The North American Labour Party was a Canadian

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

that nominated candidates in federal elections in the 1970s. However, because it was not a registered political party under the rules of

Elections Canada Elections Canada (french: Élections Canada)The agency operates and brands itself as Elections Canada, its legal title is Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (). is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering Canadian federal electio ...

, its candidates were considered to be independents. The NALP was the Canadian affiliate of the

Lyndon LaRouche Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche Jr. (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2019) was an American political activist who founded the LaRouche movement and its main organization the National Caucus of Labor Committees (NCLC). He was a prominent conspiracy ...

movement, and later became the Party for the Commonwealth of Canada/Party for the Commonwealth-Republic. The North American Labour Party nominated candidates in two provincial elections in

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, ...

. In the 11 December 1975 election, the party’s four candidates collected 141 votes, less than 0.01% of the popular vote. In the 26 April 1979 elections, its four candidates collected 297 votes, 0.02% of the popular vote. The party also ran candidates in the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and 1977 provincial elections in the province of

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 Ca ...

. The party was not registered in 1977, and its six candidates appeared on the ballot as independents. NALP candidates also ran in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

municipal elections of 1978. The NALP did not have an official leader in Ontario during the 1977 election, although Joe Brewda appears to have been the party's spokesman. In an interview with 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 ...

'', published on June 6, 1977, Brewda argued that his party was rooted in socialism but encompassed other viewpoints as well. He is quoted as saying, "our program is based on economic growth and represents the vital interests of conservative industrialists, workers and some scientific layers". He also argued in support of a gold-backed monetary system, and alleged that his party would have received 15% of the vote in the previous election had it not been for massive

voter fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

. An article from ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' of January 2, 1980 lists Richard Sanders as the main Toronto organizer of the NALP, and accuses the party of

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. Sanders is cited in this article as alleging massive voter fraud against his party. During the 1978 mayoral contest, Sanders was quoted as making the following statements: "The trouble with Toronto, is its porno press, the ''

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

'', ''Star'' and ''Globe and Mail''! I'm the one to stop banks running drugs into Canada from the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

O'Donohue O'Donohue is a surname, and may refer to: *Becky O'Donohue (born 1980), reality television participant *Daniel Anthony O'Donohue (20th century), United States Ambassador to Burma *Edward O'Donohue (born 1974), Australian politician * Jessie O'Donoh ...

and Sewell are puffballs!" (''Globe and Mail'', 1 November 1978)

See also