Darrell Rankin
Encyclopedia
Darrell T. Rankin is a Canadian
peace activist and communist politician. He was briefly the leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Ontario (CPC-O) in 1995, and has led the Communist Party of Canada - Manitoba (CPC-M) since 1996. His partner, Cheryl-Anne Carr, is also active with the Communist Party.
. His grandparents were active in the Communist Party of Canada
, which Rankin joined in 1978. He holds a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Political Science
from the University of Alberta
.
He lived in Ottawa, Ontario from 1983 to 1995, and was a leading figure in the Canadian Peace Alliance
and the Ottawa Disarmament Coalition. A newspaper report from 1986 listed him as an articling lawyer, although it is not clear if he continued in this direction. He participated in protests against the Gulf War
in 1991.
and pursue a social democratic alternative. Rankin was a part of the minority group led by Miguel Figueroa
that opposed the change, and continued to support traditional communist principles. The party split, and the minority group won the rights to the Communist Party name through an out-of-court settlement.
Rankin was appointed as interim leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Ontario in April 1995, and led the party in the 1995 provincial election
. The national party had fallen to only 500 members in this period, and the Ontario party ran a low-profile campaign with only five candidates and an $8,000 budget. Rankin challenged New Democratic Party Premier
Bob Rae
in York South
, and focused on issues such as health, education, social programs and full employment.
In June 1995, Rankin contributed an article entitled "Observations on the setbacks to Socialism" to the Communist Party discussion journal The Spark! (which is not to be confused with the Trotskyist organization of the same name). The piece examined recent events in Eastern Europe
, including the fall of the Soviet Union
.
, 2003
and 2007 provincial elections
.
In January 2004, Rankin was challenged for the CPC-M leadership by Paul Sidon. He received 79% of delegate support, against 21% for Sidon.
Rankin is a founding member of Peace Alliance Winnipeg and a member of the No War Coalition (Manitoba). He helped organize protests against the 1999 Kosovo Conflict
, the 2001 NATO invasion of Afghanistan
and the 2003 invasion of Iraq
. He also writes occasional articles for People's Voice
, the newspaper of the Communist Party. In November 2007, he organized a party at Winnipeg's Ukrainian Labour Temple
to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Russian Revolution.
Rankin has campaigned for public office several times, although he has never been elected. IN March 2006, he was the leader of Communist Party of Canada's Peace and Disarmament Coalition. He is not related to Naomi Rankin
, the leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Alberta.
, Elections Ontario
and Elections Manitoba
. Provincial election expenditures in Manitoba refer to individual candidate expenses. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.
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...
peace activist and communist politician. He was briefly the leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Ontario (CPC-O) in 1995, and has led the Communist Party of Canada - Manitoba (CPC-M) since 1996. His partner, Cheryl-Anne Carr, is also active with the Communist Party.
Early life and career
Rankin was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, and became involved in radical left politics through an early opposition to the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. His grandparents were active in the Communist Party of Canada
Communist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
, which Rankin joined in 1978. He holds a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
.
He lived in Ottawa, Ontario from 1983 to 1995, and was a leading figure in the Canadian Peace Alliance
Canadian Peace Alliance
The Canadian Peace Alliance / L'Alliance canadienne pour la paix is a Canadian umbrella peace organization claiming more than 140 member groups...
and the Ottawa Disarmament Coalition. A newspaper report from 1986 listed him as an articling lawyer, although it is not clear if he continued in this direction. He participated in protests against the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
in 1991.
CPC-O leader
In 1992, a majority of delegates at the Communist Party's national convention voted to abandon Marxism-LeninismMarxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
and pursue a social democratic alternative. Rankin was a part of the minority group led by Miguel Figueroa
Miguel Figueroa
Miguel Figueroa has been the leader of the Communist Party of Canada since 1992.- Early political career :Figueroa was born in Montreal, and has been a member of the CPC since 1977. He has held many positions within the CPC, including party organizer in Vancouver from 1978 to 1985, and leader of...
that opposed the change, and continued to support traditional communist principles. The party split, and the minority group won the rights to the Communist Party name through an out-of-court settlement.
