The Rise and Fall of the Labour Party in Alberta, 1917-42

Bibliographic Data

ID4860969
AuthorsAlvin Finkel (Athabasca University, corresponding author)
Year1985
Volume16
Pages61
Publication date1985-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueLabour / Le Travail (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0700-3862 • E-ISSN: 1911-4842
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/25142509
OpenAlexW1489043087
LanguageEN
Citations received6

WHILE ALBERTA IS generally regarded as a conservative province, its early labour movement was class conscious and, for many years had a significant political impact provincially and in many municipalities. The Labour Party, which united trade unions and socialists of every stripe (until its expulsion of the Communists in 1929) reflected the determined independence of Alberta workers: its leaders and members were almost exclusively working-class. But the party was always an uneasy alliance between those who saw politics purely in electoral terms and those who emphasized extra-parliamentary activity. And the election in 1921 of a Farmers' government caused divisions about how closely Labour should work with a non-Labour government. After the purge of the Communists, those who favoured an exclusive concentration on electoral activity and close collaboration with the Farmers, held sway. Their narrow conception of politics turned the Labour Party increasingly into a private preserve of union bureaucrats and created a political vacuum into which Social Credit stepped in. ALORS QUE L'ALBERTA est generalement considere comme une province conservatrice, tres tot son mouvement ouvrier manifesta une conscience de classe et exerca une influence non negligeable sur la politique provinciale et aussi sur celle de plusieurs municipalites. Le Parti ouvrier, qui rassemblait les syndicats et les multiples groupes socialistes (jusqu'a l'expulsion des communistes en 1929) refletait l'esprit d'independance des travailleurs albertains: ses dirigeants tout comme ses membres appartenaient presqu'exclusivement a la classe ouvriere. Le parti fut cependant toujours une alliance precaire entre ceux qui abordaient la politique en terme electoral et ceux qui preferaient les activites extra-parlementaires. Ainsi, lors de l'election d'un gouvernement des Fermiers-Unis en 1921, la question de la collaboration avec un gouvernement non-travailliste divisa le parti. Apres la purge des communistes, les partisans de l'electoralisme et de la collaboration avec les Fermiers-Unis dominerent le Parti ouvrier. Leur conception etroite de la politique le transforma de plus en plus en une chasse gardee des bureaucrates syndicaux et crea le vide dans lequel le Credit social put s'inserer

Political science · Canadian Identity and History

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