The Alberta New Democratic Party ( Alberta NDP ; French : Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Alberta ), is social democratic political party in Alberta , Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is a provincial Alberta affiliate of the federal New Democratic Party .
93-730: The successor to the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the even earlier Alberta wing of the Canadian Labour Party and the United Farmers of Alberta . From the mid-1980s to 2004, the party abbreviated its name as the "New Democrats" (ND). The party served as Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1982 to 1993. It was shut out of the legislature following
186-460: A leadership election could be held to choose his successor. The leadership convention was held in Edmonton from October 18 to October 19, 2014. Rachel Notley was elected as the party's next leader, defeating fellow MLA David Eggen and union leader Rod Loyola in the first ballot with 70% of the vote. The incumbent PC premier Jim Prentice called an election on April 7, 2015, following the reveal of
279-512: A $ 17 dividend the next year. The policy was widely criticized, and the next year, Manning agreed to use oil royalties on public works and social programs instead. In 1935, Manning had famously entered the Alberta Cabinet as Provincial Secretary at only 26 years old. He was the youngest cabinet minister in all of British parliamentary history since William Pitt the Younger , who had served as
372-577: A commercial oil sands project in Canada in 1962, the first-ever constructed. At the opening ceremonies for the Great Canadian Oil Sands plant, Pew repeated Manning's belief of the need for the oil sands. Telling his audience, "No nation can long be secure in this atomic age unless it be amply supplied with petroleum.... It is the considered opinion of our group that if the North American continent
465-406: A goodly number of men in that field who are sympathetic to the socialistic and even communistic philosophy. You even have the same thing, to varying degrees, in the field of education. It isn't by chance that you find these agitations of Marxism and so forth in many of our universities. It isn't by chance." The Manning administration, now re-elected with a resounding majority of seats as a result of
558-533: A large listening audience. In 1935, Manning went into the realm of provincial politics as Aberhart's right-hand man. Together, they created the Social Credit Party with the aim of bringing financial relief to Albertans, who were suffering because of the Great Depression . "Manning followed Aberhart into politics, becoming a key Social Credit organizer, and platform speaker before the 1935 election." In
651-579: A new budget to strengthen his party's mandate. On election night, the NDP won 54 seats, re-electing all four of their incumbents as well as 50 new members to the legislative assembly. The NDP had high expectations for Edmonton , given Notley's local ties and the city's historically favourable stance towards centre-left parties. Surpassing all projections, the party won every seat in the capital and also swept Red Deer and Lethbridge . They also secured 15 seats in Calgary ,
744-551: A new political party that could make social democracy more popular with Canadian voters. This party, initially known as the New Party , became the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961. The CCF estimated its membership as being slightly more than 20,000 in 1938, less than 30,000 in 1942, and over 90,000 in 1944. Membership figures declined following World War II to only 20,238 in 1950 and would never again reach 30,000 By
837-462: A record high popular vote for the party with 44%, dominating Edmonton and gaining a significant portion of the vote in Calgary. However, their success was largely limited to urban areas as they only won one rural seat Banff-Kananaskis . With 38 MLAs, the party elected the largest official opposition in Alberta history. On January 16, 2024, Notley announced she would be resigning as party leader effective
930-561: A schism between the NDP governments of Alberta and British Columbia over the twinning of the Transmountain Pipeline, which remained a contentious project in the Canadian political arena and particularly within the federal New Democratic Party. While the Alberta economy recovered from the depths of the energy recession by 2019, the oil industry remained relatively stagnant and economic growth had been nowhere near what Alberta had enjoyed in
1023-534: A united alternative to the Conservatives," suggested that the parties not compete against each other in certain ridings. Although McGowan was unable to speak on the issue before the resolution was defeated, he later addressed it during his report to the Convention as AFL President. He urged members to acknowledge the need for significant change in light of 40 years of Tory government and the recent election results. In
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#17328510775241116-612: A variety of options for political cooperation with the Alberta Liberals and/or Greens." and "to prepare a motion to be considered" at the next Party Convention. The proposal was opposed by NDP leader Brian Mason. Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan independently distributed a proposal for a cooperation pact with the Alberta Liberal Party and Alberta Greens to defeat Progressive Conservative candidates. The proposal, titled "The Way Forward: An AFL proposal for
