The Manitoba Labour Party (MLP) was a reformist, non-

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

labour party 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. It was created in early May 1910 as a successor to the province's second

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

(1906–08). Former Member of Parliament

Arthur Puttee Arthur W. Puttee (August 25, 1868 – October 21, 1957) was a British-Canadian printer and politician. Puttee was the first Labour Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada, sitting as Winnipeg MP from 1900 to 1904. Putte ...

was a leading MLP organizer. The party fielded one candidate in the 1910 provincial election, and also ran candidates at the municipal level. The party's founding convention declared that "the ultimate object of attainment shall be to preserve to the worker the full product of his toil". The ambiguity of this statement was criticized by the more radical

Socialist Party of Canada The Socialist Party of Canada (SPC) was a political party that existed from 1904 to 1925, led by E. T. Kingsley. It published the newspaper, '' Western Clarion''. History Establishment The Socialist Party of Canada was founded at the Sociali ...

(SPC), which called for collective ownership in industry. After the SPC nominated candidates for

Winnipeg North Winnipeg North () is a federal electoral district in Canada that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It covers the northern portion of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Geography The riding includes the neighbourhoods of Jeff ...

and Winnipeg West in the 1910 provincial election, the MLP sought to prevent confrontation and vote-splitting by fielding only one candidate of their own: Fred Dixon in

Winnipeg Centre Winnipeg Centre () is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1925 and since 1997. History This riding was originally created in 1 ...

. Dixon was a moderate reformer, and campaigned in an unofficial alliance with the

Manitoba Liberal Party The Manitoba Liberal Party () is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th century, following the province's creation in 1870. History Origins and early development (to 1883) Originally, there were no off ...

. He was bitterly opposed by the SPC, which belatedly nominated W.S. Cummings to run against him as a spoiler. Dixon lost to the Conservative Party incumbent,

Thomas Taylor Thomas Taylor may refer to: Military *Thomas H. Taylor (1825–1901), Confederate States Army colonel *Thomas Happer Taylor (1934–2017), U.S. Army officer; military historian and author; triathlete *Thomas Taylor (Medal of Honor) (born 1834), Am ...

, by seventy-three votes. Cummings's ninety-nine votes may have made the difference in the outcome. The SPC was widely blamed for Dixon's loss, and became marginalized in Winnipeg's labour community for the next eight years. The Manitoba Labour Party dissolved after the 1910 election. In 1912, its leaders formed the

Manitoba Labour Representation Committee The Labour Representation Committee was a reformist labour organization in Manitoba, Canada, and was the ideological successor to groups such as the Winnipeg Labour Party, the Independent Labour Party and the Manitoba Labour Party. It was founded ...

Election results

{, border="1" cellpadding="2" ! Election !! # of candidates nominated !! # of seats won !! # of total votes !! % of popular vote !! % in seats contested , - align="center" !

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

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External links

Radical Politics in Winnipeg: 1899-1915
A. Ross McCormack Some of the information in this article has been summarized from the article listed above, and from McCormack's ''Reformers, rebels, and revolutionaries : the Western Canadian radical movement, 1899-1919'' (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1977), pp. 90–91. Readers are encouraged to consult this work for more information. All electoral information is taken from

Elections Manitoba Elections Manitoba () is the non-partisan agency of the Government of Manitoba responsible for the conduct and regulation of provincial elections in Manitoba. Its responsibilities are to operate free of political influence; conduct Manitoba's ...

. Provincial political parties in Manitoba Defunct political parties in Canada Political parties established in 1910 1910 establishments in Manitoba Political parties disestablished in 1910 1910 disestablishments in Canada

Election results

See also

External links