Workers' Communist Party (Canada) Explained
| Workers' Communist Party |
| Native Name: | Parti communiste ouvrier |
| Native Name Lang: | fr |
| Abbreviation: | WCP (English)
PCO (French) |
| Colorcode: | Red |
| Position: | Far-left |
| Country: | Canada |
The Workers' Communist Party (French: Parti communiste ouvrier) was a Canadian Marxist–Leninist political party, founded in 1975 under the name Communist (Marxist–Leninist) League of Canada (Ligue communiste (marxiste-léniniste) du Canada). The party followed a Maoist political program and was part of the broader New Left movement. For several years it published a weekly newspaper, The Forge (La Forge). The party was strongest in Quebec, but alienated many of Quebec's young progressives because it declined to support independence for Quebec, although it did support Quebec's right to self-determination.
The most prominent former member of the Workers' Communist Party is Gilles Duceppe, former leader of the Bloc Québécois and former Leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons of Canada. Duceppe called his membership "a mistake" based on a search for "absolute answers" during his youth.[1] Judy Darcy was active in the party before joining the New Democratic Party. She later became a trade union leader and a cabinet minister in British Columbia.
The Workers' Communist Party nominated 30 candidates in the 1980 Canadian federal election and 33 in the 1981 Quebec general election; the party achieved its best result in the latter, receiving 4,956 votes, or 0.14% of the provincial total.
References
Sources
- Book: Bachand, Charles-Antoine . Le discours de la ligue communiste (marxiste-léniniste) du Canada (1975-1983) . 2004 . [unpublished] . 21 . July 13, 2020 . .
- Lucille . Beaudry . Les groupes d'extrême gauche au Québec et la question des femmes: De l'opposition à la conciliation . Bulletin d'histoire politique . 13: Histoire du mouvement marxiste-léniniste au Québec 1973-1983. Un premier bilan. . 1 . 2004 . 57–64. 10.7202/1055010ar . free . .
- Bernard . Dansereau . Une expérience de l'extrême gauche : le Parti communiste ouvrier . Bulletin d'histoire politique . 13: Histoire du mouvement marxiste-léniniste au Québec 1973-1983. Un premier bilan. . 1 . 2004 . 25–35. 10.7202/1055007ar . free .
- Sébastien . Degagné . Le déclin du mouvement marxiste-léniniste au Québec . Bulletin d'histoire politique . 13: Histoire du mouvement marxiste-léniniste au Québec 1973-1983. Un premier bilan . 1 . 2004 . 119–128. 10.7202/1055014ar . free .
- Pierre Dubuc . Pierre . Dubuc . Le mouvement marxiste-léniniste et la question nationale québécoise . Bulletin d'histoire politique . 13: Histoire du mouvement marxiste-léniniste au Québec 1973-1983. Un premier bilan . 1 . 2004 . 129–138. 10.7202/1055015ar . free .
- Book: Dubuc, Pierre . Pierre Dubuc
. Pierre Dubuc . L'autre histoire de l'indépendance, de Pierre Vallières à Charles Gagnon, de Claude Morin à Paul Desmarais . Trois-Pistoles . Éditions Trois-Pistoles . 2003 . 289.
- Book: Gagnon, Charles . En lutte ! . II (1972-1982): Écrits politiques . LUX Éditeur . 2008 . Montréal . 259974150 . July 2, 2012 . September 11, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150911071145/http://www.luxediteur.com/enlutte . dead .
- Book: Ligue communiste (marxiste-léniniste) du Canada . La question nationale québécoise : Le point de vue de la classe ouvrière . Les éditions Drapeau rouge . 1979 . 32. \
- David . Milot . Présentation . Bulletin d'histoire politique . 13: Histoire du mouvement marxiste-léniniste au Québec 1973-1983. Un premier bilan . 1 . 2004 . 11–16. 10.7202/1055005ar . free .
- François . Moreau . Bilan de l'extrême-gauche au Québec . Revue de la Quatrième Internationale . 21 . September 1986 . April 10, 2012 .
Marcel Simard (producer). Il était une fois... le Québec rouge. 2003. 53 minutes, Les Productions virage. [view online [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8oei2_il-etait-une-fois-le-quebec-rouge-p_news 1], 2, 3Notes and References
- Web site: Gilles Duceppe: Leader, Bloc Québécois. August 30, 2007. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. https://web.archive.org/web/20070807075036/http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/leadersparties/leaders/bio_duceppe.html. August 7, 2007.