1209-637: Is to produce the oil to meet its requirements in the years ahead, oil from the Athabasca area must of necessity play an important role." Around the time of the upcoming centennial celebration of Canadian Confederation , petitions were submitted in November 1966 to Manning by the Social Credit Women's Auxiliaries of the Alberta Social Credit League to give Alberta its own unique flag. The flag
1302-416: The 1935 provincial election , he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta as a Social Credit MLA from Calgary . The Socreds won an unexpected landslide victory in that election by winning 56 of the 62 seats in the Legislative Assembly . The United Farmers of Alberta , which had governed the province for fourteen years, lost every one of its seats and would never return to the legislature. Manning
1395-467: The 1944 Saskatchewan election on a platform calling for social programs, the Alberta CCF was more radical and campaigned on provincial ownership of the province's resources and utilities. Irvine also advocated an alliance with the communist Labor-Progressive Party which would have been beneficial in the cities where the single transferable vote electoral system was used. Through the 1940s and 1950s,
1488-572: The 1944 election , the CCF received 24% of the vote but won only 2 seats, both of them in Edmonton and Calgary where the use of single transferable vote ensured fair representation. (The disproportionality was due to the way boundaries of the constituencies outside the cities were drawn and the use of Instant-runoff voting outside the cities, which did not help a lesser party like the CCF.) The Social Credit government received more than half of ballots cast. Roper
1581-410: The 1993 election , returning in the 1997 election with two seats. The party won no more than four seats in subsequent elections until the 2015 election , in which it won 54 of the 87 seats in the legislature and formed a majority government . Until 2015, Alberta had been the only province in western Canada—the party's birthplace—where the NDP had never governed at the provincial level. The Alberta NDP
1674-593: The 2012 provincial election the NDP picked up two seats in Edmonton, regaining their previous 4 seat total. Both Rachel Notley and Brian Mason safely held onto their seats while David Eggen was re-elected as the member for Edmonton-Calder . Newcomer Deron Bilous was also elected in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview , the seat formerly held by Martin. In many other ridings the party also won more votes than it had attained previously. On April 29, 2014, Brian Mason announced that he would step down as leader as soon as
1767-626: The Canadian Congress of Labour , took issue with the Social Credit Party's workers' protections, divisions within the unions and their leadership prevented any effective endorsement of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. During the campaign, Manning likened the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation to "the socialism of Germany ." Saying in one "letter to a CCFer, who... had naively written to suggest CCF-Social Credit electoral co-operation: 'it's an insult to suggest to
1860-644: The Cold War , the CCF was accused of having Communist leanings. The party moved to address these accusations in 1956 by replacing the Regina Manifesto with a more moderate document, the Winnipeg Declaration . Nevertheless, the party did poorly in the 1958 federal election , winning only eight seats. After much discussion, the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress decided to join forces to create
1953-698: The Reform Party of Canada , and was leader of the Official Opposition in parliament from 1997 to 2000. Manning was appointed as the first member of Alberta Order of Excellence on September 23, 1981. Manning was also invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada by Governor-General Michener in 1970. A high school and a business park road in Calgary, a freeway road in Edmonton and town in Northern Alberta are named after Ernest Manning. A person with
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#17328510775242046-509: The Regina Manifesto as the party's program. The manifesto outlined a number of goals, including public ownership of key industries, universal public pensions , universal health care , children's allowances, unemployment insurance , and workers' compensation . Its conclusion read, "No CCF Government will rest content until it has eradicated capitalism and put into operation the full programme of socialized planning which will lead to
2139-609: The Saskatchewan CCF formed the first democratic socialist government in North America , with Tommy Douglas as premier . Douglas introduced universal Medicare to Saskatchewan , a policy that was soon adopted by other provinces and implemented nationally by the Liberal Party of Canada during the administration of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson . Tommy Douglas's CCF governed Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961. Federally, during
