Joe Young (born c. 1947) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

political activist. He is a prominent member of the Communist League, and a frequent contributor to its newspaper, ''

The Militant ''The Militant'' is an international socialist newsweekly connected to the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and the Pathfinder Press. It is published in the United States and distributed in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Aus ...

''. Young has campaigned for federal, provincial and municipal office 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, ...

. Young has long been active in radical left politics. He was a member of the New Democratic Party's

youth wing A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...

and the ''Young Socialists'' (the youth wing of the

League for Socialist Action The League for Socialist Action was a Trotskyist organization in Canada. It was known by several names throughout its history, including the International Left Opposition (Trotskyist) of Canada, the Workers Party of Canada, the Socialist Policy Gr ...

) in the early 1960s, and led a successful campaign to allow high school students to form political clubs. He became chairman of the Student Association to End the

War in Vietnam The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in the late 1960s, and called for the immediate withdrawal of soldiers from that country. Young has worked in the industrial sector in his adult life, and is an active member of Canada's labour movement. He was an airline cleaner at

Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its Greater Toronto Area, metropolit ...

, and a member of the

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/ CLC trade union representing approx. 646,933 workers as of 2006 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada. Or ...

in the early 1990s. He campaigned as the Communist League candidate in Parkdale for the 1990 provincial election, and called for the government to settle native land claims and pull Canadian soldiers out of the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

. He was 43 years old at the time. Testifying before a committee of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1991, Young defended the right of the people of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

to choose their own future without interference from the rest of Canada. Later in the year, he was the Communist League's candidate for

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

. In this campaign, he proposed tighter guidelines for gun use by the Toronto police, and a shorter work week for all Torontonians. Young received 1,196 votes, or .61%. Young subsequently moved to

, where he worked as a machine operator and was a member of the

United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquar ...

. He campaigned for

Vancouver East Vancouver East (french: Vancouver-Est) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. It is currently represented by New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan. The ...

in the 1993 federal election in

. He moved to

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 ...

later in the 1990s, worked in a packing plant near the city, and was a member of

United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...

Local 501. He again moved to British Columbia after this, and was the Communist League's sole candidate in the 2001 provincial election, running in Vancouver-Langara and receiving 105 votes. He continued to work in the

meat-packing industry The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Joe Communist League (Canada) politicians Canadian Marxists Canadian Trotskyists Candidates in Ontario provincial elections British Columbia candidates for Member of Parliament Independent candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election Ontario municipal politicians Living people Trade unionists from Ontario Candidates in British Columbia provincial elections Trade unionists from British Columbia Year of birth missing (living people)