After a disappointing showing in the Novem- deficits, there is increased public support for ber 2000 federal election, its third since a halt to further cuts to spending in educa- 1993, the federal New Democratic Party tion, health, and social programs, and a faces serious challenges as it contemplates its reinvestment of tax revenues into these vital political future. Under the leadership of areas. Alexa McDonough, the NDP’s campaign Such trends should offer a promising focused directly on what all the opinion polls environment for the NDP and its social indicated was the primary concern of Cana- reform message, yet in three successive dians: the preservation of the country’s federal elections the party has been relegated publicly funded health-care system. Despite to an increasingly marginal position in the NDP’s often-repeated claims that as the Canadian federal politics. In fact, during the party responsible for introducing medicare in last campaign most media coverage was Canada it could best be counted on to defend devoted to what were viewed as the only two the system from further cuts, only eight per parties that could realistically claim to be cent those who voted in the election gave it serious contenders for power—the Liberals their support. The NDP’s total representation and the Canadian Alliance. At the provincial in the House of Commons fell from 21 to 13 level, the situation appears somewhat more seats, barely enough to win it official party promising, at least on the surface, as the NDP status in the next Parliament, and only one currently holds office in Manitoba, seat more than Joe Clark’s Conservatives. It Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. But it lost ground to the resurgent Liberals in is solid only in Manitoba, where it won Atlantic Canada, and to the Canadian Alli- election under Gary Doer in 1999. In ance in the West, while managing to win Saskatchewan, it governs in a shaky coalition only a single riding in seat-rich Ontario. with the Liberals, which may end now that The results of the election were discourag- the province’s popular premier, Roy ing, frustrating, and puzzling to both party Romanow, has left politics. And in British insiders and those who care about the future Columbia, most observers predict that the of the NDP as an important political force in NDP will be obliterated at the polls when Canada. For the party’s poor electoral show- Premier Ujjal Dosanjh calls the next election ing occurred at a moment when there appears there. In Ontario, the NDP has yet to recover to be a growing movement for economic, from the widespread public disenchantment social, and political change in this country with the policies of Bob Rae’s government, and elsewhere. Huge demonstrations against in power from 1990 to 1995, and in Atlantic the negative consequences of globalization Canada the party shows some strength only have erupted in the streets of many cities in Nova Scotia. around the world. Young people in particular Some inside and outside the party suggest are mobilizing against what they view as the that a leadership review may be in order. serious threat transnational corporations and While Alexa McDonough is still widely international financial bodies pose to the respected, there is a growing sense that after environment, workers’ rights, and cultural two lackluster campaigns the NDP might diversity. Now that governments in Canada fare better with a new face at the top. There have largely succeeded in reducing their are even proposals that the party change its

News in Review — 31 — April 2001 name and revamp its policies in order to globalization demonstrations in Quebec City attract the attention and support of more during the Summit of the Americas in April Canadians. Inside the party, there is consider- 2001 indicates that the party may indeed be able debate about the nature and direction of considering a radical change of direction and such changes, with some advocating a shift image. Whatever future leadership and to the pragmatic, centrist “Third Way” stance policy choices the party may make, it is clear exemplified by British Prime Minister Tony that the New Democratic Party is desperately Blair. Others in the NDP instead call for a in need of renewal if it is to maintain its hard left turn. The NDP’s controversial relevance on the Canadian political scene. decision to throw its support behind the anti-

Additional Important Resources These principal issues in this News in Review The Council of Canadians story can be extended and supplemented (www.canadians.ca), is an organization that through the following: promotes greater Canadian control over the environment and social programs. The official Web site of the New Democratic Party of Canada can be found at The upcoming News in Review story (May www.ndp.ca. 2001) of the Summit of the Americas to be held in Quebec City will also be an important A Web site that links the activities of a parallel resource for the issue of the emer- number of groups in Canada and other gence of a new style of political left. countries opposed to what they view as the negative consequences of globalization can be accessed at www.tao.ca.

