Nova Scotia New Democratic Party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| New Democratic Party of Nova Scotia | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Active Provincial Party | |
| Founded | 1961 |
| Leader | Darrell Dexter |
| President | John Arthur Murphy |
| Headquarters | 1660 Hollis Street Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 1V7 |
| Political ideology | Social Democracy / Democratic Socialism |
| International alignment | Socialist International |
| Colours | Orange & Blue |
| Website | http://www.ns.ndp.ca |
The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social democratic party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is aligned with the federal New Democratic Party. Originally founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in 1932, it became the NDP in 1961. It is currently the official opposition and is considered to be the most successful New Democratic Party in the Atlantic. Much of the party's success is based in the Halifax Regional Municipality, the capital city of Nova Scotia.
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[edit] Co-operative Commonwealth Federation 1920-1961
Since shortly after confederation, Nova Scotia has had a two-party system. Power alternated between the Liberals and Conservatives.
Though the CCF/NDP has a long history in Nova Scotia, it was unable to break the two-party system and win more than a handful of seats (if any) in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly until the 1990s. In 1941, the future Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) president Donald MacDonald was elected from the Cape Breton South riding and became the party's leader in the Assembly until 1945 [1]. He lost a close campaign in the 1945 election, but the party still retained two seats on Cape Breton Island [2] . MacDonald then transitioned into working full-time with the Canadian Congress of Labour, a predecessor of the CLC [1] .
A lot of the early organization of the CCF in Nova Scotia was done by Maritime Organizer Fred Young. Young would go on to continue his work in Ontario and eventually sit as a MPP in the Ontario legislature, however, his early work laid the ground work for any future advancements the party would make during this period.[3] This was evident in 1945 when the two CCF members elected from Cape Breton[4] became the unofficial opposition party when Premier Angus L. Macdonald's Liberal Party swept 28 of the 30 seats.
When the CCF became the NDP in 1961, it was unsuccessful in winning seats in the legislature until 1970. The election of party leader Jeremy Akerman returned the party to the legislature. Its representation grew slowly in throughout the 1970s, but never rose above four seats.
[edit] Recent history
[edit] The Akerman Years
After decades in the wilderness the Nova Scotia NDP was revitalized by a competition between its Cape Breton Island and Halifax bases in the late 1960's. With the election of the 26-year-old Jeremy Akerman as party leader in 1968, and his subsequent election to the legislature two years later, the party developed a strong base in Industrial Cape Breton, ultimately winning four seats in the election of 1978. But the party failed to win any seats on the Mainland, and this exacerabated tensions between the Akerman dominated Cape Breton party and the party establishment in Halifax. Following increasingly bloody internal battles Akerman resigned and the NDP lost all four Cape Breton seats in the following election.
[edit] Alexa McDonough
In 1980, Haligonian Alexa McDonough became leader of the Nova Scotia NDP, the first female leader of a major party in Canada. While she was the only NDP member of the legislature elected in 1981, and had at most a caucus of three Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), she raised the party's profile and become a well known advocate for the poor and disadvantaged. McDonough resigned as provincial leader in 1994 and went on to be elected leader of the federal NDP in 1995.
[edit] Chisholm Years: Breakthrough
Under Robert Chisholm's leadership, in 1998 the party vaulted from third place to ahead of the Conservatives and won 19 seats in the House of Assembly, the same number as the Liberals. The Liberals formed a minority government with the support of 14 Progressive Conservatives (Tories), the latter who had also improved their standings. The prospect of an NDP government seemed imminent.
However, the party was unable to improve on its standings in the 1999 election. But with 11 seats in the legislature with 29.9% of the vote, it edged out the Liberals and were able to retain "Official Opposition" status when the Tories formed a majority government under John Hamm. Chisholm's unexpected resignation immediately following the election led to a period of internal party strife, with new leader Helen MacDonald, a former Cape Breton MLA, resigning after barely a year.
