The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated

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 ...

. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to act as a catalyst within a larger body. The Ginger Group split with the Progressive Party in 1924 when Progressive leader Robert Forke proved too eager to accommodate the Liberal government of William Lyon Mackenzie King and agreed to support the government's budget with only minimal concessions. J. S. Woodsworth, using his right as the leader of the Independent Labour MPs, moved a stronger amendment to the budget based on demands the Progressives had made in earlier years but had since abandoned. The Progressive and Labour MPs who broke with their Progressive colleagues to support Woodsworth became the "Ginger Group". It was made up of United Farmers of Alberta MPs George Gibson Coote, Robert Gardiner, Edward Joseph Garland, Donald MacBeth Kennedy and Henry Elvins Spencer as well as United Farmers of Ontario MP Agnes Macphail. The group was later joined by Labour MPs J. S. Woodsworth, William Irvine, Abraham Albert Heaps and Angus MacInnis, independent MP Joseph Tweed Shaw and Progressive MPs Milton Neil Campbell, William John Ward, William Charles Good, and Preston Elliott. Members of the Ginger Group played a role in forming the

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 ...

in 1932, with Woodsworth becoming the new party's leader. The only sitting United Farmers of Alberta who did not join the CCF at its founding was William Thomas Lucas, who ran for re-election unsuccessfully as a Conservative in 1935. The name Ginger Group was also used to refer to a group of

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 ...

MPs who, in 1917 opposed

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known ...

's use of the Military Service Act to introduce

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 Conscription Crisis of 1917.

References

{{Canadian federal political parties 1924 establishments in Canada Agrarian parties in Canada Defunct political parties in Canada Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Federal political parties in Canada Labour history of Canada Left-wing nationalist parties Political party factions in Canada Political schisms Progressivism in Canada Social democratic parties in Canada Socialist parties in Canada United Farmers

See also

References