THE RISE AND DECLINE OF THE COOPERATIVE COMMONWEALTH FEDERATION IN ONTARIO AND QUEBEC DURING WORLD WAR II, 1939 – 1945 By Charles A. Deshaies B. A. State University of New York at Potsdam, 1987 M. A. State University of New York at Empire State, 2005 A THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in History) The Graduate School The University of Maine December 2019 Advisory Committee: Scott W. See, Professor Emeritus of History, Co-advisor Jacques Ferland, Associate Professor of History, Co-advisor Nathan Godfried, Professor of History Stephen Miller, Professor of History Howard Cody, Professor Emeritus of Political Science Copyright 2019 Charles A. Deshaies All Rights Reserved ii THE RISE AND DECLINE OF THE COOPERATIVE COMMONWEALTH FEDERATION IN ONTARIO AND QUEBEC DURING WORLD WAR II, 1939 – 1945 By Charles A. Deshaies Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Scott See and Dr. Jacques Ferland An Abstract of the Thesis Presented In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in History) December 2019 The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was one of the most influential political parties in Canadian history. Without doubt, from a social welfare perspective, the CCF helped build and develop an extensive social welfare system across Canada. It has been justly credited with being one of the major influences over Canadian social welfare policy during the critical years following the Great Depression. This was especially true of the period of the Second World War when the federal Liberal government of Mackenzie King adroitly borrowed CCF policy planks to remove the harsh edges of capitalism and put Canada on the path to a modern Welfare State. Despite the party’s success in shifting the role of the state in society, electoral triumphs proved more difficult for the CCF to obtain. On the federal level, there has been a great deal of discussion about the third-party status of the CCF. One of the objectives of this Dissertation is to indicate that such a role was not pre-ordained for Canada’s democratic socialist group. From 1942 to 1944, it appeared that the CCF was a significant electoral threat to the monopoly of the Conservative and Liberal parties. Ultimately, the party fell short of ending the dominance of the traditional governing bodies. The failure of the CCF to break through the Canadian voting public is often blamed on the underwhelming performance of the party in the two most populous provinces: Ontario and Quebec. This work explores the efforts put forth by the party to expand the CCF beyond its western base of support and shows how both provinces were inhospitable to the CCF prior to World War II. In addition, evidence is presented that clearly demonstrates that the CCF in Ontario and Quebec often hindered its own efforts to grow the movement. Poor organization, non-existent leadership, and serious divisions within the party all helped to contribute to the anemic state of the CCF in Canada’s two largest provinces. These problems were compounded by thinly-veiled racism towards members of the French-Canadian community in Quebec. However, by 1942, the Ontario CCF addressed these issues and became a force to be reckoned with in the province. Attempts were made to incorporate this model into the Quebec branch of the party. The Quebec CCF made some in-roads in expanding their small base on the Island of Montreal. Despite these advances, the party failed to break through in the predominately French-speaking province. The 1945 Ontario and federal elections stemmed the tide of CCF momentum. From that point, the party was relegated to a permanent third-party status at the federal level. In Ontario, the party maintained a substantial degree of public support and would play a role in maintaining the three-party political system in that province. The Quebec CCF could make no such boast. The party’s weak support ensured they would remain on the fringes of Quebec politics during the remainder of the party’s days. While numerous factors are often credited with dooming the CCF in Quebec (opposition from the Roman Catholic Church, the centralizing nature of CCF policy, and media disdain), the available evidence indicates the party failed to address persistent concerns over leadership and organization. