Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Manitoba)

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Manitoba) (CCF), known informally as the Manitoba CCF, was a provincial branch of the national Canadian party by the same name. The national CCF was the dominant social-democratic party in Canada from the 1930s to the early 1960s, when it merged with the labour movement to become the New Democratic Party. The Manitoba CCF, created in 1932, played the same role at the provincial level.

History

Origins and early challenges

It was initially a small organization, and was supported by members of the Independent Labour Party,Template:Sfn which had existed in the province since 1920.Template:Sfn The ILP and CCF were brought into a formal alliance in 1933, despite misgivings from some in the former party.Template:Sfn

The ILP was the leading social-democratic party in Manitoba prior to the CCF's formation. It had a reliable support base in Winnipeg, but had virtually no organization in the countryside. The CCF was formed to bring labour and farm groups into the same political camp. Some ILP members saw this as diluting their party's integrity.Template:Citation needed

CCF in Government, its struggles, challenges and setbacks

The provincial CCF had become stronger by 1936, and the ILP's Winnipeg-area candidates in that year's provincial election were referred to as "ILP-CCF". After the election, some disgruntled ILP members succeeded in temporarily disaffiliating the parties. Pressure from David Lewis and J. S. Woodsworth brought about a quick realignment, but relations remained strained.Template:Sfn

At the start of World War II, the ILP and CCF were again in disagreement: the ILP supported an all-out war effort, whereas the CCF supported the conscription of "wealth rather than men".Template:Sfn

This controversy contributed to the defeat of federal CCF MP Abraham Albert Heaps in the election of 1940.Template:Sfn

The CCF eventually gained control of the ILP's internal organization, and the two parties were effectively one after 1941.Template:Citation needed The ILP formally disbanded in 1943.Template:Sfn

In late 1940, the ILP-CCF accepted an offer by Manitoba Premier John Bracken to become part of an all-party government. This decision was opposed by some national leaders (including David Lewis), but was supported by local figures such as Seymour Farmer, who had led the ILP parliamentary group since 1935.Template:Sfn On November 4, 1940, Farmer became the first socialist politician in Canadian history to attain cabinet rank, having been sworn in as Minister of Labour.Template:Sfn

The CCF's experience in the coalition government was a disappointment to the party. The party leaders had hoped to use their influence to promote progressive labour legislation; instead, Bracken's government forced Farmer to seek "free votes" on his ministry's initiatives (these soon became party votes, with the CCF invariably losing).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Farmer resigned from government in December 1942, and the CCF formally left the coalition in 1943.Template:Sfn The CCF's time in government demoralized its membership, and hindered its electoral fortunes – voters elected only three CCF MLAs in 1941.Template:Sfn

For the next few years, the CCF's primary concern was preventing infiltration from Communists (then officially represented by the Labour Progressive Party). Some figures in the LPP favoured cooperation with the CCF; the CCF leadership was fully opposed to this, and suspended two prominent Manitoba MLAs – Berry Richards and D.L. Johnson when they advocated formal cooperation.Template:Sfn Accusations of being "Communist sympathizers" would hinder the party's fortunes for years to come.Template:Citation needed

In 1944, the national party was performing well in the polls and the party's membership had grown from 800 in 1942 to over 4,000 by 1944. Furthermore, a CCF government was elected in neighbouring Saskatchewan. The Manitoba CCF hoped to repeat this success the following year, but won only 10 seats out of 55. This failure was due in part to the province's outdated electoral boundaries, which favoured rural ridings at the expense of the cities.Template:Sfn

Farmer resigned as party leader in 1947, and was replaced the following year by Edwin Hansford.Template:Sfn The party won only seven seats in the election of 1949,Template:Sfn amid a period of generally poor fortunes for left-wing parties in Canada.Template:Citation needed Hansford resigned as leader in 1952, replaced by Scottie Bryce.Template:Sfn

