James Hermiston Aitchison (1908 – July 12, 1994) was a Canadian academic and politician and leader of the

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (Nova Scotia NDP) is a social democratic political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial section for the province of the federal New Democratic Party. It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwe ...

. Born in

Innerleithen Innerleithen () is a civil parish and a small town in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders. It was formerly in the historic county of Peeblesshire or Tweeddale. Etymology The name "Innerleithen" comes from the Scottish G ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, he was the son of James Charles Aitchison and Elizabeth Fleming. He came to Canada at an early age and was raised in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

. He would go on to earn a Bachelor of Science in economics from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and a Ph.D. from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. During World War Two, he served in the Canadian Army as a major from 1942 to 1946. After his service Aitchison taught high school and eventually lectured at

Brandon College Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrolment of approximately 3,375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, ...

, Manitoba; University of Toronto;

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

; and Victoria College,

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. From 1949 to 1973 he taught political science at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He served for a period as chairman of the department, and remained professor emeritus within the department until his retirement in 1983. During his time at Dalhousie University, he served as the first president of the Dalhousie Faculty Association, as well as president of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, chairman of the Social Sciences Research Council of Canada; vice-president of the Canadian Political Science Association as well as vice president of the Institute for Public Administration of Canada. He also served as a council member for many years on the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

of Canada.

Political career

In 1961 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) joined with the

Canadian Labour Congress The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC ( or ), is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian trade union, labour unions are affiliated. History Formation The CLC was founded on April 23, 1956, thro ...

to form the New Democratic Party. Aitchison became the provincial party's leader in 1963. He led the party through the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

provincial elections. His critics accused him of being part of the Halifax elite that was believed to have taken the party from its traditional roots and leadership in industrial

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

. He declined to re-offer in 1968 and was replaced by Cape Bretoner,

Jeremy Akerman Jeremy Bernard Akerman (born May 28, 1942) is a former Canadian politician, writer and actor and a former leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party. __TOC__ Early life Akerman was born in Alvechurch, Worcesteshire, United Kingdom. He was ...

. However, Aitchison continued to be active within the party until the early 1970s, when he ceased involvement. He ran as a candidate for the Nova Scotia Legislature in the 1967 provincial general elections. Both he and the party failed to win any seats during this election, leaving the NDP without representation in the Legislature. Aitchison also ran for 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 federal elections of 1962 and 1967, but again failed to win a seat. Under his leadership, the Nova Scotia NDP achieved its worst electoral results. In the two provincial elections he led the party, it recorded its lowest percentage of the popular vote in the modern era. The 1963 campaign reached a twenty-five-year low (if including its predecessor, the CCF), when the party received just about four percent of the popular vote. Aitchison married Oriole Faram and had one daughter. In 1994, he died at the age of 86, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Academic bibliography

*1940 - ''Canada at War'' (Toronto:

Canadian Institute of International Affairs The Canadian International Council (CIC; ) is a Canadian think tank on foreign relations. It is an independent, member-based council established to strengthen Canada's role in international affairs. Its goal is to advance debate on international ...

). *1953 - ''The Development of Local Government in Upper Canada'' (Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Toronto). *1963 - ''The Political Process in Canada: Essays in Honour of R. MacGregor Dawson'' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitchison, James H. 1908 births 1994 deaths Alumni of the University of London Academic staff of Dalhousie University Leaders of the Nova Scotia CCF/NDP New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons People from Halifax, Nova Scotia People from the Scottish Borders Scottish emigrants to Canada University of Saskatchewan alumni University of Toronto alumni 20th-century Canadian political scientists 20th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly