial level, despite ha ...
. The CCF was founded in 1932 in
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
, by a number of
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 ...
,
agrarian,
co-operative, and
labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
groups,
and the
League for Social Reconstruction
The League for Social Reconstruction (LSR) was a circle of Canadian socialists officially formed in 1932. The group advocated for social and economic reformation as well as political education. The formation of the LSR was provoked by events such ...
. In 1944, the CCF formed the first social-democratic government in North America when it was elected to form the provincial government in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
.
The full, but little used, name of the party was Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Farmer-Labour-Socialist).
[Calgary Herald, August 1, 1932]
In 1961, the CCF was succeeded by the
New Democratic Party (NDP).
History
Origins
The CCF aimed to alleviate the suffering that workers and farmers, the ill and the old endured under capitalism, seen most starkly during the
Great Depression, through the creation of a Co-operative Commonwealth, which would entail economic co-operation, public ownership of the economy, and political reform.
The object of the political party as reported at its founding meeting in Calgary in 1932 was "the federation
oining togetherof organizations whose purpose is the establishment in Canada of a co-operative commonwealth, in which the basic principle of regulating production, distribution and exchange will be the supplying of human needs instead of the making of profit."
The goal of the CCF was defined as a "community freed from the domination of irresponsible financial and economic power in which all social means of production and distribution, including land, are socially owned and controlled either by voluntarily organized groups of producers and consumers or – in the case of major public services and utilities and such productive and distributive enterprises as can be conducted most efficiently when owned in common – by public corporations responsible to the people's elected representatives". Many of the party's first
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs) were members of the
Ginger Group, composed of United Farmers of Alberta, left-wing
Progressive, and
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
MPs. These MPs included
United Farmers of Alberta
The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...
MPs
William Irvine and
Ted Garland
Edward Joseph Garland (March 16, 1887 – December 19, 1974) was a farmer, diplomat and a Canadian federal politician. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and attended Belvedere College and Trinity College Dublin.
Political career
Garland, an acti ...
,
Agnes Macphail (UFO),
Humphrey Mitchell,
Abraham Albert Heaps,
Angus MacInnis
Angus MacInnis (September 2, 1884 – March 3, 1964) was a Canadian socialist politician and parliamentarian.
MacInnis, a trade unionist who had served for five years as a Vancouver Alderman, was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada ...
, and Labour Party MP
J. S. Woodsworth
James Shaver Woodsworth (July 29, 1874 – March 21, 1942) was a pre–First World War pioneer of the Canadian Social Gospel, a Christian religious movement with social democratic values and links to organized labour. He was a long-time leader ...
. Also involved in founding the new party were members of the
League for Social Reconstruction
The League for Social Reconstruction (LSR) was a circle of Canadian socialists officially formed in 1932. The group advocated for social and economic reformation as well as political education. The formation of the LSR was provoked by events such ...
(LSR), such as
F. R. Scott
Francis Reginald Scott (1899–1985), commonly known as Frank Scott or F. R. Scott, was a lawyer, Canadian poet, intellectual, and constitutional scholar. He helped found the first Canadian social democratic party, the Co-operative Commonwe ...
and
Frank Underhill
Frank Hawkins Underhill, SM, FRSC (November 26, 1889 – September 16, 1971) was a Canadian journalist, essayist, historian, social critic, and political thinker.
Biography
Frank Underhill, born in Stouffville, Ontario, was educated at ...
.
It can be said that the CCF was founded on May 26, 1932, when the Ginger Group MPs and LSR members met in William Irvine's office, the unofficial caucus meeting room for the Ginger Group, and went about forming the basis of the new party. J. S. Woodsworth was unanimously appointed the temporary leader until they could hold a founding convention. The temporary name for the new party was the Commonwealth Party.
The
Social Gospel was a significant influence on the CCF.
![CooperativeCommonwealthFederationFoundingMeeting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/CooperativeCommonwealthFederationFoundingMeeting.jpg)
At its founding convention in 1932 in Calgary, the party settled on the name "Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Farmer-Labour-Socialist)" and selected J. S. Woodsworth as party leader. Woodsworth had been an
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...
MP since 1921 and a member of the Ginger Group of MPs. The party's 1933 convention, held in
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...
, adopted the
Regina Manifesto
The Regina Manifesto was the programme of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and was adopted at the first national convention of the CCF held in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1933. The goal of the Regina Manifesto was to eradicate the sy ...
as the party's program. The manifesto outlined a number of goals, including
public ownership
State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownershi ...
of key industries, universal public
pensions,
universal health care
Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...
