Michael Laxer (born 1970) 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 Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and the former chairperson of the Socialist Party of Ontario.

Background

Laxer lives in the Toronto neighbourhood of Long Branch, in

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

, where he and his wife own and operate a used

book store A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arra ...

, the only independent used bookstore in south Etobicoke until it closed its bricks and mortar operation at the end of 2015, becoming an online bookstore. He is the son of writer, political scientist, professor, and former NDP leadership candidate

James Laxer James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

and grandson of

Robert Laxer Robert Mendel Laxer (September 10, 1915 – October 24, 1998) was a Canadian psychologist, professor, author, and political activist. Life and career Laxer was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1915 and graduated from McGill University with a Bachel ...

Politics

He was a candidate for the

New Democratic Party 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: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

(NDP) in the 2000 federal election in the riding of

Scarborough—Agincourt Scarborough—Agincourt is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. It covers the area of the City of Toronto bounded by Steeles Avenue East to the nort ...

, and for the

Ontario NDP The Ontario New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario; abbr. ONDP or NDP) is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following th ...

during the 2003 provincial election in Scarborough Centre. Laxer was also an unsuccessful candidate for

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

in Ward 6 (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) in the 2010 municipal election. In 2008, he criticized the $15,000 entrance fee for the Ontario NDP leadership election as being too high saying, "What you get by doing that is you manifestly limit the number of people who are outside the party establishment, and who have available big backers of one kind or another." Laxer subsequently began the Ginger Project calling for the Ontario NDP (ONDP) to issue a comprehensive

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

of policies and build support for their ideas rather than put all their resources into winning marginal ridings. In an open letter to ONDP leader

Andrea Horwath Andrea Horwath (; born October 24, 1962) is a Canadian politician who has been the 58th mayor of Hamilton since 2022. Horwath previously served as the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Hamilton Centre from 2004 to 2022, as leader of t ...

, Laxer wrote: He and the Ginger Project left the NDP in 2011 due to its cancellation of a policy convention and what they viewed as the silencing of left-wingers telling the ''Toronto Star'', "I was surprised that they would not have a policy convention prior to an election." Laxer was one of two official spokespersons of the Socialist Party of Ontario from 2011 to 2012 and was the party's chairperson. In 2010 and 2014 Laxer ran for City Councillor in Toronto's Ward 6 Etobicoke—Lakeshore receiving 717 votes in his first effort and 305 in his second. Laxer is a social activist who opposes men's rights groups because he believes men's rights movement is a vocal opponent of feminism. In 2015, he told the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' he had been encouraging people to fight the

Canadian Association for Equality The Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE) is a Canadian non-profit organization. CAFE has frequently been characterized as a men's rights group by sources, though the organization denies this. In March 2014 the Canadian Association for Equal ...

's inclusion at the

LGBT Pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride. The events som ...

, because he believed allowing men’s rights groups to walk would "legitimize them and mainstream misogyny".

Election results

In popular culture

Video games

In the Hearts of Iron 4 mod, ''Red World'' , Michael Laxer is a potential far-left Cabinet minister for Canada. As a "Second in Command" advisor, he takes a role akin to those of a head of government in socialist nations.

References

External links

Michael Laxer's Ward 6 City Councillor 2014 election websiteThe Left Chapter
Michael Laxer's blog
Michael Laxer's Blog
at

rabble.ca rabble.ca is an alternative, left-leaning English-language Canadian online magazine founded in 2001. It features podcasts, videos and a discussion board called ''babble''. History Judy Rebick and Mark Surman founded rabble.ca on April 18, 2 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laxer, Michael 1970 births 21st-century Canadian businesspeople 21st-century Canadian politicians Activists from Toronto Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian activists Canadian booksellers Canadian socialists Candidates in the 2000 Canadian federal election Living people Ontario municipal politicians Ontario New Democratic Party candidates in Ontario provincial elections Ontario political party leaders People from Etobicoke Politicians from Toronto