The Independent Labour Party was the leading

social-democratic Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, socia ...

party in the Canadian province of

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 ...

prior to the emergence of 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 ...

. Several of its candidates were elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

and it counted federal Members of Parliament J. S. Woodsworth and A. A. Heaps among its members. The ILP was founded in December 1920 by disgruntled members of the Dominion Labour Party, who left that organization when it was taken over by rightist elements. Like the DLP, the ILP was a reformist labour group, and often had hostile relations with parties further to the left. In the provincial election of 1920, the combined efforts of reformist labourites and socialists resulted in eleven leftists being elected to the Manitoba legislature. Most of these

Members 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 nationa ...

(MLAs), including parliamentary leader Fred Dixon, were part of the exodus from the DLP to the ILP later in the year. The ILP took six seats in the election of 1922, and Dixon resigned from the legislature in 1923 following a family tragedy. He was replaced as party leader by John Queen, formerly of the Social Democratic Party of Canada. Support for left-wing and labour parties declined throughout Canada in the late 1920s. Queen led the ILP through the elections of 1927, winning three seats. The party's fortunes improved during the Depression, and the ILP took five seats in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

. Seymour Farmer became leader of the ILP in 1935. The ILP never affiliated with the Canadian Labour Party. Initially, this was because the rightist DLP leadership had affiliated itself with the CLP soon after the exodus of ILP members. There were attempts at a compromise, but divisions between DLP and ILP members were too strong to overcome and the ILP refused to join the "national" organization as such. Later, the ILP would remain out of the CLP due to the large number of

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

who joined the latter group in the 1920s. (The CLP was, in any case, a fairly weak organization in Manitoba, and the ILP leaders had little incentive to merge with their smaller rival.) The ILP had a complicated relationship with the

(CCF) in the 1930s. The CCF was formed in 1932 to expand the parliamentary left's support base beyond the urban working class, and many in the ILP were suspicious of this. The parties nevertheless became aligned in 1933, at a time when the CCF organization in the province was weak. In three years, the CCF had developed its own identity and was less willing to support the ILP's demands for autonomy. The party was referred to as "ILP-CCF" during the provincial election of 1936, against the opposition of some traditional ILP supporters. Following the election (in which the party won seven seats), a group of disgruntled ILP members succeeded in temporarily disaffiliating the parties. Pressure from David Lewis and J. S. Woodsworth brought about a realignment, but the ILP's relationship with the CCF remained shakey until the early 1940s, when CCF loyalists took over the ILP's internal organization. These divisions were especially noticeable at the start of the

Second World War 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 ...

: the ILP supported an all-out war effort, whereas the CCF favoured conscription of "wealth before men". The ILP organization officially disbanded in 1943. It had been superseded by the CCF some time earlier.

Party leaders

# Fred Dixon 1921–1923 # John Queen 1923–1935 # Seymour Farmer 1935–1943 All leaders were selected by party caucus, seemingly without opposition.

Party leaders

References

See also