The Impact of the C. C. F. on Canadian Parties and Groups

Abstract

The Canadian political system is in a highly fluid condition. Much of the uncertainty, though by no means all, arises from the presence on the scene of a well organized and aggressive third party of the left, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (C.C.F.). Like Great Britain and the United States, the two countries from which Canada has transplanted most of its political institutions and practices, the northern dominion has followed the two-party stereotype. Party names and the practices of parliamentary government were borrowed from Britain. Geographic and ethnic factors, however, dictated adoption of federalism, and regional factors etched Canadian politics as in the United States. The major parties of Canada demonstrate the American proclivity to sameness, with little differences in principles or policies. The tweedle-dee, tweedle-dum nature of the major parties has caused much consternation among the ranks of the party out of office in searching for campaign issues. The Conservative Party has faced a dilemma on several occasions during the last three decades. Under R. B. Bennett, who was Prime Minister between 1930 and 1935, and John Bracken, who was leader from 1942 to 1948, the Conservatives have appeared to forsake their traditional role and to strike out on a progressive line. The Liberals, on the other hand, increasingly turned conservative, forcing the Conservatives to choose between the wallpaper role of ultraconservatism, or the more adventurous 'new deal part. The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation is a lineal descendant of recurring farmers' movements, of sporadic labor political activity, and of scattered socialist groups. It was launched in 1932, in the depth of the great depression, at a conference held in Calgary, Alberta. In form, the new party was federal in a dual sense: on the provincial level the C.C.F. consisted of member organizations; on