Communist Party of Canada (Ontario)

Last updated

Communist Party of Canada (Ontario)
Parti communiste du Canada (Ontario)
Active provincial party
Leader Drew Garvie
PresidentDave McKee [1]
Founded1921 (1921),1959 (1959)
Succeeded byLabor-Progressive Party (1943-1959)
Headquarters290A Danforth Ave
Toronto, Ontario
M4K 1N6
Ideology Communism
Marxism–Leninism
Political position Far-left
National affiliation Communist Party of Canada
Colours Red
Website
communistpartyontario.ca

The Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) (French : Parti communiste du Canada (Ontario)) is the Ontario provincial wing of the Communist Party of Canada. Using the name Labor-Progressive Party from 1943 until 1959, the group won two seats in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: A.A. MacLeod and J.B. Salsberg were elected in the 1943 provincial election as "Labour" candidates but took their seats as members of the Labor-Progressive Party, which the banned Communist Party launched as its public face in a convention held on August 21 and 22, 1943, shortly after both the August 4 provincial election and the August 7 election of Communist Fred Rose to the House of Commons in a Montreal by-election. [2]

Contents

MacLeod and Salsberg served as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) from 1943 until 1951 and 1955 respectively. A third LPP member, Alexander A. Parent, who was also president of UAW Local 195, was elected as the Liberal-Labour MPP for Essex North in 1945. In January 1946, Parent announced he was breaking with the "reactionary" Liberals and sat the remainder of his term in the legislature as a Labour representative while voting with LPP MPPs MacLeod and Salsberg. [3] [4] He did not run for re-election in 1948.

The party has not been able to win any seats at the provincial level since Salsberg's defeat in 1955. The party continued to run under the Labor-Progressive banner up to the 1959 provincial election, after which it again identified itself as the Communist Party.

Individual members of the party have been elected to school boards in the past few decades, but have done so as independents rather than as "Communist Party" candidates. Since 2019, the party has been led by Drew Garvie.

Election results

Year of electionLeader# of candidates# of seats won±# of votes% of popular vote± (pp)
1929 N/A
5 / 112
0 / 112
New1,5420.15%New
1934 N/A
13 / 90
0 / 90
Steady2.svg9,5590.61%0.46Increase2.svg
1937 N/A
2 / 90
0 / 90
Steady2.svg3,7510.24%0.37Decrease2.svg
1943 12N/A
6 / 90
2 / 90
2Increase2.svg11,8880.90%0.66Increase2.svg
1945 Leslie Morris
31 / 90
3 [5]
2 / 90
Steady2.svg46,4182.63%1.73Increase2.svg
1948 A. A. MacLeod
2 / 90
[6]
2 / 90
Steady2.svg17,6541.0%1.63Decrease2.svg
1951 Stewart Smith
6 / 90
[7]
1 / 90
1Decrease2.svg11,9140.67%0.33Decrease2.svg
1955
23 / 98
[8]
0 / 98
1Decrease2.svg20,8751.19%0.52Increase2.svg
1959 Bruce Magnuson
9 / 98
[9]
0 / 98
Steady2.svg4,3040.23%0.96Decrease2.svg
1963 4
6 / 108
[10]
0 / 108
Steady2.svg1,6540.08%0.15Decrease2.svg
1967
2 / 117
[11]
0 / 117
Steady2.svg5920.02%0.06Decrease2.svg
1971 William Stewart
5 / 117
[12]
0 / 117
Steady2.svg1,6200.05%0.03Increase2.svg
1975
33 / 125
[13]
0 / 125
Steady2.svg9,1200.28%0.23Increase2.svg
1977
32 / 125
0 / 125
Steady2.svg7,9950.24%0.04Decrease2.svg
1981 Mel Doig
17 / 125
0 / 125
Steady2.svg5,2960.16%0.08Decrease2.svg
1985 Gordon Massie
10 / 125
0 / 125
Steady2.svg3,6960.1%0.06Decrease2.svg
1987
9 / 130
0 / 130
Steady2.svg3,4220.09%0.03Increase2.svg
1990 Elizabeth Rowley
4 / 130
0 / 130
Steady2.svg1,1390.03%0.06Decrease2.svg
1995 Darrell Rankin
5 / 130
0 / 130
Steady2.svg1,0150.03%Steady2.svg
1999 Hassan Husseini
4 / 103
0 / 103
Steady2.svg8140.02%0.01Decrease2.svg
2003 Elizabeth Rowley
6 / 103
0 / 103
Steady2.svg2,1870.05%0.03Increase2.svg
2007
8 / 107
0 / 107
Steady2.svg1,7150.04%0.01Decrease2.svg
2011
9 / 107
0 / 107
Steady2.svg1,1630.03%0.01Decrease2.svg
2014
11 / 107
0 / 107
Steady2.svg2,2900.04%0.01Increase2.svg
2018 Dave McKee
12 / 124
0 / 124
Steady2.svg1,4710.03%0.01Decrease2.svg
2022 Drew Garvie
13 / 124
0 / 124
Steady2.svg2,1010.04%0.01Increase2.svg

Source: Elections Ontario Vote Summary [14]

Notes

1 A. A. MacLeod (Bellwoods) and J. B. Salsberg (St. Andrew) were elected under the Labour ticket, but switched to the new Labor-Progressive Party on its formation shortly after the election. Party operates under the LPP name until and including the 1959 election. [15]
2Results compared to Communist candidates in 1937
3In addition, in 1945, the Labor-Progressive Party and Liberal Party of Ontario jointly endorsed 6 Liberal-Labour, 3 of whom were elected, in an effort to marginalize the CCF.
4The party reverted to its original name of the Communist Party as of this election. Results compared to Labor-Progressive Party in previous election.

Party leaders

Constituency associations

The party has three constituency associations registered with Elections Ontario:

Party financing

Financing of the Communist Party of Canada (Ontario)
YearParty levelRiding levelTotal
Contributions receivedNumber of contributors over $100Contributions receivedNumber of contributors over $100Contributions received
2007$13,585.0032$1,5303$15,115
2008$39,085.2963$3,60010$46,685.29
2009$40,175.2553$8,63020$48,805.25
2010$40,032.8059$6,02013$46,052.80
2011$19,619.8036$4001$20,019.80
2012$48,385.1164$6353$49,020.11
2013$35,708.7061$1700$35,878.70
Total$236,591.95368$20,98550$261,576.95

Source: Elections Ontario, Yearly Financial Statements, Political Parties, Constituency Associations [20]

See also

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References

  1. "Registered Political Parties". Elections Ontario . Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  2. COMMUNISTS WOULD BE ALLIES OF C.C.F. GROUP: Labor Progressive Party ... The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); August 23, 1943; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 4
  3. "Parent Quits Liberal Party", Globe and Mail, 14 January 1946: 8
  4. "Breaks With Liberals", Toronto Daily Star, 2 February 1946: 6
  5. 317 in Field For 90 Seats The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); May 29, 1945; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 1
  6. PC's Lead Field With Candidate In Every Riding for June 7 Vote The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); June 1, 1948; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 8
  7. Ontario Votes Today: 49-Day Campaign Ends as 271 Seek Legislature Seats Bain, George The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); November 22, 1951; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 1
  8. Latest Ontario Election Results The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); June 10, 1955; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 2
  9. Twilight of a Party The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); June 13, 1959; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 6
  10. 35 Years a Communist Young, Scott The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); September 23, 1963; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 6
  11. 366 hopefuls file papers for election The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); October 5, 1967; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 8
  12. Higher majority for Davis: TORIES SWEEP ONTARIO Nixon re-elected, Lewis in fight Munro, Ross H. The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont] October 22, 1971: 1.
  13. 725 seats in legislature: Record 454 candidates nominated for 125 Ontario seats The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); September 5, 1975; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 40
  14. http://www.elections.on.ca/content/dam/NGW/sitecontent/2014/historical-results/2014/Summary%20of%20Valid%20Ballots%20Cast.pdf Archived June 1, 2017, at the Wayback Machine 2014 Elections Ontario
  15. 277 Men and Six Women File Nomination Papers For Wednesday Election: ... The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); July 29, 1943; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 4
  16. "The Windsor Daily Star – Google News Archive Search". google.com.
  17. "The Windsor Star – Google News Archive Search". google.com.
  18. "The Windsor Star – Google News Archive Search". google.com.
  19. "Communist Party of Canada – Toronto Clubs". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  20. http://www.elections.on.ca/en/political-entities-in-ontario/financial-statements/yearly-financial-statements.html Archived October 1, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Yearly Financial Statements