The Canadian Labour Defence League (CLDL) was a legal defence organization founded and led by A. E. Smith. The league was in 1925 as a

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

organization dedicated to protecting striking workers from persecution. It was allied with the

Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada (french: Parti communiste du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it does not currently have any parliamentary representation, the party's can ...

and functioned as a

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * '' The Front'', 1976 film Music *The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

for the party. The group was the Canadian affiliate of

International Red Aid International Red Aid (also commonly known by its Russian acronym MOPR ( ru , МОПР, for: ''Междунаро́дная организа́ция по́мощи борца́м револю́ции'' - Mezhdunarodnaya organizatsiya pomoshchi bor ...

. The CLDC had 52 groups affiliated with it by 1927 with a combined membership of 3,000 people. By 1933, it had 350 branches across Canada with a membership of 17,0000. It reached its height during the Great Depression "promoting communist policies, agitating on behalf of the CPC and defending in courts over six thousand individuals who had ventured astray of the law because of their militant labour activities." In addition to defending strikers, the CLDL also campaigned to remove

section 98 Section 98 (s. 98) of the '' Criminal Code'' of Canada was a law enacted after the Winnipeg general strike of 1919 banning "unlawful associations." It was used in the 1930s against the Communist Party of Canada. After the Winnipeg general strike ...

of the

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...

which banned "unlawful associations" such as the Communist Party and other radical groups and had empowered the government to deport non-citizens involved in radical politics. The CLDL was very active in the early 1930s raising $180,000 and collecting over 450,000 signatures in support of eight leaders of the Communist Party, including leader

Tim Buck Timothy Buck (January 6, 1891 – March 11, 1973) was the general secretary 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 Tho ...

, who had been arrested and charged with sedition. The group became less active as the end of the decade approached and was banned in 1940 under the

Defence of Canada Regulations The ''Defence of Canada Regulations'' were a set of emergency measures implemented under the '' War Measures Act'' on 3 September 1939, a week before Canada's entry into World War II. The extreme security measures permitted by the regulations ...

References

1925 establishments in Ontario 1940 disestablishments in Canada Comintern Communist Party of Canada mass organizations Labour history of Canada Legal advocacy organizations based in Canada Organizations disestablished in 1940 Organizations established in 1925 Workers' rights organizations {{Canada-poli-stub Legal organizations based in Ontario Defunct companies of Ontario

See also

References