The Canadian Peace Congress ( abbr. CPCon) is an

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...

group founded in 1949 by Canadian minister

James Gareth Endicott James Gareth Endicott (December 24, 1898 – November 27, 1993) was a Canadian Christian minister, missionary, and socialist. Family and early life Endicott was born in Sichuan Province, China, the third of five children to a Methodist mi ...

in response to the new dangers to peace posed because of the Cold War. It described itself as "a place where people of different views and faiths can meet and discuss world affairs... and work together as effectively as possible to improve international relations and step by step ovetowards the goal of universal disarmament and a lasting peace" The CPCon was the Canadian affiliate of the

World Peace Council The World Peace Council (WPC) is an international organization with the self-described goals of advocating for universal disarmament, sovereignty and independence and peaceful co-existence, and campaigns against imperialism, weapons of mass de ...

and a leading player in the

peace movement A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pea ...

in Canada, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. The CPCon was active in the

nuclear disarmament Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space * Nucle ...

and

movements such as the movement against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and promoted the concept of

peaceful co-existence Peaceful coexistence (russian: Мирное сосуществование, translit=Mirnoye sosushchestvovaniye) was a theory, developed and applied by the Soviet Union at various points during the Cold War in the context of primarily Marxist� ...

between the

Communist bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

and the

Western bloc The Western Bloc, also known as the Free Bloc, the Capitalist Bloc, the American Bloc, and the NATO Bloc, was a coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War of 1947–1991. It was spearheaded b ...

. The CPCon was made up of affiliated local peace councils from across Canada as well as associate members including the Trade Union Peace Committee, the

Labor-Progressive Party The Labor-Progressive Party (french: Parti ouvrier-progressiste) was the legal front of the Communist Party of Canada from 1943 to 1959. Origins and initial success In the 1940 federal election, the Communist Party led a popular front in s ...

(as 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 ...

was then known), the

Federation of Russian Canadians The Federation of Russian Canadians is a left-leaning cultural organization for Russian immigrants to Canada and their descendants. It is the successor of the Russian Farmer-Worker Clubs which were closed by the government at the beginning of Worl ...

and the

United Jewish Peoples' Order The United Jewish People's Order is a secular socialist Jewish cultural, political and educational fraternal organization in Canada. The UJPO traces its history to the founding of the Jewish Labour League Mutual Benefit Society in 1926. History ...

. Its founding meeting was attended by representatives of 47 different organizations and groups, including women's, youth and church groups, trade unions, and ethnic associations. The organization also worked closely with many CCF activists. Active councils of the CPCon were established in: British Columbia, Calgary, Edmonton, Fraser Valley, Guelph, Halifax, Hamilton, Kamsack, London, Niagara, Peterborough, Saskatoon, Sydney, Thunder Bay, Vernon, Victoria, and Windsor. These councils were active in campaigns against the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

, the military coup in Chile, South African Apartheid, Zionism, US interventions into Nicaragua and Panama, NORAD and NATO as well as the arms race and nuclear build-up. The CPCon was perceived as being close to the Labor-Progressive Party and its successor the Communist Party of Canada, though Endicott, himself, was not a party member. Endicott remained the CPCon's chairman until 1971 when, according to his biography, he was pressured to resign by the leadership of the Communist Party for his pro- China views during the

Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications of Marxism–Le ...

. Endicott was succeeded by John Hanly Morgan who led the Congress as president until 1986. A Quebec Peace Congress, Conseil québécois de la paix, also established a nationally autonomous group separate from the Canadian Peace Congress in the 1970s. By the late 1970s, members who had authored publications for the Peace Congress included scientists, artists, musicians and writers from across the country. During the 1980s struggles for nuclear disarmament, the Congress helped found the much broader Canadian Peace Alliance in 1985 as a more inclusive and less centralized network of peace organizations, including many newly formed groups (as opposed to the CPCon which was seen as aligned with the anti-imperialist current within the broad peace movement). After 1986 Lari Prokop led the Congress until it became inactive in the early 1990s. At its 1991 conference, the CPCon decided to disaffiliate from the World Peace Council but the organization never formally dissolved. However, the Regina Peace Council continued its activity, publishing a regular newsletter and paying dues to the World Peace Council. Although the Canada-wide Congress became inactive throughout the 1990s, by the mid-2000s an effort was made to re-establish Peace Councils in Edmonton and the BC Lower Mainland, in addition to Regina. The Canadian Peace Congress was then re-established in April 2006 at an Edmonton conference attended by 20 delegates from across Canada. A "Special Renewal Conference" was held in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

in 2008 which ratified the organization's constitution and politics and elected as president David McKee, a trade unionist, and past co-chair of the Canadian Peace Alliance. The revived Canadian Peace Congress has affirmed its continuity with the original organization, and is again affiliated to the World Peace Council. Canadian delegates have attended various international meetings, and the Peace Congress hosted a trilateral meeting of Peace Congress's from Mexico, USA and Cuba in October 2009, and again in 2016. At the end of 2016, Dave McKee stepped down as President, and

Miguel Figueroa Miguel Figueroa (born July 29, 1952) is a Canadian political activist who was the leader of the Communist Party of Canada from 1992 to 2015. He is known for the landmark Figueroa case, which redefined the role of small parties and Canadian Parl ...

became acting president of the Canadian Peace Congress early in 2017. He was elected President at its November 2018 convention held in Toronto. By the end of 2018 there were active Peace Councils and/or affiliated peace coalitions in Surrey (Fraser Valley), Vancouver, and in the Southern Interior of B.C.; in Edmonton and Calgary, Alta.; Regina, Sask.; Winnipeg, Man.; Ottawa, Kingston, St. Catharines and Toronto, Ont.; and in Halifax, N.S.''People's Voice'', December 2018.

References

External links

Canadian Peace Congress
{{Authority control Peace organizations based in Canada Communism in Canada Organizations established in 1949 1949 establishments in Canada World Peace Council

See also

References

External links