April 2001 — 32 — News in Review RE-INVENTING THE LEFT IN CANADA A Party in Crisis?

As the NDP struggles to redefine its role within Canadian politics and regain its traditional levels of voter support, it faces a new challenge from groups outside the mainstream political scene that question its continuing relevance. A new generation of left-wing activists has emerged, deeply committed to mounting a strong public protest against what it views as the negative consequences of globalization, including the deterioration of the environment, exploitation of workers in developing countries, and a corporate-led assault on the power of governments to defend social and cultural programs.

This new social movement has attracted the attention and support of many young people in Canada and elsewhere who would once have gravitated to the NDP as the voice of socio- economic reform and political change. There is a new generation of activists like Naomi Klein, author of the influential anti-corporate-power book No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. Many of them view the NDP as at best irrelevant to current struggles, or even unwill- ing or unable to mount a serious challenge to the corporate agenda that they believe influences most government policies, in Canada and elsewhere.

Regeneration 1. As you watch this News in Review report, note the contrasts between the “old” left, represented by the NDP, and the “new” left, which includes the new social movements opposed to globalization. How are the young people involved in these movements making their views known? In what ways do their methods and beliefs differ from those of traditional left-wing parties like the NDP? What are your impressions of the people interviewed in the video (Alexa McDonough, Naomi Klein, Jesse Hirsch, Maude Barlow, and Jim Laxer)?

2. Some might say that the term re-inventing is an oxymoron (an apparent contradiction of terms) in that once something is “invented” or originated, it cannot, by definition, be re-invented. With reference to information or images in the video suggest what you think the process is that is going on in the left in Canada, or in the world. Are there terms or descriptive phrases that you think better describe the phenomenon? Is there any contradiction between the strategies and philosophies of the so-called old and new left?

News in Review — 33 — April 2001 RE-INVENTING THE LEFT IN CANADA The Informed Viewer

After a second viewing of the video, explain the significance, short- or long-term implica- tions, and the possible ramifications of the following.

1. The November 1999 Seattle demonstrations were held to protest the meeting of the World Trade Organization, an international body that protesters claim is pursuing trade and investment policies that harm the environment and the rights of workers in poor countries.

2. During the early 1990s there was great public concern over government debts and deficits. This did not work to the NDP’s advantage, because it was widely perceived as a political party that supports greater government spending on health care, education, and social programs. Currently, many Canadians are concerned about things like health care, safe drinking water, genetically manufactured foods, the homeless, free trade, and globalization.

3. Young Canadian political activists have participated in demonstrations in Toronto, demand- ing more assistance for the homeless, and at the 1998 APEC summit in Vancouver, where many were roughed up and pepper-sprayed by the RCMP.

4. The Internet is becoming an important tool for young activists in organizing demonstrations and other political actions. Using Web sites like www.tao.ca, they can link up with like- minded people around the world, and no longer use a political party as a vehicle for mobiliza- tion. The Internet also enables them to focus on any one or more of a number of issues of social concern, such as native rights, genetic engineering, and local democracy.

5. According to its Web site, the Council of Canadians is a 100 000-member organization with an operating budget of $4.5-million and 65 active chapters nationwide. According to Maude Barlow, president of the Council, it is Canada’s largest public advocacy group. The Council of Canadians focuses on specific issues involving the impact of globalization on Canada, such as the genetic engineering of food or the selling of our water to other countries.

Follow-up Viewing Task Identify each of the following and suggest the importance of each to the left in Canada: (a) T.C. “Tommy” Douglas; (b) the “Waffle” group; (c) Jim Laxer; (d) The organized labour movement (Canadian Labour Congress); (e) David Lewis.

April 2001 — 34 — News in Review RE-INVENTING THE LEFT IN CANADA Canadian Social Democratic Movement Overview

As you read this material, highlight key events and terminology that will help you write a précis of the information.

