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53-688: It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in 1932, and became the New Democratic Party in 1961. It became the governing party of Nova Scotia following the 2009 Nova Scotia election , winning 31 seats in the Legislature , under the leadership of Premier Darrell Dexter . It is the only New Democratic Party in Atlantic Canada to form a government, and the second to form

106-694: A two-party system in which power alternated between the Nova Scotia Liberal Party and Progressive Conservatives . In the 1920 provincial election the left had a breakthrough when the United Farmers won six seats and the Independent Labour Party won five. The two forces joined to form an 11-member official opposition under Daniel G. Mackenzie, but the group was undermined by the Liberals (who tarnished

159-491: A former Cape Breton MLA, resigning after barely a year. The 2003 election resulted in a PC minority government while the NDP maintained Official Opposition status under new leader Darrell Dexter . In the election, the NDP won 15 seats and 31% of the vote, coming slightly behind the Liberals in the popular vote but winning three more seats than the Liberals' 12. In the 2006 election , the NDP managed to capitalize on its position as

212-430: A government in a province east of Manitoba . The party lost government at the 2013 election , losing 24 seats, including Dexter's seat. Gary Burrill , the party’s leader from 2016 to 2022, is credited with bringing the party back to its left-wing roots. The party currently holds six seats in the Legislature and has been led by Claudia Chender since June 2022. Since shortly after confederation , Nova Scotia has had

265-565: 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. 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

318-633: A stone fall. He then worked as a salesman for a bakery in Sydney, Nova Scotia , forming a union and becoming its president. MacDonald was also involved in the co-operative movement, helping to find the Reserves Mines Credit Union and serving as its vice-president. He served as a member of the Reserve Mines Volunteer Fire Department for over 60 years having helped establish it in 1934. In

371-489: A “one member one vote” style of electing its leader, successfully distributed home-made buttons to satire an organized attempt to shame members of the NDP caucus who did not support former leader Helen MacDonald and gaining over 2/3 support from convention delegates for their name change. The youth wing was reconstituted in 2004 under its current name, the Nova Scotia Young New Democrats (NSYND);

424-621: 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

477-495: The 1933 general election but failed to win any electoral representation. The party did not contest the 1937 general election . In the 1939 Cape Breton Centre , by-election Douglas MacDonald won the CCF's first seat in the legislature. In 1941, the future Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) president Donald MacDonald was elected from the Cape Breton South constituency. He was joined by Douglas Neil Brodie , who

530-577: The 1945 provincial election , he was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly representing the Nova Scotia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation for Cape Breton Centre . He and CCF leader Russell Cunningham were the only two Opposition members in the legislature until the 1949 provincial election . He would remain a member of the assembly for 18 years. MacDonald served as leader of

583-469: The 1963 provincial election . The NDP would not win another until Jeremy Akerman became party leader and won the riding of Cape Breton East in the 1970 election . NDP representation in the House of Assembly grew slowly in throughout the 1970s, but never rose above four seats. The CCF had only been able to win seats on Cape Breton Island and the NDP did not win seats outside of Cape Breton until 1981. With

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636-676: The Cold War , the CCF was accused of having Communist 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

689-593: 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 . The full, but little used, name of the party was Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Farmer-Labour-Socialist) . In 1961, the CCF was succeeded by the New Democratic Party (NDP). The CCF aimed to alleviate

742-517: The Regina Manifesto as the party's program. The manifesto outlined a number of goals, including public ownership of key industries, universal public pensions , 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

795-631: 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. Federally, during

848-408: The CCF from 1953 to 1963 and was the party's sole MLA in that period, even though he won 8.9% of the popular vote for the CCF in the 1960 election. Following the creation of the federal and provincial New Democratic Party (NDP), MacDonald stepped down as leader and the locus of authority in the party moved to Halifax under the leadership of Professor James H. Aitchison . MacDonald lost his seat in

901-433: The CCF from 1953 to 1963, leading the party through the 1956 and 1960 provincial election . Despite the fact that the party received almost 9% of the vote in 1960, MacDonald was the only CCFer returned either time. He stepped down as leader in 1963 and James H. Aitchison became leader of the newly formed Nova Scotia NDP . MacDonald lost his seat in the 1963 provincial election and the NDP would not gain another seat in

