Timothy Buck (January 6, 1891 – March 11, 1973) was the

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the Communist Party of Canada (known as the Labor-Progressive Party from 1943 to 1959) from 1929 until 1962. Together with Ernst Thälmann of Germany,

Maurice Thorez Maurice Thorez (; 28 April 1900 – 11 July 1964) was a French politician and longtime leader of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1930 until his death. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister of France from 1946 to 1947. Pre-war Thorez, ...

of France,

Palmiro Togliatti Palmiro Michele Nicola Togliatti (; 26 March 1893 – 21 August 1964) was an Italian politician and statesman, leader of Italy's Italian Communist Party, Communist party for nearly forty years, from 1927 until his death. Born into a middle-clas ...

of Italy, Earl Browder of the United States, and Harry Pollitt of Great Britain, Buck was one of the top leaders of the

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

-era

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

Early life and career

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

by trade, Buck was born in

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is located along the A145 r ...

, England, and emigrated to Canada in 1910 reputedly because it was cheaper to book steamship passage to Canada than to Australia. He became involved in the labour movement and joined the

International Association of Machinists The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/ CLC trade union representing over 600,000 workers as of 2024 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada. Origi ...

and radical working-class politics in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He claimed to have been present at the founding convention of the Communist Party of Canada, though this is disputed. Not initially a leading member of the party, Buck came to prominence as a supporter of

, and became

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

in 1929, after the old party leadership had been purged for supporting

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

, and others removed for supporting Bukharin. Buck remained General Secretary until 1962 and was a committed supporter of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

line throughout his tenure.

National figure

In 1928, Buck was expelled from the

for being a member of the Communist Party of Canada. With the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government of R. B. Bennett became increasingly worried about left-wing activity and agitation. On August 11, 1931, the Communist Party offices in Toronto were raided, and Buck and several of his colleagues were arrested and charged with

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

. Buck was tried in November, convicted of sedition and sentenced to hard labour. He was imprisoned from 1932 to 1934 in Kingston Penitentiary where he was the target of an apparent assassination attempt in his cell the night after a prison riot. While Buck was sitting in his cell listening to the mêlée outside, eight shots were fired into his cell via a window, narrowly missing the prisoner. In late 1933,

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Hugh Guthrie admitted in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

that shots had been deliberately fired into Buck's cell but "just to frighten him." A widespread civil rights campaign ultimately secured Buck's release. His extensive testimony before the Archambault Commission contributed to the reform of prisons in Canada. As a result, Buck was hailed a heroic champion of

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

. The Communist Party was banned in 1941 under the Defence of Canada Regulations. Buck and other prominent communist leaders were forced underground and ultimately into exile in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

because of their support for the pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, both of which invaded Poland at the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Like supporters and immigrants from the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

, communists were suspected of collusion with Germany, and all who suspected of strongly supporting the alliance were interned under the War Measures Act. The political environment began to change only after German invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

on the side of the Allies caused Canadian communists to end their opposition to the war and apparently to become enthusiastic supporters of the Canadian war effort. The party supported the government's call for

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

and established Tim Buck Plebiscite Committees, which called for a "Yes" vote in the 1942 national plebiscite on conscription. The campaigning in support of the war helped change public opinion towards the communists and resulted in the government's release of communist leaders being held in detention and the return of Buck and other leaders from exile. The ban on the party itself was not lifted, but it was allowed to organize the Labor-Progressive Party as its legal public face.

Electoral politics

Buck ran for a seat in the House of Commons on five occasions and once for the Toronto city Board of Control, all unsuccessfully. in the 1935 federal election, he ran in Winnipeg North and won 25% of the vote, placing third. He lost to

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social-democraticThese sources describe the CCF as ...

(CCF) candidate Abraham Albert Heaps. In the 1937 Toronto municipal election he came within 200 votes of winning a citywide election to the Toronto Board of Control. He won 26% of the vote when he ran in the Toronto riding of

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

in the 1945 election, and 21% in the 1949 election, finishing ahead of the CCF on both occasions. In the 1953 election, he won only 8.7% of the vote and then just 3.7% of the vote when he stood one last time in the 1958 election.

Retirement and death

Buck retired as general secretary of the Communist Party of Canada in 1962 but remained in the largely ceremonial position of party chairman until his death in 1973. There was controversy within the party when a posthumous version of his memoirs was published in 1977 by NC Press based on interviews conducted for the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

in 1965. In ''Yours in the Struggle: Reminiscences of Tim Buck,'' the former party leader criticized

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

and was somewhat defensive of Stalin, although not departing from the international Communist movement's current perspective. The main concerns of the party was the claim that the publishers were trying to frame Buck in a pro-

Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

manner, in regards to the

Sino-Soviet Split The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by divergences that arose from their ...

where the party had sided with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and that the loose recordings were in a position to be easily misinterpreted. Those within the Central Committee responsible for its publication were punished for "grave violation of

democratic centralism Democratic centralism is the organisational principle of most communist parties, in which decisions are made by a process of vigorous and open debate amongst party membership, and are subsequently binding upon all members of the party. The co ...

". Earlier in 1975, Progress Books published
Tim Buck — A Conscience for Canada
' by Oscar Ryan, which is considered to be the party-approved biography. In it, Buck was quoted as saying "for a time I gave the appearance of defending Stalin. I didn't defend what he had done; the fact is, nobody could defend the things that Khrushchev revealed." Canadian Trotskyist Ian Angus also criticized ''Yours in Struggle'' with regards to accusations that Buck had stated misinformation with regards to the purging of alternate voices during his early rise in the party. He continued this criticism with his 1981 book ''Canadian Bolsheviks: The Early Years of the Communist Party of Canada'', which analyzed the formation and rise of the party, but felt that Tim Buck had betrayed it by promoting himself and a strongly pro-Soviet line. Buck died in

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...

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, on March 11, 1973, at age 82.

Electoral record

References

External links

Progress Books Online
Contains PDF versions of Put Monopoly Under Control and Canada and the Russian Revolution by Tim Buck

on Tim Buck's 1931 trial.
Tim Buck Internet Archive

by John Manley * [https://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1155726367357&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News Tim Buck: Canada's Communist] {{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Tim 1891 births 1973 deaths People from Beccles Anti-revisionists Canadian politicians convicted of crimes Canadian prisoners and detainees Leaders of the Communist Party of Canada Communist Party of Canada candidates in the 1935 Canadian federal election Communist Party of Canada candidates in the 1940 Canadian federal election Labor-Progressive Party candidates in the 1945 Canadian federal election Labor-Progressive Party candidates in the 1949 Canadian federal election Labor-Progressive Party candidates in the 1953 Canadian federal election Labor-Progressive Party candidates in the 1958 Canadian federal election People convicted of sedition Prisoners and detainees of Canada