The selection of Bryce was somewhat unusual, in that he was a federal MP without experience in the provincial house. He was apparently chosen as party leader due to fears that his federal seat would be eliminated by redistribution. Bryce ultimately decided against joining provincial politics, and was replaced by Lloyd Stinson before the 1953 election.Template:Sfn

Stinson was probably the most adept of the Manitoba CCF's leaders, but he was unable to translate his personal popularity and charisma into victory at the polls.Template:Sfn The party fell to five seats in 1953,Template:Sfn during the first election to be held after the province's Liberal-Conservative coalition dissolved amid acrimony.Template:Sfn

The Liberal government of Douglas Campbell became increasingly unpopular in the mid-1950s,Template:Sfn and the CCF was able to tap into some of the public's discontent.Template:Citation needed Stinson was relatively popular among the province's centre-left voters,Template:Citation needed and the CCF increased its seat total to eleven in 1958.<ref name="TorontoStar1958"/>

The primary benefactors of Campbell's unpopularity, however, were the Progressive Conservatives under Dufferin Roblin,Template:Sfn who won 26 seats out of 57.<ref name="TorontoStar1958"/> The Campbell government initially attempted to stay in power through an alliance with the CCF, which turned down this offer.Template:Sfn Roblin was sworn in as Premier later in the year.<ref name="GlobeAndMail1958"/>

Roblin's government put the CCF in a paradoxical situation. Many of Roblin's policies were similar to the CCF platform and he outflanked the CCF in a bid for centre-left voters. The CCF was forced to lend support to Roblin's initiatives, thereby providing his ministry with the legislative record it needed to win a majority the following year. The Tories won 36 seats in 1959, with the CCF dropping to 10.Template:Sfn Stinson resigned as party leader in 1960,<ref name="StarPhoenix1960"/> and was replaced by Russ Paulley.Template:Sfn

Decline

The national CCF had fallen to eight seats in 1958, losing much of its support to John Diefenbaker's Tories. When the national party "reinvented" itself in 1961 as the New Democratic Party (via an alliance with the Canadian Labour Congress), the provincial CCF followed suit.Template:Sfn

The "New Party" in Manitoba was affiliated with the Manitoba Federation of Labour,Template:Citation needed and Paulley became the first provincial NDP leader later in 1961.Template:Sfn

The CCF ceased to exist, having been superseded by the New Democratic Party of Manitoba in much the same way as it had previously superseded the ILP.

Party leaders

• 1. Seymour Farmer 1936–1947
• 2. Edwin Hansford 1948–1952
• 3. William Bryce 1952
• 4. Lloyd Stinson 1952–1960 (house leader until 1953)
• 5. Russell Paulley 1960–1961

All party leaders were elected to their position without opposition.

Election results

Year	CCF Leader	Seats won	Seat change	Seat Place	Popular vote	% of popular vote	Result
1936	Farmer	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase 2*	Template:Steady 3rd	30,983	12.0%	Liberal-Progressive majority
1941	Farmer	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease 4	Template:Steady 3rd	28,301	17.0%	Liberal-Progressive-Conservative-CCF coalition
1945	Farmer	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase 6	Template:Steady 3rd	73,988	33.8%	Liberal-Progressive-Conservative coalition
1949	Hansford	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease2	Template:Steady 3rd	49,933	25.3%	Liberal-Progressive-Conservative coalition
1953	Stinson	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease 2	Template:Steady 3rd	44,332	16.6%	Liberal-Progressive majority
1958	Stinson	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase 6	Template:Steady 3rd		20.0%	Progressive Conservative minority
1959	Stinson	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease 1	Template:Steady 3rd	68,149	21.9%	Progressive Conservative majority

*Ran as the ILP-CCF in 1932, seats compared to the Independent Labour Party's 5 seats in the previous election.

See also

• List of political parties in Canada
• List of Manitoba CCF/NDP members
• Social Democratic Party of Canada
• Independent Labour Party
• Beatrice Brigden

References

Works cited

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book