Leslie Morris
Encyclopedia
Leslie Tim Morris was a Welsh
-Canadian
politician, journalist and long time member of the Communist Party of Canada
and, its front group, the Labour-Progressive Party
.
Morris was born in Somerset, England to a Welsh
working class
family. He and his family immigrated to Canada in 1910. Morris returned to the UK in 1917 and lived in Wales and England
while working in the steel, coal mining and railway industries. He returned to Canada in time to join the Communist Party of Canada at its founding convention held December 1921 in Guelph
, Ontario
.
He became a prominent figure in the party first as secretary of the Young Communist League of Canada
from 1923 to 1924, and then as editor over the years of various Communist newspapers including The Worker, Daily Clarion, Daily Tribune and Canadian Tribune.
Morris supported Tim Buck
and the supporters of Joseph Stalin
in the party during the factional struggles and purges of the late 1920s and early 1930s.
He was a candidate for the Canadian House of Commons
on several occasions:
Morris also campaigned for provincial office. In the Manitoba provincial election of 1932
, he ran in the city of Winnipeg
as a "United Front Workers" candidate (the Communist Party being under legal proscription at the time). At the time, the provincial constituency of Winnipeg elected ten members by a single transferable ballot. Morris finished ninth on the first count, and came within 309 votes of winning the tenth seat on the final count. Had he won, he would have been the first Communist elected to a provincial legislature in Canada.
Morris was a popular stump speaker for the party and toured the country speaking to left wing and labour audiences. From 1954 until 1957, he was the national organizer of the Labour Progressive Party (as the Communist Party had been known since 1943) and, in 1962, he succeeded Tim Buck as General Secretary
of the Communist Party of Canada (as it was again known) and held the position until his death two years later.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
-Canadian
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...
politician, journalist and long time member of 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...
and, its front group, the Labour-Progressive Party
Labour-Progressive Party
For the Labour-Progressive Coalition Government in New Zealand see the Fifth Labour Government of New ZealandThe Labor-Progressive Party was the legal political organization of the Communist Party of Canada between 1943 and 1959....
.
Morris was born in Somerset, England to a Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
family. He and his family immigrated to Canada in 1910. Morris returned to the UK in 1917 and lived in Wales and England
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...
while working in the steel, coal mining and railway industries. He returned to Canada in time to join the Communist Party of Canada at its founding convention held December 1921 in Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, 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....
.
He became a prominent figure in the party first as secretary of the Young Communist League of Canada
Young Communist League of Canada
The Young Communist League of Canada is a Marxist-Leninist youth organization which fights to build a powerful youth and student movement across Canada and for socialism.According to their website,- History :...
from 1923 to 1924, and then as editor over the years of various Communist newspapers including The Worker, Daily Clarion, Daily Tribune and Canadian Tribune.
Morris supported Tim Buck
Tim Buck
Timothy "Tim" Buck was a long-time leader of the Communist Party of Canada...
and the supporters of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
in the party during the factional struggles and purges of the late 1920s and early 1930s.
He was a candidate for the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
on several occasions:
- In the 1940 electionCanadian federal election, 1940The Canadian federal election of 1940 was the 19th general election in Canadian history. It was held March 26, 1940 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 19th Parliament of Canada...
, he ran as a Communist in Winnipeg NorthWinnipeg NorthFor information on the historical provincial constituency, see Winnipeg North .Winnipeg North is a federal electoral district that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1917...
, coming in third place with 17% of the vote, which was larger than the number of votes separating the Conservative victor from the defeated Cooperative Commonwealth Federation incumbent, Abraham Albert HeapsAbraham Albert HeapsAbraham Albert Heaps was a Canadian politician and labour leader.Born in Leeds, England, Heaps immigrated to Canada in 1911 and worked in Winnipeg as an upholsterer. He was one of the leaders of the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and was a Labor alderman on the Winnipeg City Council from 1917...
. - In a 1954 by-electionBy-electionA by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
, Morris was the Labour Progressive candidate in the TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
-area riding of York West, and came in fourth (and last) place with only 282 votes. - In the 1958 electionCanadian federal election, 1958The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...
, he ran in York South, placing fourth out of five candidates with 427 votes. - In the 1962 electionCanadian federal election, 1962The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...
, he ran for the Communist Party in the Toronto riding of Trinity winning 449 votes. - He tried again in the 1963 electionCanadian federal election, 1963The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
in the same ridingElectoral district (Canada)An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
, and won 391 votes
Morris also campaigned for provincial office. In the Manitoba provincial election of 1932
Manitoba general election, 1932
Manitoba's general election of June 16, 1932 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This was the second election in Manitoba where the single transferable ballot was used in all electoral divisions...
, he ran in the city of Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
as a "United Front Workers" candidate (the Communist Party being under legal proscription at the time). At the time, the provincial constituency of Winnipeg elected ten members by a single transferable ballot. Morris finished ninth on the first count, and came within 309 votes of winning the tenth seat on the final count. Had he won, he would have been the first Communist elected to a provincial legislature in Canada.
Morris was a popular stump speaker for the party and toured the country speaking to left wing and labour audiences. From 1954 until 1957, he was the national organizer of the Labour Progressive Party (as the Communist Party had been known since 1943) and, in 1962, he succeeded Tim Buck as General Secretary
General Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
of the Communist Party of Canada (as it was again known) and held the position until his death two years later.