Ever since the 1930s, there has been an active social democratic party in Canadian politics. Social democrats are people who believe that the government has a responsibility to provide basic standards of health, education, and social welfare for its citizens. They also believe that while most industry should remain under private ownership and control, the government should not hesitate to intervene in the economic direction of the country, by implementing policies designed to narrow the gap between rich and poor, reduce unemployment, and regulate the power of large corporations. The modern welfare state we take for granted in Canada today, including pensions, medicare, family allowances, and employment insurance, was implemented largely as a result of pressure from the social democratic movement and the labour unions that have supported it. The existence of a strong social democratic movement in Canada has made our country very different from the United States, where no such party has ever become a significant political force. Many observers believe that this is one of the rea- sons why Canada is a more caring society, with a stronger social safety net for those in need than can be found south of the border.

The NDP and its predecessor the CCF have never formed the federal government in Canada, yet their impact on the country’s economic, social, and political life has been profound. The CCF and NDP provincial governments of Saskatchewan, from the 1940s to the present, pioneered most of the progressive social policies that have been introduced in Canada during this century. The most significant of these is medicare. Here is a brief chronological overview of the main events in the history of the Canadian social democratic movement, from its foundation in the 1930s to the present day.

1932-33 At two founding conferences in Calgary and Regina, the Cooperative Common- wealth Federation (CCF) is formed, under the leadership of Winnipeg socialist MP J.S. Woodsworth, a former leader of the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. The CCF’s founding document, the “Regina Manifesto” commits it to a sweeping program of social reform designed to eliminate the poverty and unemployment that were widespread in Canada during the Great Depression. It also states that the long-term goal of a CCF government in Canada is the eventual replacement of capitalism by socialism, a system where the government would control the major means of production and exchange (banks, major industries, transportation, etc.) on behalf of the citizens. The CCF hopes that its message will gain support among workers, farmers, and the unemployed, who were suffering greatly as a result of the Depres- sion and the failure of the traditional political parties to do much to help them.

1935-40 In its first federal election campaign, the CCF wins 15 per cent of the vote, but only elects seven members to Parliament, a disappointing showing. Despite the Depression, many Canadians are still cautious of a new party with a radical socialist message. In September 1939, Woodsworth is one of only two MPs to vote against Canada’s declaration of war

News in Review — 35 — April 2001 against Nazi Germany. As a pacifist, Woodsworth is opposed to war, but his party disagrees with him, and replaces him as leader with Saskatchewan MP M.J. Coldwell. In the 1940 federal election, the party’s results are only marginally better than they were in 1935.

1940-45 The years of the Second World War prove more successful for the CCF than the Depression era was. As the federal government shifts to a wartime system of economic planning, unemployment and poverty fall dramatically. This seems to prove the party’s point that government must involve itself in the economic management of the country, in peacetime as well as war. Support for the CCF increases dramatically, especially in Ontario, the Prairies, and British Columbia. In Ontario, the party narrowly misses forming the provincial government in 1943, and in Saskatchewan, the CCF wins power in 1944, under the leadership of T.C. “Tommy” Douglas, a former MP and Baptist preacher. An opinion poll in 1942 reveals that the CCF is the most popular political party in Canada, and that its social welfare message is resonating with voters who fear a return to the Depression era once the war is over. The party’s defeat of former Conservative prime minister Arthur Meighen in a Toronto by-election in 1942 appears to prove this.

1945-61 Taking note of the CCF’s dramatic surge in popular support, Liberal Prime Minis- ter Mackenzie King introduces a number of social welfare policies designed to undercut its popularity and demonstrate to voters that they can have social reform with his Liberals, and do not need to take a risk with the CCF. Unemployment insurance and family allowances are both enacted. In the 1945 federal election the CCF appears to be poised for a breakthrough, but a massive propaganda campaign, financed by major corporations and financial institutions, smears the party by linking it to both Soviet communism and defeated Nazism. The CCF elects 25 members, far short of what the party had hoped to win. With the onset of the Cold War, and rising distrust of both communism and socialism in Canada and the United States, support for the CCF drops everywhere but in Saskatchewan, where Douglas’s government is continually re-elected. Despite a solid showing in the 1957 election, the CCF is nearly wiped out a year later when Conservative leader John Diefenbaker wins a landslide victory. At this point, many inside the party realize that a complete change of policy, leadership, and name are necessary if it is to regain significant support from Canadian voters.