[edit] Darrell Dexter
The 2003 election resulted in a Tory minority government while the NDP maintained Official Opposition status under new leader Darrell Dexter. In the election, the NDP won 15 seats and 31% of the vote, coming slightly behind the Liberals in the popular vote but winning three more seats than the Liberals' 12. In the 2006 election, the NDP managed to capitalise on its position as the Official Opposition to squeeze the Liberal vote, and the party increased its number of seats from 15 to 20, an all time high, and won 34.63% of the vote. Unlike in 2003, in 2006 the NDP came in a clear second, far ahead of the Liberals.
The political scene in Nova Scotia is now tightly divided between the PCs and the NDP, with either poised to form the next government should the current minority government collapse.
[edit] Current elected members
| Name | Riding | Year elected |
|---|---|---|
| Darrell Dexter | Cole Harbour | 1998 |
| Frank Corbett | Cape Breton Centre | 1998 |
| Kevin Deveaux | Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage | 1998 |
| Howard Epstein | Halifax Chebucto | 1998 |
| Bill Estabrooks | Timberlea-Prospect | 1998 |
| Gordie Gosse | Cape Breton Nova | 2003 |
| Maureen MacDonald | Halifax Needham | 1998 |
| John MacDonell | Hants East | 1998 |
| Joan Massey | Dartmouth East | 2003 |
| Marilyn More | Dartmouth South-Portland Valley | 2003 |
| Charlie Parker | Pictou West | 1998, 2003 |
| Trevor Zinck | Dartmouth North | 2006 |
| Michele Raymond | Halifax Atlantic | 2003 |
| Graham Steele | Halifax Fairview | 2001 |
| Dave Wilson | Sackville-Cobequid | 2003 |
| Leonard Preyra | Halifax Citadel | 2006 |
| Sterling Belliveau | Shelburne | 2006 |
| Vicki Conrad | Queens | 2006 |
| Percy Paris | Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank | 2006 |
| Clarrie MacKinnon | Pictou East | 2006 |
[edit] Party leaders
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
- Donald MacDonald (1941-1945) [1]
- Russell Cunningham (1945 - 1953)
- Micheal James MacDonald (1953 - 1963)
New Democratic Party
- James H. Aitchison (1963 - November 1968)
- Jeremy Akerman (November 1968 - May 1980)
- James 'Buddy' MacEachern (1980)
- Alexa McDonough (1980 - 1994)
- John Holm (1994 - 1996)
- Robert Chisholm (1996 - 2000)
- Helen MacDonald (2000 - 2001)
- Darrell Dexter (2001 - present)
[edit] Provincial secretaries
- Lloyd Shaw (-1949)
- Dr. Rutherford (1949 - 1950)
- Florence E. Welton (1950 - 1961)
- John McKinnon (1961 - 1963)
- Nancy Doull (1963 - 1965)
- Rae Gilman (1965 - 1969)
- Peggy Prowse (1969 - 1971)
- Gordon Flowers (1971 - 1974)
- Karen Vance (1974 - 1977)
- Bev Ivan (1978)
- Serena Renner (1979 - 1981)
- Mary Morrison (1982)
- Brian MacNaulty (1983)
- Rod Dickinson (1984 - 1986)
- Gayle Cromwell (1986 - 1987)
- Dennis Theman (1987 - 1990)
- Sandra Houston (1990 - 1992)
- Ross Fisher (1992 - 1996)
- Ron Cavalucci (1996 - 1997)
- Bruce Cox (1997 - 1999)
- Joe Fraser (1999 - 2001)
- Matthew Hebb (2001 - June 2005)
- Karen Haslam (October 2005 - March 2006)
- Ed Wark (October 2006 - Present)
[edit] Election results 1933–2006
| Election | # of candidates nominated | # of seats won | # of total votes | % of popular vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | 3 | 0 | 2,336 | 0.7% |
| 1937 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| 1941 | 6 | 3 | 18,583 | 7.0% |
| 1945 | 20 | 2 | 39,637 | 13.6% |
| 1949 | 21 | 2 | 32,869 | 9.6% |
| 1953 | 16 | 2 | 23,700 | 6.8% |
| 1956 | 11 | 1 | 9,932 | 3.0% |
