Ernest Edward (Ernie) Winch (March 22, 1879 – January 11, 1957) was a socialist British Columbia politician, trade unionist and organizer. He served eight terms as a BC Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLA in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly from 1933 until his death in 1957.Ernest Winch biography
accessed January 13, 2008

Biography

Born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, Winch's father was a master bricklayer. The younger Winch apprenticed in the trade. In 1899 he went to Australia briefly and returned again in 1903 but again went back to England. In 1909, he came to Canada with his young family. Winch began studying

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

in 1910 and joined the Social Democratic Party of Canada the following year, becoming its provincial secretary by 1913. In July 1918, he became president of the Vancouver Trade and Labour Council, and endorsed the Vancouver General Strike of 1918 and the

Winnipeg General Strike The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was one of the most famous and influential strikes in Canadian history. For six weeks, May 15 to June 26, more than 30,000 strikers brought economic activity to a standstill in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which at the ...

of 1919. He also opposed

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 ...

during the First World War. A supporter of the One Big Union movement, Winch played an instrumental role in organizing the BC Logger Workers Industrial Union. He was an active member of various left-wing parties including the Socialist Party of Canada and the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

. He helped to re-establish the Socialist Party of Canada (British Columbia) in 1932, which then affiliated with the new Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. In the 1933 provincial election, Winch, his son Harold Winch, and five others were elected to the BC legislature as the first CCF MLAs. However, in 1936, the left/right divide within the CCF came into the open with the conflict between Winch and party house leader Robert Connell, that sparked an exodus after Connell was expelled. In 1938, Harold Winch was named leader. In the 1940s, Winch was founder of the New Vista Society of Burnaby, whose mission was to provide housing for single women convalescing from mental illness. He also was a founder of the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals. Ernie Winch died on January 11, 1957. A Burnaby park is named after him.

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External links

Heritage Burnaby. Ernest Winch fonds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winch, Ernest 1879 births 1957 deaths Canadian socialists British Columbia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia English emigrants to Canada People from Harlow

Biography

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