1961 At its founding convention in Ottawa, the New Democratic Party (NDP) is formed, under the leadership of T.C. Douglas. The new party represents a change in name and direction from its predecessor, the CCF. The largest organized labour movement in Canada, the Canadian Labour Congress, formed in 1958, endorses the party as the political arm of trade unions, and provides it with much-needed organization and funds. Under Douglas’s leadership, the NDP adopts a more moderate position than the CCF on major economic and social issues. It no longer advocates government ownership of the means of production, and supports Canada’s membership in NATO and other alliances with the United States. In addition, it makes a serious effort to reach out to middle-class Canadian voters who are becoming disillusioned with the Liberals and Conservatives. Shortly after Douglas leaves office as premier of Saskatchewan, the government under his successor Woodrow Stanley Lloyd introduces Canada’s first system of government-funded health care. Despite a strike by the province’s doctors, who oppose the plan, Saskatchewan’s medicare policy becomes a model that other provinces in Canada eventually copy.

April 2001 — 36 — News in Review 1962-71 In its first federal election campaigns of 1962, 1963, and 1965, the NDP wins enough seats to prevent either Diefenbaker’s Conservatives or Lester B. Pearson’s Liberals from forming a majority government. But the results are less than party optimists had hoped for, and Douglas fails to win his own seat in Regina in 1962. David Lewis, a former labour lawyer and party insider, becomes an important force within the NDP at this time and party leader in 1971. In 1969, the NDP is elected to office in Manitoba, its first victory outside its Saskatchewan base. During the October Crisis of 1970, when FLQ terrorists kidnap two officials in Quebec, Douglas opposes Pierre Trudeau’s enactment of the War Measures Act as a response to the situation. This move costs the party much popular support at the time, but later proves to have been a courageous and principled decision. By the end of the 1960s, a radical nationalist faction emerges within the NDP. Nicknamed the “Waffle,” and led by Jim Laxer and Mel Watkins, the group advocates stronger government policies to protect Cana- dian industries from American takeovers, and a harder line in foreign policy in opposition to the U.S.’s war in Vietnam. The Waffle gains support among young party members, and Laxer places second to Lewis in the 1971 leadership race. However, the party leadership orders the Waffle to disband in Ontario, and many of its members drift away to other left-wing groups.

1972-84 Lewis leads the NDP to some success in the 1972 federal election, when it emerges holding the balance of power in Pierre Trudeau’s minority Liberal government. In return for its support, the NDP compels the Liberals to introduce measures such as Petro-Canada, a government-operated petroleum company, and the Foreign Investment Review Agency (FIRA), a body designed to regulate U.S. takeovers of Canadian firms. It also vigorously attacks what it calls “corporate welfare bums.” These measures are very popular with many Canadians, but the NDP suffers a setback in 1974 when Trudeau regains his majority, and Lewis is defeated in his own riding. Under new party leader Ed Broadbent, an Ontario MP and former university professor, the NDP makes headway in the 1970s both federally and provincially. It returns to power in Saskatchewan, increases its support in Ontario, and forms the government of British Columbia from 1972 to 1975. Broadbent is a highly respected leader, whose personal approval ratings from Canadian voters run far ahead of those of his party. In the elections of 1979 and 1980 the NDP elects a significant number of MPs, but is still far behind the Liberals and Conservatives.

1984-91 In the 1984 election, the Conservatives under Brian Mulroney win a landslide victory, with the NDP holding on to most of its seats. By 1987, opinion polls show the party gaining strength among voters, who are becoming increasingly disillusioned with Mulroney’s government. However, an election fought on the issue of free trade in 1988 proves to be the NDP’s last significant federal electoral success. Along with John Turner’s Liberals, Broadbent opposes free trade, but the two parties split the anti-free trade vote, allowing Mulroney to win re-election. With 43 seats, the NDP reaches its highest level of representation in the House of Commons. The next year, Broadbent resigns, and is replaced by Audrey McLaughlin, MP from Yukon, and the first woman to lead a major federal political party in Canadian history. In 1990, the NDP wins a surprise provincial victory in Ontario, and Bob Rae becomes Premier. A year later, the party returns to power in Saskatchewan and British Columbia. For the first time in its history, the NDP now governs a majority of Canadians at the provincial level.

News in Review — 37 — April 2001 1991-2001 Despite these provincial advances, the NDP’s support declines dramatically throughout the 1990s. The whole left-wing movement in North America, in fact, is affected by the emergence from one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression. As North America gets more prosperous following the end of the recession, there is a tendency for young educated people to drift away from the left. Public concerns about high levels of debt and deficit hurt the party’s image as an advocate of higher government spending on social programs. The NDP’s endorsement of the defeated Charlottetown Accord in 1992 costs it support in the West, where the emerging Reform Party becomes a serious challenger. In Ontario, the unpopular policies and alleged ineptitude of Bob Rae’s government damage the party’s credibility as a responsible governing force. In the 1993 federal election, the NDP is decimated, winning only nine seats as Jean Chrétien’s Liberals sweep back into power. McLaughlin resigns, and is replaced by former Nova Scotia NDP leader Alexa McDonough. McDonough makes some headway for the party in the 1997 election, winning a solid base of support in Atlantic Canada, but failing to win seats in Ontario or regain traditional strongholds in the West. Bob Rae’s government in Ontario is swept from power in 1995, but Saskatchewan and B.C. remain under NDP rule, joined by Manitoba in 1999. In the 2000 federal election, the party suffers another setback, losing a third of its seats and failing to capture the imagination or attention of many Canadians, despite its strong campaign in de- fence of medicare. By 2001, it is clear to many inside and outside the NDP that it needs to reflect seriously on its image, policies, leadership, and message if it is going to survive and regain its position as a significant political force in Canadian politics.

A Canadian Studies Backgrounder Now, write a 500-word précis/backgrounder on the social democratic movement in Canada for students in programs offered by the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS; www.acsus.org): “. . . a multidisciplinary association of scholars, professionals, and institutions, [ACSUS] is dedicated to improving understanding of Canada in the United States. Founded in 1971, ACSUS encourages creative and scholarly activity in Canadian studies, facilitates the exchange of ideas among Canadianists in the U.S., Canada, and other countries, enhances the teaching of Canada in the U.S., and promotes Canada as an area of academic inquiry.”

April 2001 — 38 — News in Review RE-INVENTING THE LEFT IN CANADA Fortune and Men’s Eyes

After its poor showing in the November 2000 federal election, the NDP and the left in Canada began a process of reflection and soul-searching with reference to its continuing relevance to Canadian politics and its ideals.

Strategists As a neutral observer, examine each of the following three main proposals and approaches to re-invent the left in Canada. If you were engaged by the NDP as a policy analyst or strategist, what would you advise it about each of the following?

1. A Pragmatic “Third-Way” Approach To some New Democrats, the most promising alternative course for their party is the “Third Way” approach best exemplified by Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair and former U.S. president Bill Clinton. According to this view, these political leaders were successful because they realized that left-of-centre parties had to abandon their faith in big government and make some accommodation with private enterprise to promote economic growth and technological development. At the same time, though, they emphasized compassionate social programs that would seek to reduce the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in society, especially by funding education and job training schemes to promote greater opportunity. This combina- tion of economic conservatism and social liberalism has come to be called the “Third Way,” because it represents a political alternative between the neo-conservative faith in the virtues of free markets and the traditional social-democratic reliance on government to solve all of society’s problems.