| 1960 | 34 | 1 | 31,036 | 8.9% |
| 1963 | 20 | 0 | 14,076 | 4.1% |
| 1967 | 24 | 0 | 17,873 | 5.2% |
| 1970 | 23 | 2 | 25,259 | 6.6% |
| 1974 | 46 | 3 | 55,902 | 13.0% |
| 1978 | 52 | 4 | 63,979 | 14.4% |
| 1981 | 52 | 1 | 76,289 | 18.1% |
| 1984 | 52 | 3 | 65,876 | 15.9% |
| 1988 | 52 | 2 | 74,038 | 15.7% |
| 1993 | 52 | 3 | 86,743 | 17.7% |
| 1998 | 52 | 19 | 155,361 | 34.4% |
| 1999 | 52 | 11 | 129,474 | 29.7% |
| 2003 | 52 | 15 | 126,479 | 30.9% |
| 2006 | 52 | 20 | 142,673 | 35%% |
- Election results between 1933 and 1963 represent the party during its time as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. Since 1963, the party has been called the New Democratic Party.
Sources:
- To 1984: Politics of Nova Scotia: Vol. Two 1896-1988 by J. Murray Beck. Four Post Publications: Tantallon, Nova Scotia, 1988.
- After 1984: Elections Nova Scotia
[edit] Youth wing
The youth wing of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is the Nova Scotia Young New Democrats(NSYND). Founded in the early 1960s, it was not incorporated with a full constitution - aligned with that of the party proper - until 1969.
The Youth Wing was partially responsible for the election of Jeremy Akerman, as leader, at the 1968 Leadership Convention.
In 1994 the NSYND was renamed "The Nova Scotia NDP Youth Wing". At this time the youth wing was quite moderate, encouraging the main party to focus on government and embrace mainstream values such as fiscal responsibility, "one member one vote" and banning corporate and union donations. They also successfully lobbied the party to include more youth members in the party structure. Members and alumni of the youth wing were instrumental in forming NDProgress in 2000.
In a controversial move in 2001 the youth wing was renamed the “New Party Youth Movement” (NPYM). The name change was made to advocate a renewal of the NDP similar the one in 1961 when the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) became the NDP. The “New Party” name was taken from the “New Party” groups formed before the creation of the NDP. The NPYM made a positive impact at the 2001 NSNDP convention pushing the party to adopt a “one member one vote” style of electing its leader, successfully distributed home-made buttons to satire an organized attempt to shame members of the NDP caucus who did not support former leader Helen MacDonald and gaining over 2/3 support from convention delegates for their name change.
The youth wing was reconstituted in 2004 under its current name, the Nova Scotia Young New Democrats (NSYND) and has remained ideologically in step with that of the party proper.
[edit] References & Notes
- ^ a b c Donald MacDonald (HTML). Government of Canada. Retrieved on February 11, 2007.
- ^ Elections Returns, 1945 (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved on February 11, 2007.
- ^ MacDonald, Donald C., "The Happy Warrior: Political Memoirs," Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1988: 38-48.
- ^ Elections Returns, 1945: Both Cape Breton ridings were won with massive majorities: Russell Cunningham with a 2613 majority and 58.9% of the vote, in Cape Breton East; and Michael McDonald with a 1134 majority in Cape Breton Centre with 55.7% of the vote.
[edit] See also
- List of articles about Nova Scotia CCF/NDP members
- List of Nova Scotia political parties
- Nova Scotia Young New Democrats
[edit] External links
| New Democratic Party regional wings | |||||||||
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