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28-498: The Caucus was formed several years after the demise of The Waffle , an earlier left-wing faction which had been forced to leave the NDP in the mid-1970s. It was formed by 150 to 200 members in the lead up to the NDP's 1979 federal convention to which it proposed a series of radical resolutions promoting greater public ownership of the economy and other socialist and left-wing measures. John Rodriguez , Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt ,

56-529: A CBC documentary on the NDP, taken during a meeting of the group some months prior to the October 1969 NDP Winnipeg convention. According to the film excerpt, the Waffle term appears to have originated with Jim Laxer when he stated, "in terms of the proposed manifesto, that if it doesn't talk about nationalization of key industries, it becomes a 'waffle document.'" The term "waffle" was picked up by subsequent speakers in

84-475: A commodity. But a socialist democracy implies man's control of his immediate environment as well, and in any strategy for building socialism, community democracy is as vital as the struggle for electoral success." The Waffle developed a Canadian nationalist policy. According to the founding manifesto, "The major threat to Canadian survival today is American control of the Canadian economy. The major issue of our times

112-609: A vice-president of the ONDP and chief of staff to provincial finance minister Floyd Laughren , was a leader of the caucus in the early 1980s and authored a resolution that called on an NDP government to use "the central role of public ownership in the development of our primary resource industries". By the end of the 1980s the Left Caucus was led by members of the "Forward" Group such as Gord Doctorow , Wayne Roberts , Harry Kopyto and George Ehring. The Caucus declined from 1990 to 1995 while

140-479: Is automatically a member of the CYND and is eligible to attend and vote in the youth wing's convention. The current co-chairs of the organization, Armaan Singh and Ellen Li, were elected during the 2023 Federal New Democratic Party (NDP) Convention, along with the rest of its executive. The CYND is autonomous of the main party. It sends its own delegates to the federal convention and council. Traditionally, members of

168-399: Is not national unity but national survival." The name was meant ironically; one story, quoted in historian Desmond Morton 's book The New Democrats , has the name originating during the drafting of the group's manifesto when, at one point, Ed Broadbent said "that if they had to choose between waffling to the left and waffling to the right, they waffle to the left." "The Waffle Manifesto"

196-454: The Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada after 1972) was a radical wing of Canada 's New Democratic Party (NDP) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little electoral success before it permanently disbanded in the mid-1970s. It was generally a New Left youth movement that espoused both Canadian nationalism and solidarity with

224-456: The Quebec sovereignty movement . The group formed in 1969. Its leaders were university professors Mel Watkins and James Laxer . It issued a Manifesto for an Independent Socialist Canada and, with support in the NDP caucus and membership, worked to push the party leftward. The Waffle supported the nationalization of Canadian industries to take them out of the hands of American interests. The group

252-523: The Saskatoon , Saskatchewan Waffle — ran unsuccessfully for the party presidency. She was up against former Ontario NDP leader Donald C. MacDonald and lost to him during the April 23rd vote. University of Toronto professor Mel Watkins lost his vice-president position, but managed to get elected to the party's federal council. The campaign for leader of the NDP pitted David Lewis against James Laxer. Through

280-461: The leadership of the Ontario NDP backing MPP Richard Johnston instead. Prior to the 1983 federal convention, the Left Caucus again pushed for the party to adopt an economic policy focussed on nationalization of industry and issued a document decrying "the half-measures of a mixed economy" and calling for "a socialist industrial strategy based on public sector ownership of the decisive sectors of

308-641: The CYND had been openly critical of leader Thomas Mulcair when he broke with long standing NDP principles, in particular on matters of foreign policy. After the stunning 2015 election that saw Thomas Mulcair lose official opposition status, the party was heading into a leadership review at 2016 convention in Edmonton. One month before the leadership review CYND members from two Montreal Universities published an open letter in Le Devoir calling on Thomas Mulcair to resign. Pressure continued to mount on Mulcair when it

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336-401: The CYND have tended to be more ideologically driven than the rest of the party. Since Jack Layton took over the helm of the party in 2003, the youth base has grown and now incorporates a wider base of progressive youth. It typically elects its executives for two year terms at its own convention, usually held the day before the NDP holds its conventions. In the lead up to the 2015 election,

364-495: The CYND spoke out about the need for party renewal throughout convention, organizing votes to trigger a leadership election. A few days later, the membership of the NDP followed the lead of the CYND with a majority of the delegates to the Edmonton Convention voting for a new leadership race. This was the first time in Canadian history that a leader of a political party had lost a leadership review . The process started at

392-497: The Left Caucus would be outspoken if resolutions it favours passed the convention but were ignored by the party's leadership. The only one of the caucus' resolutions to be approved by the 1979 convention, however, was one protesting the jail sentence handed to Jean-Claude Parrot , president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers for leading a wildcat strike . In 1981, the Left Caucus opposed Bob Rae 's successful candidacy for