In Canada, two influential former NDP premiers, Saskatchewan’s Roy Romanow and Bob Rae of Ontario, have endorsed the “Third Way” as the party’s best chance at regaining its influence in Canadian political life. But they also believe that the NDP may have to consider some kind of strategic alliance with the Liberals in order for this alternative to be practicable. Romanow’s government in Saskatchewan from 1991 to 2000 followed a “Third Way” phi- losophy even before the term was invented. It balanced its budgets, eliminated the province’s big deficits it inherited from Grant Devine’s Conservatives, and did not hesitate to impose cuts in social spending when necessary. At the same time, though, it introduced programs that promoted job-creation through partnerships with the private sector. Rae also sought to follow a “Third Way” approach, but ran into serious difficulties when his attempts to reduce the province’s large fiscal deficit met stiff resistance from public-sector labour unions opposed to his “social contract” of wage restraint and unpaid “Rae days.”

Most European social-democratic parties have embraced some version of the “Third Way,” and have been able to win power in recent elections. Its supporters believe that it represents the only practical alternative for left-of-centre parties today, in the era of globalization and growing corporate domination of the world economy. As Bob Rae has commented, “the issue in the modern world is not between capitalism and socialism. It is about the kind of capitalism we want to have.” But to traditional socialists, the “Third Way” threatens the left with total

News in Review — 39 — April 2001 capitulation to capitalism, to the problems and dangers associated with big international corporations, and the abandonment of its core values of economic planning and social justice. The difference between Tony Blair’s “New Labour” and the NDP was dramatized during his February 2001 speech to the House of Commons in Ottawa, when he endorsed free trade and globalization as forces for positive change and international prosperity, a view the NDP completely rejects.

Even if the NDP were to opt for the “Third Way,” it faces a serious practical problem: the Liberal Party. In Europe, social-democratic parties have tended to be the major opposition to right-of-centre, conservative groups. But in Canada, the Liberals occupy the centre, or moderate, space in the political spectrum, positioning themselves between the right-wing Canadian Alliance and the dwindling NDP on the left. When public opinion appears to be shifting in a left-wing direction, as it did during the Second World War and in the late 1960s and 70s, the Liberals did not hesitate to adopt traditional NDP social policies as their own. However, when the prevailing mood was more conservative, as it was in the early 1990s, they were equally adept at “borrowing” Reform and Alliance policies such as tax cuts and reduced funding for social programs.

For the NDP to succeed as a “Third Way” party, the Liberals would have to disappear, or, as Romanow and Rae have tentatively suggested, the two parties would need to consider some form of strategic alliance. So far, their proposals have not been favourably received within party ranks. But after his narrow re-election victory in Saskatchewan in 1999, Romanow was only able to retain power by forming a coalition with the province’s Liberals. And in Ontario, many have suggested that the only way the right-wing Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris will ever be removed from power is if the Liberals and NDP stop splitting the anti-Harris vote and form an electoral pact during the next election in that province. In April 2001, Prime Minister Chrétien appointed Romanow to head an in-depth government study of the state of Canada’s health-care system, with the power to propose recommendations for its improvement. This step was evidence of the continuing close relationship between the federal Liberals and at least some moderate, “Third Way” New Democrats.

2. A Hard Left Turn To longtime NDP activists like union leader Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union, the “Third Way” is not a path to the future for the party, but instead a dead end. Hargrove is one of the most vocal advocates of what he calls a “hard left turn,” a funda- mental policy shift that will return the NDP to its radical socialist roots. Hargrove believes that this change of direction would not lead to the party’s electoral demise, despite the widespread view that Canadians shifted to the right in their political positions during the 1990s. On the contrary, he is convinced that there is a solid core of voters ready to support a party with the courage to present a real alternative to the policies of spending reductions, privatizations, and tax cuts that have come to be the mainstay of most political forces in recent years, and are now increasingly being called into question.

Hargrove argues that it is time for the NDP to abandon the idea that it can compete for votes with right-of-centre parties by offering Canadians a watered-down version of the same conservative programs. He points to a number of opinion polls that have consistently indicated that when presented with a choice between reductions in taxes and increased government

April 2001 — 40 — News in Review spending on health care, education, and social services, a majority of Canadians opt for the latter. He firmly rejects the notion that Canadians are overtaxed as a whole. He also disputes the claim that a large number of highly skilled professionals are fleeing the country in droves, lured south by the attraction of lower taxes in the United States. He is convinced that most Canadians understand that the higher quality of life they enjoy in this country, including its more generous social-safety net, results from a more equitable system of taxation, and is worth the price.

