James Litterick (born 15 July 1901; date of death unknown) was a politician in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada, and was the first member of the Communist Party of Canada to be elected to that province's legislature.

Biography

Early life

Litterick was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

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 received an education at Clydebrooke and Glasgow, and became a member of the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of political faction, factional struggle, in 1916 the party's ...

at age sixteen (his father was also a lifelong

socialist 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 ...

). He was jailed for his role in a rent riot at

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

in 1920, and joined the newly formed

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

the same year.

Politics

Litterick moved to

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 ...

in 1925 and initially worked as a miner in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. In 1926, he became the district secretary of the Communist Party of British Columbia. He moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1930, and became an organizer for the Workers Unity League, a Communist trade union umbrella designed to build a revolutionary trade union movement in Canada. When Communist Party leader Tim Buck was arrested in 1931, Litterick moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

to take over some of his responsibilities. He soon moved to Winnipeg. In 1934, Litterick was selected as Provincial Secretary of the Communist Party of Manitoba. He married Molly Bassin in 1936.

MLA: 1936–40

He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1936, during a period of increased popularity for the party. His campaign focused on eliminating the province's 2% wage tax. In that election, he was very popular among

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

workers. He placed second, behind Independent Socialist

Lewis Stubbs Lewis St. George Stubbs (June 14, 1878 – May 12, 1958) was a prominent judge and politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1936 to 1949 as an Independent, He promoted left-wing and socially progress ...

, on first-preference votes. Winnipeg at the time elected ten members via

Single Transferable Voting The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vo ...

. Stubbs was declared elected and on the second count, his surplus votes were transferred away. Litterick received enough votes from him to be declared elected. Litterick regarded himself as an ally of Stubbs, a popular left-wing judge and Independent Socialist. Litterick's primary support base was in Winnipeg's working-class north end. He received considerable support from the city's

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community. (His wife, Molly, was Jewish.) As MLA, he delivered a speech entitled "Whither Manitoba" in 1937. It was subsequently issued as a pamphlet. Litterick was not a major figure in the national Communist Party. he did not play a significant public role in the party's national activities. Because of his loyalty to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Litterick expressed changing views on Canada's involvement in

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 ...

in late 1939. On 9 September, he urged both

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 ...

John Bracken and

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 ...

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 ...

to give full support to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's invasion. Litterick subsequently was required by the party to retract this position, and to oppose the war as an

imperialist Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power ( diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism fo ...

venture, in light of the Soviet Union's neutrality in the conflict at the time. (Later the CPC put their support behind the war after Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.)

Later life

He was expelled from the Manitoba legislature in 1940, after the Communist Party was declared an illegal organization. He had already gone into hiding, apparently the subject of a

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

manhunt. Information about Litterick's whereabouts after 1940 is limited. He appears in a photograph of Canada's wartime Communist Party leaders, apparently taken in Montreal in 1942. He surrendered to the RCMP in Toronto in 1942 and was interned in the Don Jail. In 1943, it was reported that he was working at a garment factory in Toronto. In his book, ''Canadian Communism'', Norman Penner writes, citing as his source his father Jacob Penner's personal notes, "After the war, Litterick was expelled from the Party for 'cowardice.'"

References