420-409: The NDP candidate lost by over 1,400 votes. Lewis remained hostile; in 1972, he described the Waffle as "an encumbrance around my neck". Then at the NDP's Provincial Council on 24 June, Lewis obtained a resolution ordering the Waffle to disband or else leave the NDP. Debate on the motion lasted for three hours, with labour leaders leading the charge to expel the Waffle. Finally, the council approved

448-556: The Ontario NDP was in government under Bob Rae with publication of the Left Caucus Newsletter ceasing in 1994. In 1993, leading Left Caucus members Harry Kopyto, Gord Doctorow and Lois Bedard organised an open letter signed by 11 party members including three dissident MPPs criticising the Rae government for being too close to corporate interests and alienating itself from labour. The Waffle The Waffle (officially known as

476-510: The Waffle came during the October 1971 Ontario provincial election . The Waffle's Ontario chairman, Steve Penner, was Ontario NDP candidate for MPP from the Dovercourt riding . Despite the public infighting between Penner and Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis (son of national NDP leader David Lewis), Penner lost by only 55 votes. The Waffle considered this a success, because in the 1967 election,

504-524: The anti-Waffle motion 217 to 86, thereby ending months of public feuding. Some members of the Waffle remained New Democrats; however, Laxer and Watkins accepted Lewis's ultimatum and quit the NDP in 1972. They continued the Waffle under the name the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada, but it was still commonly referred to as the Waffle. The group existed until the Canadian federal election in 1974, when it unsuccessfully ran candidates for Parliament in

532-422: The discussion. The 1971 NDP leadership convention was a battleground between the party establishment and the Waffle. About 2,000 people, out of the NDP's approximately 90,000 membership, were members of the Waffle in 1971. The Waffle tried to get as many of their supporters onto the party's governing bodies, but were rebuked by the large bloc of rank-and-file union voters at the convention. Carol Gudmundson — of

560-512: The economy." The caucus unsuccessfully opposed the adoption of a new "statement of principles" by the NDP in 1983 which watered down the party's commitment to socialism and the planned economy . In the mid-1980s the Caucus was involved with the Campaign for an Activist Party which attempted unsuccessfully to elect a slate led by Judy Rebick to the executive of the Ontario NDP. Simon Rosenblum, later

588-695: The federal election. Laxer ran in the York West electoral district in Toronto, placing fourth in a field of seven with 673 votes and only 1.26 percent of the popular vote. The dispute over the Waffle led to the disbanding of the Ontario NDP 's youth wing in 1972, which was not revived until 1988. The federal NDP also disbanded the New Brunswick NDP for a period in late 1971 after a local Waffle group gained control of it. Many of its leaders eventually came back into

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616-553: The party and held important positions within it, which also shaped many of the NDP's policies in the 1980s through to the early 21st century. New Democratic Youth of Canada Canada's Young New Democrats (CYND) ( French : Jeunes néo-démocrates du Canada (JNDC) ), officially the New Democratic Youth of Canada , are the youth wing of the New Democratic Party of Canada . Any party member, aged 25 or under

644-408: The strong support of the labour unions, Lewis succeeded in defeating Laxer on the fourth ballot on April 24. Laxer won approximately 37 percent of the final ballot vote, and established that the Waffle had some strength in the party and were no longer a small fringe group. During the leadership convention, the Waffle was described in the press as a "party within a party." One of the last hurrahs for

672-533: The struggle to extend working men's influence into every area of industrial decision-making.... By bringing men together primarily as buyers and sellers of each other, by enshrining profitability and material gain in place of humanity and spiritual growth, capitalism has always been inherently alienating. Today, sheer size combined with modern technology further exaggerates man's sense of insignificance and impotence. A socialist transformation of society will return to man his sense of humanity, to replace his sense of being

700-418: Was endorsed by the New Democratic Youth . The Waffle manifesto stated, "A socialist society must be one in which there is democratic control of all institutions, which have a major effect on men's lives and where there is equal opportunity for creative non-exploitative self-development. It is now time to go beyond the welfare state." According to the manifesto, "The New Democratic Party must provide leadership in

728-414: Was reported that NDP McGill had submitted a resolution to CYND convention that would urge all CYND member delegates to vote for a leadership race. On the eve of the Edmonton convention, the CYND published an open letter urging members to vote for party renewal, becoming the first official section of the NDP to call for members to "support a new direction, and a new style of leadership." Many members of

756-418: Was the leading spokesperson for the caucus. Another notable founding member of the Left Caucus was Ontario NDP MPP and future provincial finance minister Floyd Laughren . Rodriguez said the caucus different from the Waffle in that its ultra-left elements were a minor part and as it was willing to abide by the final resolutions of the convention, whether it agrees with them or not. However, Rodriguez warned that

784-454: Was the published headline of Jean Howarth's editorial piece in The Globe and Mail on September 6, 1969. Howarth heard about the waffle line from Hugh Winsor , who also worked at The Globe and Mail , and was also a co-signer of the manifesto. When Laxer and other members of the group read the headline, they adopted it. Another possible origin for the name comes from a film-clip excerpt from

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