Rankin was appointed as interim leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Ontario in April 1995, and led the party 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...
. The national party had fallen to only 500 members in this period, and the Ontario party ran a low-profile campaign with only five candidates and an $8,000 budget. Rankin challenged New Democratic Party Premier
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
in York South
York South
York South was an electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1979, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 to 1999....
, and focused on issues such as health, education, social programs and full employment.
In June 1995, Rankin contributed an article entitled "Observations on the setbacks to Socialism" to the Communist Party discussion journal The Spark! (which is not to be confused with the Trotskyist organization of the same name). The piece examined recent events in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, including the fall of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
CPC-M leader
Rankin moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1995, after the Ontario election. The Communist Party of Canada - Manitoba had been without effective leadership for several years, and Rankin was chosen as the party's provincial organizer before the year was over. He coordinated the CPC-M's 75th anniversary banquet in early 1996, and was elected party leader later in the year. He has led the party in the 1999Manitoba general election, 1999
The Manitoba general election of September 21, 1999 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada....
, 2003
Manitoba general election, 2003
The Manitoba general election held on June 3, 2003 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which won 35 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party finished second with twenty seats...
and 2007 provincial elections
Manitoba general election, 2007
The Manitoba general election held on May 22, 2007 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which won 36 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party finished second with nineteen seats. The Liberal...
.
In January 2004, Rankin was challenged for the CPC-M leadership by Paul Sidon. He received 79% of delegate support, against 21% for Sidon.
Rankin is a founding member of Peace Alliance Winnipeg and a member of the No War Coalition (Manitoba). He helped organize protests against the 1999 Kosovo Conflict
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, the 2001 NATO invasion of Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
and the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. He also writes occasional articles for People's Voice
People's Voice (newspaper)
People's Voice is a Canadian English-language newspaper published fortnightly by New Labour Press Ltd. The paper's editorial line reflects the viewpoints of the Communist Party of Canada, although it also runs articles by other left-wing voices....
, the newspaper of the Communist Party. In November 2007, he organized a party at Winnipeg's Ukrainian Labour Temple
Ukrainian Labour Temple
The Ukrainian Labour Temple is a hall and cultural centre in Winnipeg's North End run by the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians. The Labour temple is one of the few left in a once large network of such halls and is one of the largest and oldest of its kind...
to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Russian Revolution.
Rankin has campaigned for public office several times, although he has never been elected. IN March 2006, he was the leader of Communist Party of Canada's Peace and Disarmament Coalition. He is not related to Naomi Rankin
Naomi Rankin
Naomi Rankin is the current leader of the Communist Party of Alberta in Alberta, Canada.She has been leader of the Communist Party since 1992 and has run in every provincial and federal election in Alberta since 1982, for the Communist Party or the Communist Party of Canada...
, the leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Alberta.
Table of offices held
- The CPC-M had been without a leader since at least 1990, and possibly longer.
- It is not clear if the CPC-O had a recognized leader between 1992 and 1998, apart from Rankin's short tenure in 1995. Hassan HusseiniHassan HusseiniHassan Husseini was a politician and political activist in Ontario, Canada. He was a prominent member of the Communist Party of Canada - Ontario, and led the party in the 1999 provincial election. He left the CPC in 2003....
was chosen as leader in 1998.
Electoral record
All electoral information is taken from Elections CanadaElections 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...
, Elections Ontario
Elections Ontario
Elections Ontario is a non-partisan Agency of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. They work under the Chief Electoral Officer, an officer of the Legislative Assembly. responsible for the conduct of provincial elections.-External links:*...
and Elections Manitoba
Elections Manitoba
Elections Manitoba is the non-partisan agency of the Government of Manitoba, responsible for the conduct of provincial elections....
. Provincial election expenditures in Manitoba refer to individual candidate expenses. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.