The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) 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 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).

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 launch the CCF 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;

• A.A. 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 CCF selected J.S. Woodsworth as party leader. Woodworth had been a 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

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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 by 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.

CCF song

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

Main verse:

Come on farmer, soldier, labourer,

From the mine and the factory,

And side by side help swell the tide—

C.C.F. to Victory! ^*

Party leaders

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

Election results 1935-1958

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

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• 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 Nova Scotia CCF/NDP members
• List of articles about Yukon NDP members
• United Farmers
• Labour Party (Canada)
• New Democratic Party
• Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
• Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif (CCF in Quebec)
• Canadian Labour Congress

External links

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• 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

1932 establishments | 1961 disestablishments | Canadian socialist organizations | New Democratic Party of Canada | Political history of Canada | Federal political parties in Canada

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation