Floyd Albin Johnson (1908–1974) was a Canadian politician who was the last leader of the

Alberta Co-operative Commonwealth Federation 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 Democr ...

from 1957 until 1962. Johnson was born in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. He emigrated to Canada with his family when he was 12 and spent the rest of his youth on the family's homestead in Wetaskiwin, where he became involved with the

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 ...

. As an adult, he was a carpenter by trade and studied architecture, ultimately becoming a building contractor. In 1945, after being involved with construction projects in the north during

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 opposin ...

he co-founded and became president of Dicconson, Johnson and Company, a contracting firm specializing in building housing. He succeeded

Elmer Roper Elmer Ernest Roper (June 4, 1893 – November 12, 1994) was a Canadian businessman, trade unionist and politician. He was a Alberta Co-operative Commonwealth Federation member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1942-1955, and mayor of E ...

as leader of the Alberta CCF in 1957, and led the party into the 1959 provincial election, in which it lost its only two seats in the

Alberta legislature The Legislature of Alberta is the unicameral legislature of the province of Alberta, Canada. The legislature is made of two elements: the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta,. and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The legislature has existed sinc ...

. He remained leader until the founding of the CCF's successor, the

Alberta New Democratic Party 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 Democr ...

, in 1962. Johnson sought the leadership of the new party at its first leadership convention on January 27, 1963 but withdrew before balloting began;

Neil Reimer Neil Reimer (July 3, 1921 – March 29, 2011) was an activist, trade unionist and politician in Canada. Reimer attended the University of Saskatchewan, but left in 1942 at the age of 19 to work at the Consumers Co-operative Refinery in Regina, Sa ...

was elected leader. Johnson joined the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation 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 socialism, democra ...

at its founding in 1932 and stood for office in federal and provincial elections in the 1950s and in the 1960s for the CCF and its successor, the

New Democratic Party of Canada The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * th ...

. He was a candidate for the Alberta CCF in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

in the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

and 1955 provincial elections and, as party leader, in Dunvegan in 1959 but was defeated in each attempt. He also ran unsuccessfully as a candidate in federal elections for the CCF in

Edmonton—Strathcona Edmonton Strathcona (formerly known as Edmonton—Strathcona) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1953. It spans the south central part of the city of Edmonton ...

in the

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

and 1957 federal elections, and for the

in Acadia in the

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

and 1963 federal elections. He also ran, unsuccessfully, for the Edmonton school board on the Better Education Association ticket in the 1961 civic election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Floyd Albin 1908 births 1974 deaths Alberta CCF/NDP leaders American emigrants to Canada New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons People from South Dakota Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidates for the Canadian House of Commons