2232-410: The next leadership election , scheduled for June 22, 2024. Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi emerged victorious, winning with 86% of the vote, the largest for any winner of a provincial leadership election of any major political party in Canada. Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation ( CCF ; French : Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif , FCC )
2325-480: The 1926 introduction of STV in Edmonton to 1952. The pattern in Calgary is similar. Although not successful in getting a seat in that city every election under STV, it was not until 1986 that a CCF or NDP MLA was elected in Calgary, following STV's cessation in 1956.) The election of the Progressive Conservatives in 1971 led to the gradual collapse of Social Credit. The Alberta Liberal Party suffered in
2418-471: The 1935 and 1940 provincial elections. In 1942, the Alberta CCF clubs formally merged with the Labour Party and Elmer Roper became the new leader after achieving an unexpected victory in a 1942 by-election , becoming the party's first Alberta MLA (excepting Chester Ronning, who had been elected in 1932 as a joint UFA/CCF candidate). In the next two years party membership soared from 2,500 to over 12,000. In
2511-436: The 1944 election, devoted itself to an antisocialist crusade. In 1946, Manning's government extended censorship to included 16mm films in the hopes of "eliminating communist thought from Alberta-shown movies." In January 1948, a coal miners ' strike broke out, with thousands of miners threatening the provincial electrical grid since most electricity was generated from coal . That strike alone accounted for 30% of all of
2604-507: The 1971 election to 19% in the 1982 election. Despite winning only two seats, the party became the Official Opposition in 1982. In the 1986 election , under Ray Martin 's leadership, the party won 30% of the vote and 16 seats, marking a high point for New Democrat support. Party membership increased from around 5,000 in the 1970s to 20,000 after the 1986 provincial election . However, the New Democrats were unable to gain additional seats in
2697-512: The 1989 election. While they remained the Official Opposition in the legislature, their popular support fell behind the Liberals for the first time in decades, with the Liberals at 28% and the NDs at 26%. In the 1993 election , their popular vote fell by more than half to 11%, and they were shut out of the legislature altogether. This was mainly due to the anti-PC vote consolidating around the Liberals. Both
2790-501: The Abasand plant again burned down; this time, it was not rebuilt. The huge discoveries of conventional oil at Leduc and Redwater cast even more doubt upon the development of the oil sands because of the difficulty in accessing and processing the bitumen and the numerous technical problems. Manning, however, was not dissuaded since he was convinced that the oil sands would grant the province incredible wealth. He even went so far as to convince
2883-657: The Alberta CCF's first leader in the 1940 provincial election but despite winning 11% of the vote the party did not win any seats in the Alberta Legislature - the CCF had not garnered the support of the UFA's conservative supporters or put a dent in support for the agrarian populism of the Social Credit Party of Alberta . The Alberta wing of the Labour Party federated with the CCF in 1935, but ran its own candidates in
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2976-550: The CCF in its next provincial convention, in January 1933. In its first federal election, seven CCF MPs were elected to the House of Commons in 1935 . Eight were elected in the following election in 1940 , including their first member east of Manitoba, Clarence Gillis , in Cape Breton, a coal-mining area of Nova Scotia (specifically the federal riding of Cape Breton South ). The party
3069-484: The CCF was defined as a "community freed from the domination of irresponsible financial and economic power in which all social means of production and distribution, including land, are socially owned and controlled either by voluntarily organized groups of producers and consumers or – in the case of major public services and utilities and such productive and distributive enterprises as can be conducted most efficiently when owned in common – by public corporations responsible to
3162-457: The CCF's popularity, and, with the exception of a 1966 by-election victory by Garth Turcott , did not win any seats until the 1971 election when Grant Notley , who had taken over the party in 1968, was elected to the legislature. With the cancellation of single transferable voting in Edmonton in 1956, the NDP did not win a seat in Edmonton until 1982. (This is in strong contrast to the steady winning of one seat in Edmonton in each election, from
3255-461: The CCF's vote percentage declined, eventually falling under 10 percent. At any one time, the party never won more than two seats. The party was kept to two MLAs throughout the 1950s. Roper lost his seat in the 1955 election . In the same election, Stanley Ruzycki and Nick Dushenski were elected. Roper was succeeded as party leader by Floyd Albin Johnson . The 1959 general election was a disaster for
