Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

 ( 1932 Establishments In Canada ) 

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation ( CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party:

• (1989). 9780802066725, University of Toronto Press. . ISBN 9780802066725
• Anthony Hlynka (2025). 9781552381373, University of Calgary Press. . ISBN 9781552381373
• (2025). 9780754661313, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. . ISBN 9780754661313
• Will Ferguson (2025). 9780470676783, John Wiley & Sons. . ISBN 9780470676783
• Charles D. Ameringer (1992). 9780313274183, Greenwood Publishing Group. . ISBN 9780313274183
• (1993). 9780738671444, Research & Education Assoc.. . ISBN 9780738671444
  and social democracyThese sources describe the CCF as a social-democratic political party:
• (2025). 9781926836874, Athabasca University Press. . ISBN 9781926836874
• Rand Dyck (2025). 9780176503437, Cengage Learning. . ISBN 9780176503437
• (2025). 9780176500429, Cengage Learning. . ISBN 9780176500429
• (1986). 9780773505995, McGill-Queens. . ISBN 9780773505995
• Norman Penner (1992). 9781550283846, James Lorimer & Company. . ISBN 9781550283846
  political party in Canada. The CCF was founded in 1932 in Calgary, by a number of socialism, agrarianism, co-operative, and labour movement groups,
  Alvin Finkel (1997). 9781550285512, James Lorimer & Company. . ISBN 9781550285512
  and the League for Social Reconstruction. In 1944, the CCF formed one of the first social-democratic governments in North America when it was elected to form the provincial government in Saskatchewan.
  Peter Davis (1983). 9780908636358, Peter Davis. . ISBN 9780908636358

The full, but little used, name of the party was Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Farmer-Labour-Socialist).Calgary Herald, August 1, 1932

In 1961, the CCF was succeeded by the New Democratic Party (NDP).

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History

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Origins The CCF aimed to alleviate the suffering that workers and farmers, the ill and the old endured under capitalism, seen most starkly during the Great Depression, through the creation of a Co-operative Commonwealth, which would entail economic co-operation, public ownership of the economy, and political reform.

The object of the political party as reported at its founding meeting in Calgary in 1932 was "the federation joining of organizations whose purpose is the establishment in Canada of a co-operative commonwealth, in which the basic principle of regulating production, distribution and exchange will be the supplying of human needs instead of the making of profit."

The goal of the CCF was defined as a "community freed from the domination of irresponsible financial and economic power in which all social means of production and distribution, including land, are socially owned and controlled either by voluntarily organized groups of producers and consumers or – in the case of major public services and utilities and such productive and distributive enterprises as can be conducted most efficiently when owned in common – by public corporations responsible to the people's elected representatives".Laurence Gronlund, Co-operative Commonwealth, An Exposition of Socialism (1884), p. 36 as quoted in Monto, Tom, Protest and Progress, Three Labour Radicals in Early Edmonton, Crang Publishing/Alhambra Books, p. 156 Many of the party's first Members of Parliament (MPs) were members of the Ginger Group, composed of United Farmers of Alberta, left-wing Progressive, and Labour MPs. These MPs included United Farmers of Alberta MPs William Irvine and Ted Garland, Agnes Macphail (UFO), Humphrey Mitchell, Abraham Albert Heaps, Angus MacInnis, and Labour Party MP J. S. Woodsworth. Founding groups included the Independent Labour Party (of Manitoba), the Canadian Labour Party (mostly in Edmonton), the Dominion Labour Party of southern Alberta, the UFA, and the United Farmers of Ontario (which withdrew from the CCF in 1934).

Also involved in founding the new party were members of the League for Social Reconstruction (LSR), such as F. R. Scott and Frank Underhill. It can be said that the CCF was founded on May 26, 1932, when the Ginger Group MPs and LSR members met in William Irvine's office, the unofficial caucus meeting room for the Ginger Group, and went about forming the basis of the new party. J. S. Woodsworth was unanimously appointed the temporary leader until they could hold a founding convention. The temporary name for the new party was the Commonwealth Party. The Social Gospel was a significant influence on the CCF.

At its founding convention in 1932 in Calgary, 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 nationalization of key industries, universal public , universal health care, children's allowances, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation.

Its conclusion read, "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." The party affiliated itself with the Socialist International.

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Electoral performance In line with Alberta's important role in founding the CCF, it is said that the first CCF candidate elected was Chester Ronning in the Alberta provincial constituency of Camrose, in October 1932.

Anthony Mardiros (1979). 9780888622372, James Lorimer & Company. . ISBN 9780888622372

The UFA, under whose banner he contested the election, formalized its already-strong connection to the CCF in its next provincial convention, in January 1933.Champion Chronicle, January 26, 1933

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Federally In its first federal election, seven CCF MPs were elected to the House of Commons in 1935. Eight were elected in the following election in 1940, including their first member east of Manitoba, Clarence Gillis, in Cape Breton, a coal-mining area of Nova Scotia (specifically the federal riding of Cape Breton South).

The party was divided with the outbreak of World War II: Woodsworth was a pacifism, while many party members supported the Canadian war effort. Woodsworth had a physically debilitating stroke in May 1940 and could no longer perform his duties as leader. In October, Woodsworth wrote a letter to the 1940 CCF convention, in essence asking to retire from the leadership. Instead, the delegates created the new position of Honorary President, abolished the President's position and re-elected M. J. Coldwell as the National Chairman. Coldwell was then appointed acting House Leader on 6 November. Woodsworth died on 21 March 1942, and Coldwell officially became the new leader at the July convention in Toronto and threw the party behind the war effort. As a memorial to Woodsworth, Coldwell suggested that the CCF create a research foundation, and Woodsworth House was established in Toronto for that purpose.

The party won a critical York South by-election on 8 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.

In the 1949 election, 13 CCF candidates were elected. This was followed by 23 elected in the 1953 election and a disappointing eight elected in the 1958 election. (In that election, the party took almost ten per cent of the vote so was due about 26 MPs proportionally.)

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Provincially The CCF party had its greatest success in provincial politics.

In 1943, the Ontario CCF became the official opposition in that province.

In 1944, the Alberta CCF took almost a quarter of all votes cast but due to lack of PR other than in the cities, won just two seats.

In 1944, the Saskatchewan CCF formed the first democratic socialist government in North America, with Tommy Douglas as premier. Douglas introduced universal Medicare to Saskatchewan, a policy that was soon adopted by other provinces and implemented nationally by the Liberal Party of Canada during the administration of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Tommy Douglas's CCF governed Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961.

In 1945, BC CCF won 38 percent of the vote and ten seats.

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New Party Federally, during the Cold War, the CCF was accused of having Communism 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 federal 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 that could make social democracy more popular with Canadian voters. This party, initially known as the New Party, became the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961.

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Electoral performance

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House of Commons

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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 many educational books, pamphlets, and magazines, though these efforts declined in the 1950s.

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Party leaders

"Temporary leader" from the party's founding meeting on August 1, 1932, until the founding convention in July 1933 when he was elected president (leader) of the CCF. Due to illness, Woodsworth ceased to be parliamentary leader in October 1940. He remained honorary president (leader) of the CCF until his death.

Became parliamentary leader of the CCF in October 1940. Was unanimously elected party president (leader) at the CCF's national convention in Toronto in July 1942.

Chosen parliamentary leader by the CCF caucus after Coldwell lost his seat in the 1958 general election. Officially elected party leader, without opposition, at the CCF national convention in 1960.

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National chairmen

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 Woodsworth held both roles, it was usually distinct from and secondary to the position of party leader. National president originally was also a title the leader held, as both Woodsworth and Coldwell held the title when they held seats in the House of Commons. In 1958, after Coldwell lost his seat, the position of national chairman was merged formally into the president's title and was held by David Lewis.

