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NDP Socialist Caucus

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Template:Infobox Canada Political Party

The New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus is a socialist faction within Canada's New Democratic Party. Its 1998 manifesto maintains that the New Democratic Party has moved too far to the right, and is in danger of becoming indistinguishable from the Liberal Party.[1] Consequently, the Socialist Caucus also opposes Tony Blair's Third Way policies, claiming they alienate the working class.[2]

The Socialist Caucus was founded in early 1998 in Toronto by political activists Barry Weisleder, Sean Cain, Jorge Hurtado and Joe Flexer and soon had branches in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as supporters in Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia. It is active at both the federal and provincial levels of the party across Canada.

The group is a socialist faction and advocates economic democracy and workers' control, full employment, the nationalization of large industries and the eradication of poverty and homelessness.[3]

The Caucus is anti-Imperialist, and condemns many of the actions of the United States' government. It supports the Cuban Revolution[4] and the withdrawal of Canada from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the independence of Quebec and is opposed to Zionism.[5]

The NDP SC views itself as the successor to the Waffle of the 1960s and 1970s and a number of members in the Socialist Caucus were also in the NDP's Left Caucus and the Campaign for an Activist Party or CAP of the 1980s.

In 2001, the Socialist Caucus ran Marcel Hatch in a leadership challenge against Alexa McDonough. Hatch won 120 votes out of 765 ballots cast. Bev Meslo was the Socialist Caucus' candidate in the party's 2003 leadership election, winning 1.1% of the vote in the party's first One Member One Vote leadership election.

After an unsuccessful attempt to draft Peter Kormos to run for leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party, the Socialist Caucus endorsed Michael Prue leading up to the 2009 ONDP leadership election.[6]

Speakers at Socialist Caucus meetings have included John Clarke, Tarek Fatah, Ali Mallah and Peter Kormos.

The Trotskyist group Socialist Action is closely linked with the Socialist Caucus.

The Socialist Caucus publishes an eight-page newspaper named Turn Left, edited by Sean Cain, for each federal and Ontario provincial NDP convention.

See also

References

  1. ^ Preface, Manifesto for a Socialist Canada, 1998.
  2. ^ Class Politics, Ibid.
  3. ^ 2009 Resolutions, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 17, 23, 26
  4. ^ Resolution for Cuba and Socialism, On the Issues
  5. ^ 2009 Resolutions, 14, 16
  6. ^ SC endorses Michael Prue for ONDP Leader, prepares for ONDP Convention, website link
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