, children's allowances,
unemployment insurance
Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a comp ...
, and
workers' compensation
Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
.
Its conclusion read, "No CCF Government will rest content until it has eradicated
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
and put into operation the full programme of socialized planning which will lead to the establishment in Canada of the Co-operative Commonwealth." The party affiliated itself with the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations ...
.
Electoral performance
In line with Alberta's important role in founding the CCF, it is said that the first CCF candidate elected was
Chester Ronning in the Alberta provincial constituency of Camrose, in October 1932. The UFA, under whose banner he contested the election, formalized its already-strong connection to the CCF in its next provincial convention, in January 1933.
In its first federal election, seven CCF MPs were elected to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
in
1935. Eight were elected in the following election in
1940
A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* Januar ...
, including their first member east of Manitoba,
Clarence Gillis
Clarence (Clarie) Gillis, MP (October 3, 1895 – December 17, 1960) was a Canadian social democratic politician and trade unionist from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. He was born on Nova Scotia's mainland, but grew up in Cape Breton. He worke ...
, in Cape Breton, a coal-mining area of Nova Scotia (specifically the federal riding of
Cape Breton South).
The party was divided with the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
: Woodsworth was a
pacifist, while many party members supported the Canadian war effort. Woodsworth had a physically debilitating stroke in May 1940 and could no longer perform his duties as leader. In October, Woodsworth wrote a letter to the 1940 CCF convention, in essence asking to retire from the leadership. Instead, the delegates created the new position of Honorary President, abolished the President's position and re-elected
M. J. Coldwell as the National Chairman. Coldwell was then appointed acting House Leader on 6 November. Woodsworth died on 21 March 1942, and Coldwell officially became the new leader at the July convention in Toronto and threw the party behind the war effort. As a memorial to Woodsworth, Coldwell suggested that the CCF create a research foundation, and Woodsworth House was established in Toronto for that purpose.
The party won a critical
York South
York South was an electoral district (or "riding") in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1979.
The riding is notable for the 1942 federal by-election in which newly elected Conservative leader Ar ...
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
on 8 February 1942, and in the process prevented the
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
leader, former
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Arthur Meighen
Arthur Meighen (; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and fro ...
, from entering the House of Commons.
In the
1945 election, 28 CCF MPs were elected, and the party won 15.6% of the vote.
In the
1949 election, 13 CCF candidates were elected. This was followed by 23 elected in the
1953 election and a disappointing eight elected in the
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
election.
The party had its greatest success in provincial politics. In 1943, the
Ontario CCF
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section) – The Farmer-Labor Party of Ontario, or more commonly known as the Ontario CCF, was a democratic socialist provincial political party in Ontario that existed from 1932 to 1961. It was the ...
became the official opposition in that province.
In 1944 the
Saskatchewan CCF
CCF can refer to:
Computing
* Confidential Consortium Framework, a free and open source blockchain infrastructure framework developed by Microsoft
* Customer Care Framework, a Microsoft product
Finance
* Credit conversion factor converts the a ...
formed the first democratic socialist government in
North America, with
Tommy Douglas
Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist min ...
as
premier. Douglas introduced universal
Medicare to
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
, a policy that was soon adopted by other provinces and implemented nationally by the
Liberal Party of Canada during the administration of Prime Minister
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968.
Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...
. Tommy Douglas's CCF governed Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961.
New Party
Federally, during the
Cold War, the CCF was accused of having
Communist 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 federal 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 that could make
social democracy
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...
more popular with Canadian voters. This party, initially known as the
New Party, became the
New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961.
Election results
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.
Membership figures declined following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
to only 20,238 in 1950 and would never again reach 30,000
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 many educational books, pamphlets, and magazines, though these efforts declined in the 1950s.
Party leaders
National chairmen
![Claire Gillis, David Lewis, M](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Claire_Gillis%2C_David_Lewis%2C_M.J.Coldwell_c007253.jpg)
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 from and secondary to the position of party leader. National president originally was also a title the leader held, as both Woodsworth and Coldwell held the 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.
*
J. S. Woodsworth
James Shaver Woodsworth (July 29, 1874 – March 21, 1942) was a pre–First World War pioneer of the Canadian Social Gospel, a Christian religious movement with social democratic values and links to organized labour. He was a long-time leader ...
