Harold Edward Winch (18 June 1907 – 1 February 1993) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician active with the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...

(CCF) and its successor, the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(NDP). Winch was leader of the

British Columbia CCF The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since ...

from 1938 to 1953, and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

from October 1941 to February 1952 and then again from June 1952 to March 1953. He was called "the best leader of the Opposition that has ever been" by

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

W. A. C. Bennettbr>
Winch was active during the Relief Camp Workers' Union, relief camp strike in Vancouver that precipitated the

On-to-Ottawa Trek The On-to-Ottawa Trek was a mass protest movement in Canada in 1935 sparked by unrest among unemployed single men in federal relief camps principally in Western Canada. The trek started in Vancouver and, picking up reinforcements along the way, ...

in 1935, acting as a liaison between unemployed protesters and the government. He performed the same role as a new MLA in 1938, and assisted the police in ending a month-long occupation at the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Fr ...

on what became known as "

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence agai ...

". Like other CCFers (such as

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

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 ...

), Winch and the BC CCF supported the internment of

Japanese Canadians are Canadian citizens of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Canadians are mostly concentrated in Western Canada, especially in the province of British Columbia, which hosts the largest Japanese community in the country with the majority of them living ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Decades later, he conceded that this position was wrong. An electrician by trade, Winch joined the CCF at its founding. He was first elected to the

British Columbia Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columb ...

in the 1933 provincial election as the

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA) for

Vancouver East Vancouver East () is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Since 2015, it has been represented by New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan. Vancouver East ...

. He became leader of the party following the 1937 general election and leader of the opposition in 1941. The CCF emerged from the 1952 provincial election with only one less seat than the

British Columbia Social Credit Party The British Columbia Social Credit Party was a conservative political party in British Columbia, Canada. It was the governing party of British Columbia for all but three years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election. For fou ...

. Social Credit formed a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

, but was defeated in a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in March 1953. Winch opposed holding a new election, arguing that the CCF was able to form a new government. When the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

announced that it would not support a CCF government, a new election was called. Winch stepped down as party leader, and entered federal politics. He was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the 1953 federal election as the Member of Parliament for

. Winch survived the 1958 federal election that almost wiped the CCF out, and remained with the party as it transformed into the New Democratic Party in 1961. After winning seven successive elections as an MP, he retired from the House of Commons at the 1972 federal election. Harold Winch's father,

Ernest Edward Winch 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 Legis ...

was also a CCF MLA from 1933 until his death in 1957.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winch, Harold 1907 births 1993 deaths English emigrants to Canada Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia British Columbia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs Leaders of the opposition (British Columbia) Canadian socialists Canadian people of Australian descent Leaders of the British Columbia CCF/NDP People from Loughton 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia