1961 New Democratic Party leadership election

Party election in Canada September 2023 1961 New Democratic Party leadership election Canada 1957 presidential no 1971 New Democratic Party leadership election 1971 July 31 – August 4, 1961 150x150px CA NDP nohash Tommy Douglas 1,391 78.5% 150x150px CA NDP nohash Hazen Argue 380 21.5% Leader Elected leader Hazen Argue CCF Tommy Douglas NDP New Democratic Party CA NDP 1961 July 31 – August 4, 1961 Ottawa, Ontario Tommy Douglas position created 2 1 The New Democratic Party's founding convention was held in Ottawa from July 31 to August 4, 1961. This convention formally closed down the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) party and the New Party clubs, and merged them with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) to form the NDP. It is also known for the divisive leadership vote in which Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas was elected over national CCF leader Hazen Argue. Over 2000 delegates attended the five-day convention held at the Ottawa Coliseum.Morton, p. 23 CCF leadership succession crisis By 1960, progress was being made in creating a new party from the old CCF, and the trade union movement as represented by the CLC. There were still leadership issues left unresolved in the CCF in the summer of 1960, and the party's president, David Lewis was forced to try to keep the federal House of Commons leader from causing an open leadership crisis.Stewart (2003), p. 245 Since M. J. Coldwell, the CCF's national leader, lost his seat in the House of Commons, he constantly was thinking of resigning his post, but was asked by the party, many times, to stay on as national leader. With Coldwell's defeat, the CCF caucus chose Hazen Argue as the new House leader.Stewart (2000), p.211 During the lead-up to the 1960 CCF convention, Argue was pressing for Coldwell to step down. This leadership challenge would mean that plans for an orderly transition to the New Party would be in jeopardy, something that the CLC's and CCF's organizers, headed by Lewis, did not want. They wanted as their leader Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas, the most successful social democratic leader in Canada.McLeod & McLeod, pp.271,275 To prevent their plans from being derailed, Lewis had to try to find a way to persuade Argue not to force a vote on the question of the party's leadership at the convention: Lewis was unsuccessful. There was a split between the parliamentary caucus and the party's executive that made it to the convention floor. Coldwell quit and Argue became the last National Leader of the CCF.Stewart (2000), pp.211–212 In the mid-1970s, David Lewis reflected on this incident and he realized that he did not handle the leadership transition well: I, as president of the CCF, was very much in the wrong in trying to get a unanimous vote for Tommy. It arose out of a tradition we had had – no one opposed Woodsworth, no one had opposed Coldwell. They were chosen. I met with Hazen and tried to dissuade him from being a candidate. It was wrong. This attitude produced bitterness around the Hazen–Douglas contest.Shackleton, pp. 256–257 Naming the party thumb|right|The logo of the New Democratic Party during its founding in 1961. In July and August 1961, the CCF became the New Democratic Party (NDP), after a long process of deciding what to name the party.Stewart (2000), pp.213–214 The party used a preferential ballot system to make the decision from four choices: New Party, New Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Canadian Democratic Party. Leader Elected https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1dMxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EuUFAAAAIBAJ&dq=new%20democratic%20party&pg=4448%2C395043 2011-08-22 The Ottawa Citizen 1961-08-03 Citizen Staff Ottawa 1 In the end, the name New Democratic Party won on Thursday evening, 3 August, narrowly beating out New Party 784 to 743 votes.Neville William Douglas Leads New Party, 'Democratic' Tag in Name https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qphlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SIoNAAAAIBAJ&dq=new%20democratic%20party&pg=4770%2C472587 2011-08-22 The Vancouver Sun 1961-08-03 UPI Vancouver 1 A day earlier, the party decided on green and gold as party colours, and that the logo should include the Peace Tower.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-globe-and-mail/204654750/ Globe and Mail Party Colors [sic] Green, Gold Leadership vote There were only two candidates, Saskatchewan premier T.C. Douglas, and National CCF leader Hazen Argue. Their nomination speeches were covered live on coast-to-coast television, something that did not happen before with the CCF. Sears Val NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAILS DOUGLAS AS LEADER The Toronto Star Toronto 1, 4 Torstar 1961-08-04 On Thursday evening, 3 August, the newly named party elected Douglas as its leader by a convincing 1391 to 380 victory over Argue. Six months later, Argue quit the party and crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party. Federal council elections On the last day of the convention, Friday, 4 August, the convention voted for 15 members to serve on the 82-seat federal council, the other 67 positions were filled by provincial or affiliate sections.Turnbull elected to council https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7tNUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KzwNAAAAIBAJ&dq=new%20democratic%20party&pg=5180%2C1057646 2011-08-22 The Leader-Post 1961-08-05 Post Staff Regina, Saskatchewan 27 There was some controversy that a slate was proposed, and distributed by union members and CCF establishment types, that did not include Hazen Argue.Prof. Michael Oliver New Party President Toronto Daily Star 1961-08-04 Ottawa Bureau 39 The convention's chairman, University of Toronto professor George Grube, was the leading candidate on the slate, and he did win the most votes. Twelve of the slate's 15 candidates won, but Hazen Argue was not able to break the slate and he was defeated. The delegates elected McGill University professor, and former CCF activist, Michael Oliver as the party's first president. The co-president was Montreal labour activist Gerard Picard. David Lewis, as the former president of the CCF, turned-down both positions, and accepted being a vice-president. Eamon Park, a union executive member with the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), was elected as the party's first treasurer. In recognition for his years of service as the National CCF's leader, M. J. Coldwell was unanimously voted in as the NDP's honorary chairman, a ceremonial post with no real power.Stewart (2000), p. 214 Footnotes 30em References Avakumovic Ivan Socialism in Canada : a study of the CCF-NDP in federal and provincial politics McClelland and Stewart 1978 Toronto https://archive.org/details/socialismincanad00ivan 0-7710-0978-X Azoulay Dan Azoulay Dan 'A Desperate Holding Action': The Survival of the Ontario CCF/NDP, 1948-1964 Canadian Political Parties: Historical Readings 1999 342–363 Toronto Irwin Publishing https://archive.org/details/canadianpolitica0000unse_w1b5 registration 0-7725-2703-2 Boyko John Into the Hurricane: Attacking Socialism and the CCF J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing Inc 2006 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada https://archive.org/details/intohurricaneatt0000boyk 1-897289-09-X registration Horowitz Gad Gad Horowitz Canadian Labour in Politics https://archive.org/details/canadianlabourin0000horo registration University of Toronto Press 1968 Toronto 0-8020-1902-1 Knowles Stanley Stanley Knowles The New Party McClelland & Stewart 1961 Toronto http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM1775797&R=1775797 Lewis David David Lewis (Canadian politician) The Good Fight: Political Memoirs 1909–1958 Macmillan of Canada 1981 Toronto 0-7715-9598-0 MacDonald Donald C. Donald C. MacDonald The Happy Warrior: Political Memoirs 2 Dundurn Press 1998 Toronto, ON, Canada 1-55002-307-1 McLeod Thomas Ian McLeod The Road to Jerusalem 2 Fifth House 2004 Calgary 1-894856-48-1 Morton Desmond Desmond Morton (historian) The New Democrats, 1961-1986 : the politics of change 3 Copp Clark Pitman 1986 Toronto 0-7730-4618-6 Shackleton Doris French Tommy Douglas https://archive.org/details/tommydouglas0000shac registration McClelland & Stewart 1975 Toronto 0-7710-8116-2 Smith Cameron Unfinished Journey: The Lewis Family Summerhill Press 1989 Toronto 0-929091-04-3 https://archive.org/details/unfinishedjourne00smit Stewart Walter Walter Stewart (journalist) M.J.: The Life and Times of M.J. Coldwell Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited 2000 Toronto 0-7737-3232-2 registration https://archive.org/details/mjlifetimesofmjc0000stew Stewart Walter Tommy: the life and politics of Tommy Douglas McArthur & Company 2003 Toronto 1-55278-382-0 Young Walter D. The anatomy of a party: the national CCF 1932–61 University of Toronto Press 1969 Toronto 0-8020-5221-5 https://archive.org/details/anatomyofpartyna0000youn Category:1961 elections in Canada 1961 Category:1961 political party leadership elections Category:July 1961 in Canada Category:August 1961 in Canada Category:Tommy Douglas Category:1960s in Ottawa