The Communist League in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 was founded as the "Revolutionary Workers League/Ligue Ouvrière Révolutionnaire

Revolutionary Workers League/Ligue Ouvrière Révolutionnaire

The Revolutionary Workers League/Ligue Ouvrière Révolutionnaire was a Canadian Trostkyist party formed on August 8, 1977 by the fusion of the Revolutionary Marxist Group and its Quebec counterpart, the Groupe Marxiste Revolutionnarie with the League for Socialist Action/Ligue Socialiste Ouvrière...

" (RWL) in 1977 as the result of a merger of the League for Socialist Action

League for Socialist Action (Canada)

The International Left Opposition of Canada, the Workers Party of Canada, Socialist Policy Group, Socialist Workers League, Revolutionary Workers Party and the League for Socialist Action were successive Trotskyist organisations in Canada.-Origins:The Canadian Trotskyist movement originated in...

 (LSA), the Revolutionary Marxist Group (RMG) and the Groupe Marxiste Revolutionaire.

Originally a Trotskyist party, the RWL was the Canadian section of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International (USFI). The group followed the US Socialist Workers Party's (SWP) trajectory away from Trotskyism in favour of a view of Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

's Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 as the vanguard of world revolution

World revolution

World revolution is the Marxist concept of overthrowing capitalism in all countries through the conscious revolutionary action of the organized working class...

. The RWL purged members who did not support the new orientation , many of whom went on to form Socialist Challenge and Gauche Socialiste

Gauche socialiste

Gauche Socialiste is a Trotskyist faction within Quebec Solidaire . It was formed in 1983 by Trotskyists who left or were expelled from the Revolutionary Workers League/Ligue Ouvrière Révolutionnaire when the group turned away from Trotskyism in the early 1980s...

.

In the late 1980s, the RWL left the USFI to become part of the new Pathfinder tendency

Pathfinder tendency

The Pathfinder tendency is the unofficial name of a group of historically Trotskyist organizations that are politically and organizationally allied with the Socialist Workers Party of the United States and its perspective of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution and the Cuban Communist Party.The...

 based around the SWP. It changed its name to the Communist League in 1990. The new group ceased publication of the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 Socialist Voice in favour of selling The Militant

The Militant

The Militant is an international Socialist newsweekly connected to the Socialist Workers Party and the Pathfinder Tendency. It is published in the United States and distributed in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Sweden, Iceland, and New...

, published in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 by the SWP.

Michel Prairie is the group's general secretary

General secretary

-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...

 and primary spokesperson.

In early 2004, two former activists in the group left the CL over a dispute regarding protests against the US invasion of Iraq, and started Socialist Voice

Socialist Voice

Socialist Voice is a Canada-based web-based publication that describes itself as "Marxist perspectives for the 21st century."It is produced by loose network of Marxists who circulate it at movement events in Canada. Most were formerly members of the Communist League, the sister organization to the...

, taking the name of the RWL's old newspaper.

The CL operates a Pathfinder Bookstore in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

.

The Communist League should not be confused with the Young Communist League

Young Communist League

The Young Communist League was or is the name used by the youth wing of various Communist parties around the world. The name YCL of XXX was generally taken by all sections of the Communist Youth International.Examples of YCLs:...

 which is youth wing of the Communist Party of Canada and is Marxist-Leninist.

Candidates for public office

The Communist League has run candidates in some federal, provincial and municipal elections in Canada, most notably in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 and Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. They are fielding three candidates in the 2006 federal election

Canadian federal election, 2006

The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...

, Beverly Bernardo in Parkdale—High Park

Parkdale—High Park

Parkdale—High Park is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979.Peggy Nash of the New Democratic Party was elected the Member of Parliament for the riding on May 2, 2011....

, Michel Prairie in Toronto Centre

Toronto Centre

Toronto Centre is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1925, and since 1935, under the names Centre Toronto , Toronto Centre , Rosedale and Toronto Centre—Rosedale .Toronto Centre covers the heart of...

 and John Steele in Eglinton—Lawrence

Eglinton—Lawrence

Eglinton—Lawrence is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1999....

.http://www.themilitant.com/2005/6949/694953.html As the Communist League has not registered as a political party with Elections Canada

Elections Canada

Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...

, their candidates are listed as "non-affiliated" on the ballot.

Patricia O'Beirne

O'Beirne was the Communist League's candidate for Mayor of Toronto in 2003

Toronto municipal election, 2003

The Toronto municipal election of 2003 was held on November 10, 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees.David Miller was elected mayor ....

.

John Steele

Steele was the Communist League's nominal Ontario leader in the 1995 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1995

The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...

, and was the CL's candidate for Mayor of Toronto in 2000

Toronto municipal election, 2000

The Toronto municipal election of 2000, dubbed "Toronto Vote 2000" was the municipal and school board election held in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 13, 2000.Elections were held to elect:* the Mayor of Toronto,* councillors for each of Toronto's 44 wards,* trustees...

. He won 1,412 votes out of approximately 550,000 votes cast in Toronto.

Joe Young

Young is a longtime member of the radical left in Canada. He has campaigned for federal, provincial and municipal office in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 and British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

.