The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, but a

faction Faction or factionalism may refer to: Politics * Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose * Free and Independent Faction, a Romanian political party * Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Planes ...

of radical 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 ...

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 ...

who advocated

socialism 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 e ...

. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to act as a catalyst within a larger body. The Ginger Group split with the Progressive Party in 1924 when Progressive leader

Robert Forke Robert Forke, (April 6, 1860 – February 2, 1934) was a Canadian politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Brandon in 1921. In 1922, he replaced Thomas Crerar as leader of the Progressive Party of Canada. Forke served as a cab ...

proved too eager to accommodate the Liberal government of

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

and agreed to support the government's budget with only minimal concessions.

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 ...

, using his right as the leader of the Independent Labour MPs, moved a stronger amendment to the budget based on demands the Progressives had made in earlier years but had since abandoned. The Progressive and Labour MPs who broke with their Progressive colleagues to support Woodsworth became the "Ginger Group". It was made up of

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 George Gibson Coote, Robert Gardiner,

Edward Joseph 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 act ...

, Donald MacBeth Kennedy and Henry Elvins Spencer as well as

United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...

MP Agnes Macphail. The group was later joined by

MPs J. S. Woodsworth, William Irvine,

Abraham Albert Heaps Abraham Albert Heaps (December 24, 1885 – April 4, 1954), known as A. A. Heaps, was a Canadian politician and labour leader. A strong labourite, he served as MP for Winnipeg North from 1925 to 1940. Born in Leeds, England, Heaps emig ...

and

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 ...

, independent MP

Joseph Tweed Shaw Joseph Tweed Shaw (August 30, 1883 – July 12, 1944) was a Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1921 to 1925 as an independent Labour Member of Parliament (MP), and later became an MLA and leader of the Albert ...

and Progressive MPs Milton Neil Campbell,

William John Ward William John Ward (October 25, 1880 – August 18, 1971) was a Canadian politician, farmer, insurance agent, and real estate agent from Dauphin, Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = ...

William Charles Good William Charles Good (February 24, 1876 – November 16, 1967), also known as W. C. Good, was a Canadian politician and leader of the farmers' and co-operative movement in Canada. Good the executive of the Farmers' Association in 1904. A ...

, and

Preston Elliott Preston Elliott (May 1, 1875 – January 12, 1939) was a Canadian farmer and politician from Ontario. Born in Chesterville, Ontario to William Elliott and Mary Agnes Rae, he served in the House of Commons of Canada for the Dundas electoral dis ...

. Members of the Ginger Group played a role in forming the

Cooperative 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 socialistThe follo ...

in 1932, with Woodsworth becoming the new party's leader. The only sitting United Farmers of Alberta who did not join the CCF at its founding was

William Thomas Lucas William Thomas Lucas (1875–1973) was a Canadian farmer and a federal politician. He was born in Bailieboro, Ontario, on July 26, 1875, to John William and Margaret (née Fair) Lucas, both of Irish descent. He attended public schooling in the ...

who ran for re-election unsuccessfully as a Conservative in 1935. The name Ginger Group was also used to refer to a group of

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 i ...

MPs who, in 1917 opposed

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 is not ...

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

's use of the Military Service Act to introduce

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

during the

Conscription Crisis of 1917 The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (french: Crise de la conscription de 1917) was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also b ...

References

{{Canadian federal political parties 1924 establishments in Canada Agrarian parties in Canada Nationalist parties in Canada Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Federal political parties in Canada Labour history of Canada Political party factions in Canada Political schisms Progressivism in Canada Social democratic parties in Canada Socialist parties in Canada United Farmers

See also

References