Hargrove’s views have a strong base of support within the NDP membership at large. When party leader Alexa McDonough returned from a European visit in 1999, where she met with Tony Blair and other “Third Way” advocates in the social-democratic movement there, her suggestions that the party consider this option met with considerable opposition. At a party convention held in Ottawa, delegates wore buttons stating “No Way to the Third Way,” and expressing support for traditional NDP policies. To party moderates who claim that a turn to the left will further marginalize the party within Canadian politics, leftists point to the fact that support for the NDP has atrophied while its message to voters has become less radical. De- spite its endorsement of some form of tax cuts, balanced budgets, and a reduced role for government in the management of the economy, the NDP has not been able to attract moderate, centrist voters who remain far more likely to back the Liberals.

The hard left turn Hargrove and others like him are proposing would certainly help to mark a clear distinction between the NDP and the other federal political parties. It would return the party to its socialist past, and would also help to re-inject some fervour into its membership, who at one time regarded it and its predecessor, the CCF, as more of a social movement than a conventional political machine. But whether or not it would result in a significant gain in popular support is more arguable. However, there is some evidence to suggest that committed NDP supporters at least would continue to vote for the party, even if it were to move in a more radical direction. Hargrove became disillusioned with the Ontario NDP government of Premier Bob Rae during the early 1990s because it abandoned a long-time party commitment to introduce government-run automobile insurance, and imposed harsh wage controls on public-sector workers as a means of combating the province’s deficit. The conclusions he drew from Rae’s crushing defeat at the polls in 1995, and the party’s inability to recover from it in the years that followed, are that the NDP must never again make enemies of its traditional friends in the labour movement, and that any efforts to compromise its core principles will result in disaster.

3. Forming New Alliances Gerald Caplan is a long-time NDP insider who has advised many provincial and federal party leaders. He is convinced that if the party is to survive and if it hopes to regain support in Canada, it must not fall into what he believes to be the sterile argument about whether to move “left” or “right.” Instead, he believes that the NDP must take a hard look at both what it has done right in the past, and what has not worked for it. But most importantly, he believes, the party must abandon the idea that it represents the most important movement for social and political change in Canada. It must not hesitate to sit down with like-minded left-of-centre organizations such as the Council of Canadians, environmental groups, and the growing alliance against corporate-dominated globalization, and draw up a strategy for pooling the resources and energy of all of these dynamic forces.

News in Review — 41 — April 2001 Caplan believes that the NDP’s formal alliance with the organized labour movement has not worked in the best interests of the party, and should be ended. He points to the fact that even though prominent labour leaders like Buzz Hargrove of the CAW and Canadian Labour Congress president Ken Georgetti are strong party supporters, the same cannot be said for their rank-and-file members, most of whom vote either Liberal or Alliance. Union strongholds like Oshawa, Ontario, once represented by Ed Broadbent, are no longer promising electoral territory for the NDP. If it hopes to attract new voters, it will probably have to look elsewhere for them.

In Caplan’s view, the NDP’s decision to support the Quebec City protests against the pro- posed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) in April 2001 is a good first step for the party to take if it wants to be taken seriously as part of the growing movement against “making the world the private preserve of transnational corporations.” He believes that this will help give the party much-needed credibility among social activists like Naomi Klein and others who have dismissed the NDP as irrelevant to the struggle against globalization. In addition, Caplan thinks the NDP can learn a great deal from these new social movements about using novel and inventive means of communication, such as the Internet, to spread its message among a wider audience.

