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 The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to ...

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 Robert Forke, (April 6, 1860 – February 2, 1934) was a Canadian politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Brandon in 1921. In 1922, he replaced Thomas Crerar as leader of the Progressive Party of Canada. Forke served as a ...

proved too eager to accommodate the Liberal government of

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

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 The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...

MPs

George Gibson Coote George Gibson Coote (August 18, 1880 – November 24, 1959) was a Canadian accountant, bank manager, farmer, and federal politician. Political career Coote was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1921 Canadian federal election as ...

, Robert Gardiner, Edward Joseph Garland,

Donald MacBeth Kennedy Donald MacBeth Kennedy (August 21, 1884 – September 25, 1957) was a Canadian farmer as well as a provincial and federal level Canadian politician representing Albertans. He was a UFA MLA 1921-1922 and a Progressive/UFA MP 1921–1935. Biograp ...

and

Henry Elvins Spencer Henry Elvins Spencer (7 March 1882 – 1 October 1972) was a Canadian politician. Born in the United Kingdom, Spencer worked as a printer and publisher in Paris from 1906 to 1907 before emigrating to Canada in 1908. Settling in Alberta, he ...

as well as

United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...

Agnes Macphail Agnes Campbell Macphail (March 24, 1890 – February 13, 1954) was a Canadian politician and the first woman elected to Canada's House of Commons. She served as a Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament (MP) from 1921 to 1940; from 1 ...

. The group was later joined by Labour MPs J. S. Woodsworth, William Irvine, Abraham Albert Heaps and

Angus MacInnis Angus MacInnis (September 2, 1884 – March 3, 1964) was a Canadian socialist politician and parliamentarian. MacInnis, a trade unionist who had first served for five years as a Vancouver Alderman, was then elected to the House of Commons of Can ...

, independent MP

Joseph Tweed Shaw Joseph Tweed Shaw (August 30, 1883 – July 12, 1944) was a Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1921 to 1925 as an independent Labour Member of Parliament (MP), and later became an MLA and leader of the Alber ...

and Progressive MPs

Milton Neil Campbell Milton Neil Campbell (January 21, 1881 – November 11, 1965) was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Mackenzie from 1921 to 1933, in the House of Commons of Canada. He resigned from the House of Commons in 1933 to a ...

William John Ward William John Ward (October 25, 1880 – August 18, 1971) was a Canadian politician, farmer, insurance agent, and real estate agent from Dauphin, Manitoba. A member of the Ginger Group, he joined the Progressives in 1921, was a Liberal Progr ...

, William Charles Good, and

Preston Elliott Preston Elliott (May 1, 1875 – January 12, 1939) was a Canadian farmer and politician from Ontario. Born in Chesterville, Ontario to William Elliott and Mary Agnes Rae, he served in the House of Commons of Canada for the Dundas electoral distr ...

. 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 William Thomas Lucas (1875–1973) was a Canadian farmer and a federal politician. He was born in Bailieboro, Ontario, on July 26, 1875, to John William and Margaret (née Fair) Lucas, both of Irish descent. He attended public schooling in the ...

, 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 The Conscription Crisis of 1917 () was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also brought out many issues regarding relatio ...

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