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS When you work on a project of this magnitude over such a long period of time, you accumulate a lengthy list of debts owed. There are so many people to thank that it is impossible to do justice to all the persons who played an integral part in allowing me to conduct and present my research. This dissertation is the culmination of many years of doctoral study, and benefitted from the encouragement and insight of many different people in Maine, Montreal, and Ottawa at various stages over the years. I would like to thank my advisor, Scott See, for his limitless patience and steady guidance throughout this project. He continued to believe in this work and the process when I had my doubts. Knowing that he was always in my corner helped me get through the tough times. In addition, I wish to extend thanks to my committee members for their useful suggestions and their good will. The staff at the financial aid office at the University of Maine allowed me to keep body and soul together during this endeavor. Most of my Quebec CCF research took place at McGill University’s Special Collections. I owe them a debt of gratitude for their diligence and professionalism while cheerfully responding to my requests. I would also like to thank Dr. Desmond Morton for his support and encouragement during the early years of this dissertation. The bulk of the remaining archival work was conducted at Library and Archives Canada. All the staff members there were extremely helpful and professional in their approach. Their genial approach to every request and their insightful suggestions made my time there a positive experience. I would also like to thank Jessica Dare and Joel Jacque for opening their home to me during those Ottawa visits. I need to acknowledge how this project would have never come to fruition without the substantial support of Mike and Grace Danboise in Massena, New York and Cecile Glidden (Larocque) and Louise Cormier in iii Montreal. I am also indebted to Alan Sangiacomo, Kathleen Marshall, and Maureen LaPerriere for making each version of this dissertation much better than the one before. In addition, Matthew Smith, Cherice Granger, Amy Sotherden, and Chris Kirkey, provided valuable technical advice during the final stages of this work. Throughout this entire process, my sons, James and Michael, were essential in contributing needed technical and moral assistance. Finally, I have to thank my partner, Esther Lang, for her love and support through this long process of research trips, writing and editing. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……………………………………………………….……………..iii INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………...…..1 The Genesis of Canadian Socialism…………………….…………………………….....4 Historiography………………………………………………………………………...…5 The CCF Writ-large………………………………………………….………………......5 Single-Province Studies………………………………………………………………...10 Biographical Contributions……………………………………………..……………... 14 Other Recent Works…………………………………………………….………….….. 17 This Dissertation’s Contribution to the Historiography of the CCF……………..……. 18 Chapter Overview…………………………………………………………….………...21 CHAPTER I - THE CCF IN QUEBEC PRIOR TO WORLD II…………………………..…...28 Early Evidence of CCF Issues in Québec…………………………………………..…..28 External Issues for the CCF in Québec…………………………………………………29 Early Condemnation by the Catholic Church…………………………………..29 The Two Solitudes: English and French Catholics Consider Canadian Socialism……………………………………………………………. 33 Anti-Union Stance of the Catholic Church and the Duplessis Government…....37 Challenges in Gaining Media and Public Interest………………………….…. 45 Internal Issues for the CCF in Québec………………………………………………….47 CCF Outreach Efforts in Québec in the 1930s………………………………………… 64 CHAPTER II – THE CCF IN ONTARIO PRIOR TO WORLD WAR II…………………….. 71 Communication Issues for the Ontario CCF……………………………………………75 v A Preview of the Ontario Election of 1937…………………………………………….81 CCF Efforts to “Right” the Party in Ontario Following the 1937 Provincial Election Debacle………………………………………………………………………..85 CHAPTER III – THE CCF AND THE QUESTION OF WAR………………………………106 The CCF’s Complicated War Policy Regarding Conflict in Europe………………….113 CHAPTER IV – IMMEDIATE POLITICAL CHALLENGES, 1939-1940………………….123 Immediate Electoral Battles………………………………………………………….. 123 Québec 1939 Provincial Election…………………………………………………….. 123 Readying for the Federal Election in Québec…………………………………………126 Modest Expectations for the CCF in Québec………………………………………… 143 “Faithful, Persevering, and Incompetent”: The Québec CCF and the 1940 Federal Election……………………………………………………………………….146 The 1940 Federal Election Campaign in Ontario…………………………………......157 A Party Going Nowhere - The 1940 Federal Election Results for the CCF………….161 1940 Election Aftermath - Flirting with the Enemy………………………………......163 1940 Post-Election Analysis in Ontario…………………………………………….... 164 What Went Wrong? …………………………………………………………………..168 CHAPTER V – THE YEAR THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING………………………...... 173 10:22 – Hands in a Straight Line: Mackenzie King’s View of South York Bi-Election…………………………………………………………………………… 177 Results of the York South By-Election – King’s Impression………………………... 181 CCF/Liberal Détente in South York? ……………………………………………….. 184 The CCF,