But most importantly, Caplan argues that the NDP must put at the forefront of its political agenda demands for a more truly democratic and representative system of government in Canada. Specifically, this would mean a call for the replacement of the “first-past-the-post” electoral system, which frequently leads to distorted results, with a system of proportional representation. This would help smaller parties like the NDP gain a degree of representation in Parliament that more closely corresponded to their level of popular support. He also advocates an end to corporate and trade union donations to political parties, stronger support for environ- mentally friendly policies, and a commitment to increased Canadian foreign aid to developing countries. In Caplan’s view, the adoption of these new policies and strategies would give the NDP a new image, one that would be of far greater appeal to voters hungry for real change. His ideas have been endorsed by other leading party figures, such as feminist broadcaster and author Judy Rebick, and former federal leader Ed Broadbent, where all those concerned about the NDP’s current stagnation and anxious to revive its fortunes can gather to discuss what needs to be done if the party is going to survive, and possibly thrive, in the 21st century.

April 2001 — 42 — News in Review RE-INVENTING THE LEFT IN CANADA Discussion, Research, and Essay Questions

1. Research and prepare a biographical study of the life and influence of one of the following figures in the history of the CCF and NDP in Canada, from the 1930s to the present: (a) J.S. Woodsworth, (b) M.J. Coldwell, (c) T.C. “Tommy” Douglas, (d) David Lewis, (e) Ed Broadbent, (f) Rosemary Brown, (g) Thérèse Casgrain, (h) Stephen Lewis, (i) Dave Barrett, (j) Ed Schreyer, (k) Audrey McLaughlin, (l) Alexa McDonough, (m) Roy Romanow, (n) Bob Rae. Critics of the NDP point to a serious crisis in effective leadership in the party, which they suggest has weak- ened the party. From your research, suggest whether or not you think the NDP has suffered from ineffective leadership. If you think it has, suggest why this might be. 2. Read and prepare a book review on one of the following books dealing with the history of the social-democratic movement in Canada: Political Activists: The NDP in Convention, by Keith Archer and Alan Whitehorn; Under Siege: The NDP in the Nineties, by Ian McLeod; From Protest to Power: Social Democracy in Canada, 1900-Present, by Norman Penner; Political Choices and Electoral Consequences: A Study of Organized Labour and the NDP, by Keith Archer; From Protest to Power: Personal Reflections on a Life in Politics, by Bob Rae; A Woman’s Place: My Life in Politics, by Audrey McLaughlin with Rick Archbold; Tommy Douglas: The Road to Jerusalem, by Thomas H. McLeod and Ian McLeod; Fool for Christ: The Political Thought of J.S. Woodsworth, by Allen Mills; Ed Broadbent: The Pursuit of Power, by Judy Steed; The Good Fight: Political Memoirs, 1909-1958, by David Lewis. 3. Read one of the following books dealing with current economic, social, or political issues in Canada, and discuss how the NDP could adopt the ideas expressed in it as part of its project of renewal: The Three Questions: Prosperity and the Public Good, by Bob Rae; Imagine Democracy, by Judy Rebick; No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies, by Naomi Klein; A Labour of Love: The Fight to Create a More Humane Canada, by Buzz Hargrove; The Undeclared War: Class Conflict in the Age of Cyber Capitalism and In Search of a New Left: Canadian Politics after the Neo-Conservative Assault, by Jim Laxer; Global Showdown: How the New Activists are Fighting Corporate Rule, by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke. 4. Find out more about the “Third Way” political movement, and its major advocates in Europe and the Americas, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, former U.S. president Bill Clinton, Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda, or authors Amitai Enzione or Anthony Giddens. How successful has this approach to left-of-centre politics been in the countries where it has been adopted? 5. As a class, hold an in-depth discussion of the present problems of the NDP and possible changes the party could adopt to make it more popular among Canadian voters. These are some of the questions that could be used to frame the discussion: How have the NDP and its predecessor, the CCF, been important forces in Cana- dian political life? Is there still a role for a left-of-centre political party in Canada today? If so, what should it be? If not, why not? Should the NDP change its name, leader, and/or policies? What could the NDP do in order to attract more support among younger Canadians? News in Review — 43 — April 2001