3348-585: The CCF, losing both its existing seats. Party leader Johnson, running in the Dunvegan electoral district, failed to win his seat, leaving the party shut out of the legislature. The CCF merged with the Canadian Labour Congress in 1961, becoming the New Democratic Party of Canada . In Alberta, the NDP was founded in 1962 with a new leader, Neil Reimer , Canadian director of the Oil Workers International Union . The NDP did not, at first, build much on
3441-529: The Canadian people who are sacrificing their sons to remove the curse which the socialism of Germany has brought in the world that their own social and economical security can be attained only by introducing some form of socialism in Canada. the premise embodied in your proposed resolution, namely, that there is such a thing as democratic socialism , contradicts itself in that it attempts to associate two concepts of life which are diametrically opposed and opposite.'" He also said that socialists were trying to "enslave
3534-751: The Independent Labour Party (of Manitoba), the Canadian Labour Party (mostly in Edmonton), the Dominion Labour Party of southern Alberta, the UFA, and the United Farmers of Ontario (which withdrew from the CCF in 1934). Also involved in founding the new party were members of the League for Social Reconstruction (LSR), such as F. R. Scott and Frank Underhill . It can be said that the CCF
3627-403: The Liberals and Tories were preaching the need for fiscal conservatism at the time. Ray Martin resigned as leader and was succeeded first by Ross Harvey and then by Pam Barrett . The party regained its presence in the legislature by winning two seats in the 1997 election . Barrett resigned her position as party leader in 2000 after claiming a near-death experience in a dentist 's chair. She
3720-626: The President's position and re-elected M. J. Coldwell as the National Chairman. Coldwell was then appointed acting House Leader on 6 November. Woodsworth died on 21 March 1942, and Coldwell officially became the new leader at the July convention in Toronto and threw the party behind the war effort. As a memorial to Woodsworth, Coldwell suggested that the CCF create a research foundation, and Woodsworth House
3813-808: The Social Credit federal caucus came from Quebec. In 1963, virtually all of the Socred MPs from Quebec followed Caouette into the Ralliement des créditistes and left behind a Social Credit rump in English Canada . "In 1967, Manning's book Political Realignment: A Challenge to Thoughtful Canadians was published. This book is an outline of his views regarding the reorganization of the Canadian federal party system." After retirement from provincial politics in 1968, Manning established his own consulting firm , Manning Consultants Limited, with his son Preston. In 1970, Ernest
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3906-529: The UFA were defeated due to the unpopularity of the UFA government and the rising popularity of William Aberhart's Social Credit movement.. In 1936, William Irvine , a CCF founder and defeated UFA Member of Parliament , was elected the Alberta CCF's first president. In 1937, the UFA decided to leave electoral politics entirely and, in 1938, the CCF committed itself to run candidates in the next provincial and elections setting up local riding clubs for that purpose. In 1939, former UFA/CCF MLA Chester Ronning became
3999-469: The day-to-day organizing of the party. The national secretary was the only full-time employee at the party's national headquarters until 1943, when a research director, Eugene Forsey , and an assistant to the leader were hired. The CCF song would be later popularized by the movie Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story . First verse: Ernest Manning Ernest Charles Manning PC CC AOE (September 20, 1908 – February 19, 1996)
4092-449: The economy through infrastructure spending and maintaining public services. Most new programs, such as school lunches, were introduced cautiously through pilot programs. Despite ostensibly being a party of labour, the NDP froze wages and generally took the side of management in labour disputes, and a higher minimum wage was phased in relatively slowly. Labour code changes were generally incremental, though an update to labour standards on farms
4185-426: The economy, and political reform. The object of the political party as reported at its founding meeting in Calgary in 1932 was "the federation [joining together] of organizations whose purpose is the establishment in Canada of a co-operative commonwealth, in which the basic principle of regulating production, distribution and exchange will be the supplying of human needs instead of the making of profit." The goal of
4278-525: The entire Alberta Legislature to visit the Bitumount plant in 1949 since he believed that they would agree to continue development after it had witnessed the success in separating the oil sands. Manning also commissioned a petroleum engineer by the name of Sidney Robert Blair to prepare a report on the economic feasibility of the separation process. With Pew's support, Sun Oil's majority-owned subsidiary, Great Canadian Oil Sands (GCOS), filed an application for
4371-610: The establishment in Canada of the Co-operative Commonwealth." The party affiliated itself with the Socialist International . In line with Alberta's important role in founding the CCF, it is said that the first CCF candidate elected was Chester Ronning in the Alberta provincial constituency of Camrose, in October 1932. The UFA, under whose banner he contested the election, formalized its already-strong connection to
4464-462: The executive council. Under Manning, Alberta became a virtual one-party province. He led Social Credit to an incredible seven consecutive election victories between 1944 and 1967 , usually with more than 50% of the popular vote, and only once had to face more than 10 opposition MLAs. The height of his popularity came in 1963 , when the Socreds campaigned under the slogan "63 in '63," a clean sweep of
4557-490: The federal government under the British North America Act . Manning, however, honoured Aberhart's 1935 promise to issue a Prosperity Certificate to Albertans twice. In 1957, his government announced a $ 20 Alberta Oil Royalty Dividend and issued a $ 17 dividend the next year. The policy was widely criticized, and the next year, Manning agreed to use oil royalties on public works and social programs instead. In 1945
4650-430: The governing United Farmers of Alberta party and the Labour Party. While some UFA Members of Parliament supported the CCF and ran unsuccessfully as CCF candidates in the 1935 federal election, most UFA leaders and members were ambivalent. The CCF did not run candidates in the 1935 provincial election due to its ties with the UFA and Labour Party. The UFA lost all its seats in the election, and CCF candidates associated with
4743-476: The government right through from its beginning to its very end in 1971 (Tomyn served a break from 1952 to 1959). Under Manning, the party largely abandoned social credit theories . He had been a devoutly loyal supporter of Aberhart from the very beginning and so it is not clear why he was so willing to abandon his party's traditional ideology. One likely explanation may have been pragmatic; many of Social Credit's policy goals infringed on responsibilities reserved to
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#17328510775244836-599: The institute, Manning lived in the Aberhart home. After graduation, the Aberhart devotee became a teacher at the institute and played a role in the management of the organization's business affairs." In 1930, he began preaching on Aberhart's weekly "Back to the Bible Hour" radio program, a practice that he continued throughout his life, even after he had entered politics. The broadcasts were eventually aired on over 90 radio stations across Canada from Halifax to Vancouver and had
4929-561: The late 1940s, the CCF had official or unofficial weekly newspapers in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan; twice-monthly papers in Ontario and Manitoba; and a bimonthly in the Maritimes. A French-language paper in Quebec was also attempted at various times. The party also produced many educational books, pamphlets, and magazines, though these efforts declined in the 1950s. The national chairman
5022-484: The late 1970s and early 1980s due to its association with the unpopular federal Liberal Party government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau . The decline of Social Credit and the unpopularity of the Liberals allowed the New Democrats to become the main opposition to the Lougheed-led Conservatives. Under Grant Notley ’s leadership from 1968 to 1984, the NDP's popularity gradually increased. It grew from 10% in
5115-493: The load." His views on health care and social issues were heavily shaped by his elder son, Keith, who suffered from cerebral palsy . "He and his wife Muriel lovingly raised. Keith had suffered oxygen deprivation at birth." Manning improved health services in his province but opposed universal public health insurance. Alberta only signed on to the national medicare system after Manning's retirement as premier. Mannings's faith also heavily influenced his approach to politics. He
5208-655: The long-standing stronghold of the Tories, and gained 16 more seats across the rest of Alberta, mostly in the northern and central regions. The Notley Government was characterized by a small cabinet and an intense focus on the economy. At the time of the early election call Alberta was sinking into a deep recession caused by the collapse of world oil prices. As a result of the province's dependence on oil royalties over more traditional revenue sources, Alberta's deficit soared. After reversing prior budget cuts, Notley mostly shied away from major wealth redistribution and preferred to stimulate
5301-444: The ordinary people of the world, whose only real salvation lay in the issuance of Social Credit." Manning argued the media and education system was sympathetic to the communist cause. He stated that it is "evident, in my view, in the news media, which are very heavily slanted, as a general rule favorably slanted, to socialist philosophy. This isn't by chance, it's because communism has been smart enough to see... that there are always
