Samuel Walsh (August 31, 1916 – March 18, 2008), was leader of the

Communist Party of Quebec The Communist Party of Quebec (french: Parti communiste du Québec, PCQ-PCC) is a communist provincial political party in Quebec. It is affiliated with, but officially independent from, the Communist Party of Canada. In 2005, a sovereigntis ...

for 28 years, from 1962 to 1990, and was a leader in the Communist Party of Canada and

Labor-Progressive Party The Labor-Progressive Party (french: Parti ouvrier-progressiste) was the legal Front organization, front of the Communist Party of Canada from 1943 to 1959. Origins and initial success In the 1940 Canadian federal election, 1940 federal elect ...

since the 1940s.

Early life and education

Walsh was born in

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 ...

as Saul Jerome Wolofsky. His father was Hirsch Wolofsky, publisher of the '' Keneder Adler'' (Canadian Eagle), Canada's first

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

newspaper. At the age of 17, Wolofsky took part in a student strike against an increase in high school tuition fees. He became a Communist with the encouragement of his older brother, Moishe, a union organizer. His father asked them to change their names to avoid embarrassing the family and so Moishe became Bill Walsh and Saul became Sam Walsh. Walsh enrolled in biology at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

and obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in 1938. He moved to

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 ...

Career

Walsh ran for public office at least 30 times in his career, and was elected twice as a school trustee in Toronto in the late 1940s."He never gave up: A communist for life despite reverses; 'You never know when political circumstances will be ripe for change,' he argued" by Alan Hustak, ''The (Montreal) Gazette'', April 20, 2008 When the Communist Party was banned in 1940, Walsh went underground and evaded arrest under the wartime

Defence of Canada Regulations The ''Defence of Canada Regulations'' were a set of emergency measures implemented under the ''War Measures Act'' on 3 September 1939, a week before Canada's entry into World War II. The extreme security measures permitted by the regulations ...

. Once the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, the USSR became Canada's ally and Communists were able to organize the new

as a legal front. Walsh enlisted in the Canadian Army 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 ...

, becoming a second lieutenant instructing soldiers how to operate military vehicles."SAM WALSH, 91: POLITICIAN; For 28 years, he valiantly ran for the Communists" by M.J. Stone, ''Globe and Mail'', May 23, 2008 He was denied further promotion because of his political affiliations. According to his niece, "His commanding officer told him, 'Sam, I'd like to promote you, but I understand you're pink.'" Walsh replied “I'm not pink, I'm flaming red.” Walsh became a permanent party organizer for the

following Fred Rose's election victory in 1943. In 1948, Walsh was elected to the Toronto Board of Education by acclamation and was re-elected in 1949 before being defeated in 1950. Walsh ran in the 1958 federal election in Spadina and then in a by-election in

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, both Toronto ridings, but was unsuccessful. He returned to Montreal in the 1960s becoming leader of the

in 1962. In 1972, he denounced Trotskyist support for Quebec independence resulting in a number of defections from the party.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Sam Quebec political party leaders Candidates in Quebec provincial elections 1916 births 2008 deaths Communist Party of Quebec politicians Labor-Progressive Party candidates in the 1958 Canadian federal election Communist Party of Canada candidates in the 1962 Canadian federal election Jewish Canadian politicians McGill University Faculty of Science alumni