(1932–38)
*
M. J. Coldwell (1938–42)
*
F. R. Scott
Francis Reginald Scott (1899–1985), commonly known as Frank Scott or F. R. Scott, was a lawyer, Canadian poet, intellectual, and constitutional scholar. He helped found the first Canadian social democratic party, the Co-operative Commonwe ...
(1942–50)
[
]
*
Percy Wright
Percy Ellis Wright (1 November 1892 – 30 September 1980) was a democratic socialist politician. He was a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), and served over 13 years as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Common ...
(1950–54)
[
]
*
David Lewis (1954–58)
*
David Lewis as party president (1958–61)
National secretaries
The national secretary was a staff position (initially part-time, and then 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
Eugene Alfred Forsey (May 29, 1904 – February 20, 1991) served in the Senate of Canada from 1970 to 1979. He was considered to be one of Canada's foremost constitutional experts.
Biography
Forsey was born on May 29, 1904, in Grand Bank in ...
, and an assistant to the leader were hired.
*
M. J. Coldwell (1934–36)
*
David Lewis (1936–50)
* Lorne Ingle (1950–58)
* Carl Hamilton (1958–61)
CCF song
![Towards the Dawn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Towards_the_Dawn.jpg)
The CCF song 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.''
[ CCYM is the Co-operative Commonwealth Youth Movement, the image is from a larger collection of scans in jpeg format.]
Provincial sections
*
Alberta CCF
The Alberta New Democratic Party (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Alberta), commonly shortened to Alberta's NDP, is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada. It is the provincial Alberta affiliate of the federal New Demo ...
*
British Columbia CCF
*
Manitoba CCF
*
New Brunswick CCF
*
Newfoundland CCF/Newfoundland Democratic Party
*
Nova Scotia CCF
*
Ontario CCF
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section) – The Farmer-Labor Party of Ontario, or more commonly known as the Ontario CCF, was a democratic socialist provincial political party in Ontario that existed from 1932 to 1961. It was the ...
*
Prince Edward Island CCF
*
Parti social démocratique du Québec
The Parti social démocratique du Québec (PSD; ) was the Quebec wing of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. It was founded in 1939 as the Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif and was led by Romuald-Joseph Lamoureux in the 1944 general e ...
(CCF in Quebec)
*
Saskatchewan CCF
CCF can refer to:
Computing
* Confidential Consortium Framework, a free and open source blockchain infrastructure framework developed by Microsoft
* Customer Care Framework, a Microsoft product
Finance
* Credit conversion factor converts the a ...
See also
*
List of articles about CCF/NDP members
*
List of articles about British Columbia CCF/NDP members
*
List of articles about Alberta CCF/NDP members
*
List of articles about Saskatchewan CCF/NDP members
*
List of articles about Manitoba CCF/NDP members
*
List of articles about Ontario CCF/NDP members
*
List of articles about Newfoundland and Labrador CCF/NDP members
*
List of articles about Nova Scotia CCF/NDP members
*
List of articles about Yukon NDP members
*
Labour Party (Canada)
There have been various groups in Canada that have nominated candidates under the label Labour Party or Independent Labour Party, or other variations from the 1870s until the 1960s. These were usually local or provincial groups using the Labour Pa ...
*
New Democratic Party
*
United Farmers
*
Canadian Labour Congress
* ''
Paper Wheat
''Paper Wheat'' is a play by the 25th Street Theatre Centre about the hard lives of early Saskatchewan settlers and the foundation of the wheat pools and the Co-op movement on the Canadian Prairies. The most successful stage show in Saskatchewan h ...
''
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
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External links
The Prairie Roots of Canada's Political 'Third Parties'Tommy Douglas: "Greatest Canadian"feature article from the ''
Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage.
Available ...
''
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the New Democratic Party (NDP): their Failure in Quebec, 1932–1997
Archives
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and New Democratic Party fondsat
Library and Archives Canada.
George E. Rennar Papers 1933–1972. 37.43 cubic feet. Contains ephemera on the Congress of Industrial Organizations from 1945 to 1947
At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Special Collections
{{Authority control
1932 establishments in Canada
1961 disestablishments in Canada
Agrarian parties in Canada
Defunct agrarian political parties
Federal political parties in Canada
Former member parties of the Socialist International
Labour history of Canada
History of the New Democratic Party (Canada)
Political history of Canada
Political parties disestablished in 1961
Political parties established in 1932
Social democratic parties in Canada