5394-429: The party was Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Farmer-Labour-Socialist) . In 1961, the CCF was succeeded by the New Democratic Party (NDP). The CCF aimed to alleviate the suffering that workers and farmers, the ill and the old endured under capitalism, seen most starkly during the Great Depression , through the creation of a Co-operative Commonwealth, which would entail economic co-operation, public ownership of
5487-526: The party's strongest branch east of Manitoba . Robert N. Thompson of Alberta won the election, but Manning's objections to Caouette led to suspicions that the vote was fixed. Indeed, Caouette later claimed that he had enough support to win, but all of the Quebec delegates voted for Thompson after Manning told him, "Tell your people to vote for Thompson because the West will never accept a Roman Catholic French Canadian leader." By then, however, all but four members of
5580-506: The people's elected representatives". Many of the party's first Members of Parliament (MPs) were members of the Ginger Group , composed of United Farmers of Alberta, left-wing Progressive , and Labour MPs. These MPs included United Farmers of Alberta MPs William Irvine and Ted Garland , Agnes Macphail (UFO), Humphrey Mitchell , Abraham Albert Heaps , Angus MacInnis , and Labour Party MP J. S. Woodsworth . Founding groups included
5673-454: The premiership at Aberhart's sudden death in May 1943 was a foregone conclusion. He had been Aberhart's religious protege and his closest associate in cabinet. He was regarded by Aberhart, who had two daughters, almost as a son." Manning twice honoured Aberhart's 1935 promise to issue a Prosperity Certificate to Albertans. In 1957, his government announced a $ 20 Alberta Oil Royalty Dividend and issued
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#17328510775245766-612: The previous decade. The NDP was dealt a severe blow when the PCs and Wildrose merged to form the United Conservative Party , which immediately ascended to a large lead in opinion polling. In the 2019 election , the NDP suffered a significant defeat to the UCP. Despite receiving more votes compared to the previous election, the NDP lost a majority of their seats, ending with only 24 seats. The party performed well in Edmonton but struggled in
5859-399: The prime minister of Great Britain 152 years earlier. When he became premier at the age of 35, he was the youngest first minister since Pitt. Besides serving as premier, he also held numerous other positions including Provincial Treasurer from 1944 to 1954, Minister of Mines and Minerals from 1952 to 1962, minister of trade and industry, attorney general from 1955 to 1968, and president of
5952-403: The province. Manning himself always held the view that "both God and the people had some say in how long he would be premier — and he was not about to argue with either." However, an ominous sign came during Manning's last victory, when the once-moribund Progressive Conservatives, led by Peter Lougheed won six seats, mostly in Calgary and Edmonton. More seriously, the PCs did well enough across
6045-414: The rest of the province to hold Social Credit to 45 percent of the vote, its lowest vote share since 1940. Manning retired in 1968, and Social Credit was knocked out of office three years later. It has never come within sight of power again. By the time Manning left the legislature, only he, Alfred Hooke , and William Tomyn were left from the original 1935 caucus. Of that trio, Hooke was the only MLA to see
6138-508: The rest of the province, winning only a few seats in Calgary, the Edmonton suburbs, and Lethbridge. This was the first time in Alberta's history that an incumbent government has been defeated after one term. Rachel Notley remained popular within the NDP and continued as the Leader of the Opposition, leading the largest opposition caucus in Alberta since 1993. In the 2023 election , the NDP received
6231-427: The then 63-seat legislature. They fell short of that goal, but still reduced the opposition to only three MLAs, two Liberals and one running with the support of both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives , in total. It is still the biggest majority government, in terms of percentage of seats won, in Alberta's history. Social Credit's electoral success was based in part on what was viewed as its good government of
6324-495: The time that was lost to strikes in Canada in 1948. In Alberta, the time lost was even worse since it was responsible for well over 99% of all of the time lost by strikes for the entire year. Manning acted swiftly to avert the crisis by rewriting the province's labour laws in March to allow the government to shut down the strike. Labour was greatly weakened by the charges of communism, and Manning's stalwart defiance of union threats caused
6417-414: The unions to attempt to persuade legislators, instead of protesting using strikes or violence, and halted the rise of militant unionism in Alberta. Manning also used his strong provincial standing to influence the federal Socreds . He told the 1961 federal leadership convention that Alberta would never accept francophone Catholic Réal Caouette of Quebec as the party's leader even though Caouette led
6510-474: The vote province-wide. In the 2008 election , the party was reduced to two seats. Brian Mason was re-elected as was newcomer Rachel Notley . Ray Martin and David Eggen were narrowly defeated. The party received 8.5% of the popular vote. At its 2008 provincial convention, the party overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by the Environment Caucus recommending a party task force be mandated to "investigate
6603-486: Was a Canadian politician and the eighth premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta . He served longer than any other premier in the province's history and was the second longest-serving provincial premier in Canadian history (after George Henry Murray of Nova Scotia ). Manning's 25 consecutive years as premier were defined by strong social conservatism and fiscal conservatism . He
6696-573: Was a federal democratic socialist and social-democratic political party in Canada . The CCF was founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta , by a number of socialist , agrarian , co-operative , and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction . In 1944, the CCF formed one of the first social-democratic governments in North America when it was elected to form the provincial government in Saskatchewan . The full, but little used, name of
6789-509: Was a significant influence on the CCF. At its founding convention in 1932 in Calgary, the party settled on the name "Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Farmer-Labour-Socialist)" and selected J. S. Woodsworth as party leader. Woodsworth had been an Independent Labour Party MP since 1921 and a member of the Ginger Group of MPs. The party's 1933 convention, held in Regina, Saskatchewan , adopted
6882-454: Was also a title the leader held, as both Woodsworth and Coldwell held the title when they held seats in the House of Commons. In 1958, after Coldwell lost his seat, the position of national chairman was merged formally into the president's title and was held by David Lewis. The national secretary was a staff position (initially part-time, and then full-time beginning 1938) which was responsible for
6975-570: Was also the only member of the Social Credit Party of Canada to sit in the Senate and, with the party shut out of the House of Commons in 1980, was its last representative in Parliament when he retired from the Senate in 1983. Manning's son, Preston Manning , was the founder and leader of the Reform Party of Canada who served as the federal leader of the Official Opposition from 1997 to 2000. Manning
7068-552: Was always prudent and careful in practicing politics by "always practicing Christian-based reconciliation and conflict resolution." For the 1944 election , Manning campaigned on the labour protections that the party had implemented and used support from the Alberta Federation of Labour to fend off left-wing challenges from the socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the communist Labour-Progressive Party . Though other unions, particularly those affiliated with
7161-601: Was among the first students of William Aberhart 's Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute (CPBI), which opened in 1927, and became its first graduate in April 1930, having heard of it over a radio broadcast. There he met his future wife, Muriel Preston, who was the institute's pianist and later served as the National Bible Hour's musical coordinator. As a student, Manning soon caught the attention of Aberhart and quickly became his assistant at CPBI. "During his second and third years at
7254-421: Was an outspoken critic of government involvement in society. Denouncing socialism and communism before, while, and after serving premier, Manning remained a staunch anticommunist all his life. Instead, he encouraged strong religious, individual, and corporate initiatives in addressing and solving social issues. Manning believed that the "government was there to motivate and give direction, not to intervene and carry
7347-546: Was appointed to the Senate, the only Socred ever to serve in that body. The same year, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada . He retired from the Senate in 1983 since he had reached the mandatory retirement age of 75. He died in Calgary in 1996. In 1936, Manning married Muriel Aileen Preston, the pianist at the Prophetic Bible Institute. They had two sons. Their first son, William Keith, commonly called Keith,
7440-536: Was born in Carnduff, Saskatchewan , in 1908 to George Henry Manning (1872–1956) and Elizabeth Mara Dixon (1870–1949). George had immigrated from England in 1900 and was followed by his fiancé in 1903. Their Carnduff homestead being inadequate, they moved to a new one in Rosetown, Saskatchewan , in 1909. In his childhood, Ernest was not especially religious and only occasionally attended a Methodist church in town. Manning
7533-488: Was born on May 2, 1939. Keith suffered from cerebral palsy . For stretches of time, he lived at a hospital in upstate New York , the Red Deer School Hospital , and a nursing home in Edmonton . He married fellow nursing home resident Marilyn Brownell, and died from cardiac arrest on June 29, 1986. Their second son, Ernest Preston , commonly called Preston, was born on June 10, 1942. Preston went on to found