954-619: The CCF in Nova Scotia was done by Maritime Organizer Fred Young . Young would go on to continue his work in Ontario and eventually sit as a member of the Ontario Legislature, however, his early work laid the groundwork for any future advancements the party would make during this period. This was evident in 1945 when two CCF members elected from Cape Breton. Russell Cunningham was the only CCF leader to serve as Leader of

1007-565: The CCF in its next provincial convention, in January 1933. 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

1060-792: 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

1113-565: The NDP never had more than three Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). Nonetheless, she raised the party's profile and become a well known advocate for the poor and disadvantaged. In a reversal of earlier times, while the NDP under McDonough won seats on the mainland for the first time, it lost all of its Cape Breton seats in the 1981 election and never regained them during McDonough's leadership. She resigned as Nova Scotia NDP leader in 1994 and went on to be elected leader of

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1166-560: The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is the Nova Scotia Young New Democrats (NSYND). Founded in the early 1960s, it was not incorporated with a full constitution - aligned with that of the party proper - until 1969. The youth wing was partially responsible for the election of Jeremy Akerman, as leader, at the 1968 Leadership Convention. In 1994, the NSYND was renamed "The Nova Scotia NDP Youth Wing". At this time

1219-559: The Official Opposition to squeeze the Liberal vote, and the party increased its number of seats from 15 to 20, an all-time high, and won 34.63% of the vote. Unlike in 2003, in 2006 the NDP came in a clear second in the popular vote, far ahead of the Liberals. On June 9, 2009, Dexter led the NDP to victory, winning a majority government , and was sworn in as Premier of Nova Scotia on June 19, 2009. His party's victory marked

1272-543: The Opposition after the 1945 provincial election in which Premier Angus L. Macdonald 's Liberal Party swept 28 of the 30 seats and the Tories were wiped out. CCFers Cunningham and fellow Cape Bretoner Michael James MacDonald were the only opposition MLAs elected. Cunningham and MacDonald were re-elected in 1949 but were reduced to third party status behind Robert Stanfield 's Progressive Conservatives. MacDonald led

1325-648: 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

1378-707: 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". 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

1431-446: 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. The CCF song would be later popularized by the movie Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story . First verse: Michael James MacDonald Michael James MacDonald (August 8, 1909 – July 3, 1997)

1484-488: The election of the 26-year-old Akerman as party leader in 1968, and his subsequent election to the legislature two years later, the party regained and developed its strong base in industrial Cape Breton, and won four seats in the election of 1978 . However, the party failed to win any seats on the mainland, and this exacerbated tensions between the Akerman-dominated Cape Breton wing of the party and

1537-691: The establishment in Canada of the Co-operative Commonwealth." The party affiliated itself with the Socialist International . 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. The UFA, under whose banner he contested the election, formalized its already-strong connection to

1590-542: The federal NDP in 1995. Under Robert Chisholm 's leadership, in 1998 the party vaulted from third place to ahead of the Progressive Conservatives (PCs), and won 19 seats in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly , the same number of seats as won by the Liberals. The Liberals formed a minority government with the support of 14 Progressive Conservatives (Tories), the latter who had also improved their standings. An NDP government seemed imminent. However,

1643-536: The first time that the NDP had won government in a province east of Ontario , and only the second time the party had won government east of Manitoba . When the party won in 2009, a major reason for their winning is the way the party used political marketing. The political marketing strategy was used in Manitoba years before the Nova Scotia NDP used the strategy. The Dexter government lasted a single term and

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1696-545: The image of the opposition MLAs by offering them payments) and the United Farmers/Labour grouping was wiped out in 1925. Though the CCF/NDP has a long history in Nova Scotia, it was unable to break the two-party system and win more than a handful of seats (if any) in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly until the 1990s. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was formed in 1932 and ran its first candidates in

1749-520: 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. The national chairman

1802-453: The leadership race, with Chender being the sole candidate. She was confirmed as leader after a general membership vote on June 25, 2022. She is the third female leader of the NSNDP, with the previous female leaders being Alexa McDonough and Helen MacDonald ; fourth leader, if interim leader Maureen MacDonald is included. "†" denotes acting or interim leader. Sources: The youth wing of

1855-468: The party was unable to improve on its standings in the 1999 election . But with 11 seats in the legislature with 29.9% of the vote, it edged out the Liberals and were able to retain "Official Opposition" status when the PCs formed a majority government under John Hamm . Chisholm's unexpected resignation immediately following the election led to a period of internal party strife, with new leader Helen MacDonald,

1908-567: 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 together] of organizations whose purpose

1961-430: The third by-election in a seat that had been held by the Liberals. Under Gary Burrill's leadership in the 2017 election , the NDP took seven seats, the same number the party received on election night in 2013 but two more than it held going into the election. Since that election, three NDP MLAs resigned: Dave Wilson , Lenore Zann , and Tammy Martin . In the 2021 provincial election , the NDP won six seats and Burrill

2014-465: The university-based party establishment in Halifax. Following increasingly bloody internal battles Akerman resigned and the NDP lost all four Cape Breton seats in the following election. In 1980, Haligonian Alexa McDonough became leader of the Nova Scotia NDP, the first female leader of a major recognized party in Canada. She was the only NDP candidate elected in 1981 . During her 14-year leadership,

2067-513: The wing has remained ideologically in step with that of the party proper. Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation ( CCF ; French : Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif , FCC ) was a federal democratic socialist and social-democratic political party in Canada . The CCF was founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta , by a number of socialist , agrarian , co-operative , and labour groups, and

2120-420: The youth wing was quite moderate, encouraging the main party to focus on government and embrace mainstream values such as fiscal responsibility, "one member one vote" and banning corporate and union donations. They also successfully lobbied the party to include more youth members in the party structure. Members and alumni of the youth wing were instrumental in forming NDProgress in 2000. In a controversial move,

2173-411: The youth wing was renamed the “New Party Youth Movement” (NPYM) in 2001. The name change was made to advocate a renewal of the NDP similar the one in 1961 when the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) became the NDP. The “New Party” name was taken from the “New Party” groups formed before the creation of the NDP. The NPYM made a positive impact at the 2001 NSNDP convention pushing the party to adopt

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2226-584: Was Dexter, who narrowly lost his own seat. On November 16, 2013, Dexter announced his resignation as NDP leader, effective November 23, 2013. Maureen MacDonald served as interim leader from Dexter's resignation in 2013, until Gary Burrill 's election as leader, in 2016. Two members of the party's caucus, Gordie Gosse and Frank Corbett resigned for personal reasons in April 2015, triggering two of three provincial by-elections which were held on July 14. The party lost both of those seats, but Marian Mancini won

2279-519: 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

2332-634: Was a union leader, coal miner, volunteer firefighter and politician in Nova Scotia . Born and raised in Cape Breton , the son of James MacDonald, MacDonald worked in the coal mines as a young man in order to support his family following the death of his father. He was involved with the United Mine Workers of America and was president of Local Union 4521 from 1938 until 1941 when he had to quit mining after being seriously injured in

2385-406: 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. The national secretary was a staff position (initially part-time, and then full-time beginning 1938) which was responsible for

2438-426: Was defeated in the October 8, 2013 provincial election ,. Although it finished second in terms of popular vote with 26.84%, the party collapsed to only seven seats, making it the third party in the legislature. This was mainly because the NDP's support in Halifax, its power base for two decades, practically melted. The NDP had gone into the election holding 14 of the capital's 20 seats, but lost all but two. Among them

2491-550: Was divided with the outbreak of World War II : Woodsworth was a pacifist , 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

2544-662: Was elected in Cape Breton East constituency, bringing the CCF up to a total of three MLAs. Donald MacDonald was the party's leader in the Assembly until 1945. He lost a close campaign in the 1945 election, but the party still retained two seats on Cape Breton Island . MacDonald then transitioned into working full-time with the Canadian Congress of Labour, a predecessor of the CLC. A lot of the early organization of

2597-464: 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

2650-611: 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 percent of the vote so was due about 26 MPs proportionally.) The 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, were held to winning just two seats. In 1944,

2703-607: 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

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2756-509: Was personally re-elected. On November 9, 2021, Burrill announced that he will resign as leader once a new leader is chosen. He was succeeded by Claudia Chender on June 25, 2022 at a leadership convention held in Dartmouth to confirm her as leader. Chender was the sole candidate to register to replace Burrill. On February 14, 2022, Claudia Chender declared her candidacy to replace Gary Burrill as leader. On May 21, 2022, registration closed for

2809-438: 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

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