The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) (French: Fédération du commonwealth coopératif, then Parti social démocratique du Canada) was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction. In 1944, it became the first socialist government in North America (based in Saskatchewan). In 1961, it disbanded and was replaced by the New Democratic Party. The full, but little used, name of the party was Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Farmer-Labour-Socialist).

Origins

The CCF aimed to alleviate the suffering of the Great Depression through economic reform and public "co-operation". Many of the party's first Members of Parliament (MPs) were former members of the Ginger Group of left-wing Progressive and Labour MPs.

The decision to create the "Commonwealth Party" was made shortly after the 1930 federal election at a meeting in United Farmers of Alberta MP William Irvine's office. According to author Margaret Stewart, the meeting consisted of Irvine and several other left-wing MPs:

• Agnes Macphail, MP, the militant farm spokesperson from Grey southeast in Ontario;
• Ted Garland, MP, one of the old Progressives;
• Humphrey Mitchell, MP, a trade unionist;

• Abraham Albert Heaps, MP, who had gone to jail for his support of the unionists in the Winnipeg Strike;
• Angus MacInnis, MP, then generally described as a Marxist Socialist; and
• J.S. Woodsworth, MP, the charismatic figure who could persuade others to shelve, or split their differences. (Stewart, Ask No Quarter; a Biography of Agnes Macphail, p.98)

Also involved in the plans to found a new party were members of the League for Social Reconstruction.

At its founding convention in 1932, the party settled on the name "Co-operative Commonwealth Federation - (Farmer-Labour-Socialist)" and selected J.S. Woodsworth as party leader. Woodsworth had been an Independent Labour Party MP since 1921, and a member of the Ginger Group of MPs. The party's 1933 convention, held in Regina, Saskatchewan, adopted the Regina Manifesto as the party's program. The manifesto outlined a number of goals, including:

• Public ownership of key industries, and
• Creation of a welfare state:
  • Universal pensions
  • Universal health care
  • Children's allowances
  • Unemployment insurance
  • Workers compensation

It concluded that "No CCF Government will rest content until it has eradicated capitalism and put into operation the full programme of socialized planning which will lead to the establishment in Canada of the Co-operative Commonwealth."

Election success

In its first election in 1935, seven CCF MPs were elected to the House of Commons. Eight were elected in the following election in 1940. But the party was divided with the outbreak of World War II: Woodsworth was an uncompromising pacifist, and this upset many supporters of the Canadian war effort. After Woodsworth died in 1942, a new leader, Major Coldwell, was elected, and threw the party's support behind the war. The party won a critical York South by-election in February 1942, and in the process prevented the Conservative leader, former Prime Minister Arthur Meighen, from entering the House of Commons. In the 1945 election, 28 CCF MPs were elected, and the party won 15.6% of the vote.However, the party was to have its greatest success in provincial politics in the 40s. In 1943, the Ontario CCF became the official opposition in that province, and in 1944, the Saskatchewan CCF formed the first socialist government in North America with Tommy Douglas as premier. Douglas introduced universal healthcare to Saskatchewan, a policy that was soon adopted by other provinces and implemented nationally by the Liberals under Lester B. Pearson.

Federally, during the Cold War, the CCF was accused of having communist, dictatorial leanings. The party moved to address these accusations in 1956, by replacing the Regina Manifesto with a more moderate document, the Winnipeg Declaration. Nevertheless, the party did poorly in the 1958 election, winning only eight seats.

After much discussion, the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress decided to join forces to create a new political party, which could make social democracy more popular with Canadian voters. In 1961, the CCF became the New Democratic Party.

Organization

The CCF estimated its membership as being slightly more than 20,000 in 1938, less than 30,000 in 1942 and over 90,000 in 1944. Membership figures declined following World War II to only 20,238 in 1950 and would never again reach 30,000.

By the late 1940s the CCF had official or unofficial weekly newspapers in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, twice-monthly papers in Ontario and Manitoba and a bimonthly in the Maritimes. A French-language paper in Quebec was also attempted at various times. The party also produced various educational books, pamphlets and magazines though these efforts declined in the 1950s.

CCF song

The CCF had a song, which would be later popularized by the movie Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story

First verse:

A call goes out to Canada

It comes from out the soil—

Come and join the ranks through all the land

To fight for those who toil

Come on farmer, soldier, labourer,

From the mine and factory,

And side by side we'll swell the tide—

C.C.F. to Victory!!

Party leaders

• J.S Woodsworth - August 1, 1932 - March 21, 1942
• M.J. Coldwell - March 22, 1942 - August 10, 1960
• Hazen Argue - August 11, 1960 - August 2, 1961

National Chairmen (incomplete)

The national chairman was the equivalent of "party president" in most Canadian political parties, and was sometimes referred to as such, in that it was largely an organizational role. In the case of the CCF the national chairman oversaw the party's national council and chaired its meetings. Following an initial period in which J.S. Woodsworth held both roles, was usually distinct and secondary to the position of party leader.

• J.S. Woodsworth (1932-1938)
• M.J. Coldwell (1938-1942)
• F.R. Scott (1942-1950)
• David Lewis (1954-1960)

National Secretaries (incomplete)

The national secretary was a staff position (initially part-time, full time beginning 1938) which was responsible for the day-to-day organizing of the party. The national secretary was the only full-time employee at the party's national headquarters until 1943 when a research director, Eugene Forsey, and an assistant to the leader were hired.

• M.J. Coldwell (1934-1936)
• David Lewis (1936-1950)

Election results 1935-1958

Election	Leader	# of candidates nominated	# of seats won	# of total votes	% of popular vote
1935	J.S. Woodsworth	117	7*	386,253	8.78%
1940	J.S. Woodsworth	94	8	388,058	8.42%
1945	M.J. Coldwell	205	28	815,720	15.55%
1949	M.J. Coldwell	181	13	785,910	13.42%
1953	M.J. Coldwell	170	23	636,310	11.28%
1957	M.J. Coldwell	162	25	707,828	10.71%
1958	M.J. Coldwell	169	8	692,668	9.49%

* Not including Agnes Macphail who worked with the CCF but was elected as a United Farmers of Ontario-Labour MP.

See also

• List of articles about CCF/NDP members
• List of articles about British Columbia CCF/NDP members
• List of articles about Alberta CCF/NDP members
• List of articles about Saskatchewan CCF/NDP members
• List of articles about Manitoba CCF/NDP members
• List of articles about Ontario CCF/NDP members
• List of articles about Newfoundland and Labrador CCF/NDP members
• List of articles about Nova Scotia CCF/NDP members
• List of articles about Yukon NDP members
• Saskatchewan CCF
• Ontario CCF
• British Columbia CCF
• United Farmers
• Labour Party
• New Democratic Party
• Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
• Parti social démocratique du Québec (CCF in Quebec)
• Canadian Labour Congress

References and notes

Lipsett, S. (1950). Agrarian socialism: The cooperative commonwealth federation in Saskatchewan, a study in political sociology. Berkeley: University of California Press. Retrieved May 29, 2009, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=53173533 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Martin_Lipsetadd cunny

External links

• The Prairie Roots of Canada's Political 'Third Parties'
• CCF: Changing Canadian government feature article from the Canadian Encyclopedia
• The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the New Democratic Party (NDP): their Failure in Quebec, 1932-1997