7626-451: Was defeated after a single term in the 2019 election by the United Conservative Party —the first time that a governing party in Alberta had been unseated after a single term. 53°32′56″N 113°31′05″W / 53.5488°N 113.5181°W / 53.5488; -113.5181 The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was founded in Calgary on 1 August 1932. However, it faced challenges in Alberta due to lack of support from
7719-400: Was designed and approved as the official provincial flag by the Alberta legislature on June 1, 1968. Manning's deep Christian faith gave him a sense of charity to the poor and needy, but unlike the longtime premier of neighbouring Saskatchewan, Tommy Douglas , Manning did not espouse a socialistic doctrine or use socialist rhetoric regarding the solving of societal issues. On the contrary, he
7812-445: Was divided with the outbreak of World War II : Woodsworth was a pacifist , while many party members supported the Canadian war effort. Woodsworth had a physically debilitating stroke in May 1940 and could no longer perform his duties as leader. In October, Woodsworth wrote a letter to the 1940 CCF convention, in essence asking to retire from the leadership. Instead, the delegates created the new position of Honorary President, abolished
7905-554: Was elected from Edmonton , where he would remain for the rest of his political career. In 1943, he became Socred leader. At the outbreak of World War II , Manning joined the Edmonton Regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia , qualifying as a lieutenant. In 1943, he was promoted to the rank of captain. He had to discontinue his military duties when he was appointed Premier of Alberta. "Manning's take-over of
7998-458: Was established in Toronto for that purpose. The party won a critical York South by-election on 8 February 1942, and in the process prevented the Conservative leader, former Prime Minister Arthur Meighen , from entering the House of Commons. In the 1945 election , 28 CCF MPs were elected, and the party won 15.6% of the vote. In the 1949 election , 13 CCF candidates were elected. This
8091-521: Was extremely divisive in rural Alberta. However, Notley moved forwards with a carbon pricing scheme and plans for sustainability and energy transitions early in her term. Controversially such plans were framed around creating a social license for pursuing oil sand expansion, and she championed the creation of pipelines and partnered heavily with the oil industry. As a result plans to raise oil royalties were scrapped, and tax increases on corporations and higher income brackets were modest. Eventually this led to
8184-545: Was followed by 23 elected in the 1953 election and a disappointing eight elected in the 1958 election. (In that election the party took almost ten percent of the vote so was due about 26 MPs proportionally.) The party had its greatest success in provincial politics. In 1943, the Ontario CCF became the official opposition in that province. In 1944 , the Alberta CCF took almost a quarter of all votes cast but due to lack of PR, were held to winning just two seats. In 1944,
8277-584: Was founded on May 26, 1932, when the Ginger Group MPs and LSR members met in William Irvine's office, the unofficial caucus meeting room for the Ginger Group, and went about forming the basis of the new party. J. S. Woodsworth was unanimously appointed the temporary leader until they could hold a founding convention. The temporary name for the new party was the Commonwealth Party. The Social Gospel
8370-412: Was joined in the legislature by Aylmer Liesemer , a Calgary schoolteacher. The rise of support for the CCF after 1942 mobilized the business community to pull out of efforts to build an anti-Social Credit party and instead back the Social Credit government, now led by Ernest Manning , after William Aberhart's death in 1943, as a bulwark against socialists. Unlike the Saskatchewan CCF , which won office in
8463-402: Was named to the provincial cabinet at just 26 years old, becoming Alberta's provincial secretary and minister of trade and industry. Manning devoted himself wholly to his work, to such an extent that his health began to suffer. He eventually developed a bout of tuberculosis in November 1936, returning to work after just three month's convalescence. At the 1940 election , he switched seats and
8556-485: Was succeeded by Raj Pannu . The party retained its two seats in the 2001 election . In 2004, the party reverted to the traditional "NDP" abbreviation and the colour orange. That same year Raj Panu resigned as leader and was replaced by Brian Mason . In the 2004 Alberta general election the party doubled its seats from two to four—which re-elected then leader Brian Mason and Raj Pannu, returning former leader Ray Martin, and newcomer David Eggen . The party received 10% of
8649-438: Was the equivalent of party president in most Canadian political parties and was sometimes referred to as such, in that it was largely an organizational role. In the case of the CCF, the national chairman oversaw the party's national council and chaired its meetings. Following an initial period in which Woodsworth held both roles, it was usually distinct from and secondary to the position of party leader. National president originally
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