• J. S. Woodsworth (1932–38)
• M. J. Coldwell (1938–42)
• F. R. Scott (1942–50)

• Percy Wright (1950–54)

• David Lewis (1954–58)
• David Lewis as party president (1958–61)

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National secretaries

The national secretary was a staff position (initially part-time, and then 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 (1934–36)
• David Lewis (1936–50)
• Lorne Ingle (1950–58)
• Carl Hamilton (1958–61)

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CCF song

The CCF song would be later popularized by the movie .

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. CCYM is the Co-operative Commonwealth Youth Movement, the image is from a larger collection of scans in jpeg format.

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Provincial sections

• Alberta CCF
• British Columbia CCF
• Manitoba CCF
• New Brunswick CCF
• Newfoundland CCF/Newfoundland Democratic Party
• Nova Scotia CCF
• Ontario CCF
• Prince Edward Island CCF
• Parti social démocratique du Québec (CCF in Quebec)
• Saskatchewan CCF

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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
• Labour Party (Canada)
• New Democratic Party
• United Farmers
• Canadian Labour Congress
• Paper Wheat

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Footnotes

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Bibliography

• Ivan Avakumovic (1978). 9780771009785, McClelland and Stewart. . ISBN 9780771009785
• Dan Azoulay (1999). 9780772527035, Irwin Publishing. ISBN 9780772527035
• John Boyko (2025). 9781897289099, J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing. . ISBN 9781897289099
• Gerald Caplan (1973). 9780771018961, McClelland and Stewart. . ISBN 9780771018961
• (1982). 9780888640703, University of Alberta Press. . ISBN 9780888640703
• Gad Horowitz (1968). 9780802019028, University of Toronto Press. . ISBN 9780802019028
• David Lewis (1981). 9780771595981, Macmillan of Canada. ISBN 9780771595981
• (2025). 9780968970904, Hybrid Publishers Co-operative Ltd.. ISBN 9780968970904
• Donald C. MacDonald (1998). 9781550023077, Dundurn Press. ISBN 9781550023077
• (2025). 9781894856485, Fifth House. ISBN 9781894856485
• Kenneth McNaught (2025). 9780802035554, University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802035554
• (2025). 9781552381182, University of Calgary Press. ISBN 9781552381182
• (1991). 9781442623354, University of Toronto Press. . ISBN 9781442623354
• Desmond Morton (1986). 9780773046184, Copp Clark Pitman Ltd. ISBN 9780773046184
• Norman Penner (1988). 9780458812004, Methuen. . ISBN 9780458812004
• Frank R. Scott (1986). 9780802056726, University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802056726
• Doris French Shackleton (1975). 9780771081163, McClelland & Stewart. . ISBN 9780771081163
• Cameron Smith (1989). 9780929091044, Summerhill Press. . ISBN 9780929091044
• Cameron Smith (1992). 9780771082092, McClelland & Stewart. . ISBN 9780771082092
• Walter Stewart (2025). 9780773732322, Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited. . ISBN 9780773732322
• Walter Stewart (2025). 9781552783825, McArthur & Company. ISBN 9781552783825
• (1982). 9780888331007, Western Producer Prairie Books. . ISBN 9780888331007

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External links

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

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Archives

• Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and New Democratic Party fonds at Library and Archives Canada.
• George E. Rennar Papers. 1933–1972. 37.43 cubic feet. Contains ephemera on the Congress of Industrial Organizations from 1945 to 1947. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Special Collections.

Categories: 1932 Establishments In Canada, 1961 Disestablishments In Canada, Agrarian Parties In Canada, Defunct Agrarian Political Parties, Federal Political Parties In Canada, Former Member Parties Of The Socialist International, Labour History Of Canada, History Of The New Democratic Party, Political History Of Canada, Political Parties Disestablished In 1961, Political Parties Established In 1932, Social Democratic Parties In Canada

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