Canadian Election Series - CCF Leadership Convention, 1961

[DC Al Fine]

The 1960 election proved inconclusive.

Unionist: 31% (-7%), 98 seats (-27)
CCF:  31% (+3%),  86 seats (+27)
Social Credit: 21% (+9%), 56 seats (+22)
Liberal: 17% (-5%) 25 seats (-22)

Fleming was rebuffed in his attempt to form a majority government. However, the biggest story of election night was Social Credit’s break though. Liberals flocked to the Socreds and their prominent deputy leader Real Caouette, while in the West, they picked up votes from the more populist Unionist voters. Despite tying the Unionists  in the popular vote, the CCF were hindered by their overly concentrated vote, so the Unionists still came first in seats.

Despite retaining a respectable caucus, the Liberals were thrown into disarray as their leader, and most prominent MP, Jean Lesage, and Paul Martin both went down in defeat. Lesage resigned the leadership on election night. The CCF made small gains in the popular vote, but were able to turn them into larger seat gains due to the relatively fragmented political landscape.

Prime Minister Fleming was put in an awkward spot. Ever the technocrat, he would have preferred to work with the Liberals rather than the populist Social Credit, but the Liberal result left him well short of a majority. Fleming was forced to negotiate with Social Credit to keep his government alive. Wishing to avoid the instability of his previous term, he tried to negotiate something more permanent.

After much talk, Social Credit leader Solon Low, and Prime Minister Fleming released their “Terms of Agreement”. While not a formal coalition, Low and the Socreds agreed to support the government for two years in exchange for an electoral reform referendum.

The referendum was a strange affair. The CCF and Social Credit were the only parties actively campaigning in it since the CCF stood to lose and Social Credit stood to massively gain from the reform. The Liberals and Tories both refrained from campaigning as the reform would have mixed results for them. The Liberals in particular suffered conflict as the reform would be tremendously helpful to Anglo Liberals, while harming, Francophone ones. In the end the referendum fell by a margin of 46-54.

Canadians were surprised in 1962 as two party leaders tendered their resignations. Both Clarence Gillis of the CCF and Solon Low of Social Credit opted retire due to health problems. Combined with Jean Lesage’s election night resignation, the country now was due for three leadership elections.

The CCF convention also had a second question to vote on. The delegates had decided to become a labour party with formal ties to trade unions, and many delegates wanted to have a new name to represent the new and improved party...


Tommy Douglas, Premier of Saskatchewan, MLA for Weyburn, SK
Popular premier of Saskatchewan and one of the progenitors of the National Health System, Tommy Douglas, is the front runner in this campaign. He proposes to shift the party to the right somewhat and abandon talk of 80% tax rates and nationalizations. In place, Douglas would campaign on creating a new national pension system for the elderly, just like the health system he created. Douglas is weak in some urban centres but has captured most of the rural Prairie base, as well as support from the Ontario wing of the party.



David Orlikow, MP for Winnipeg North, MB
A first term backbencher from one of the safest CCF seats, Orlikow represents the more hardline wing of the CCF. He proposes to shift the party to left, including nationalizing the banks in order to finance new development projects. Orlikow is most popular in deprived urban centres, and has a powerful base in Winnipeg.



With the whole naming process, I've decided to break up the leadership conventions. We'll have the CCF first, then Liberal/Social Credit. Please vote for a new leader, and a name.

[Zioneer]

Tommy Douglas and remain the CCF.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Douglas and for the name, Social Democratic.

[Intell]

Orlikow, remain the CCF.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

So the Socreds made their breakthrough under infamous antisemite Solon Law, huh? Weird.

[DC Al Fine]

So the Socreds made their breakthrough under infamous antisemite Solon Law, huh? Weird.

Some quick points:

a) While Low is technically leader, the different wings of Social Credit were close to autonomous. Almost all of Social Credit's gains were in Quebec under Caouette.

b) Low repudiated antisemitism in the 1950's IRL and became quite pro-Israel late in life.

c) Above all, the purpose of this timeline is to be entertaining. With that in mind, all of the parties in this series are somewhat different compared to their real life counterparts. This includes eliminating Social Credit's antisemitism.

[Dr. Cynic]

Douglas, SDP

[DC Al Fine]

Bump

[VPH]

TOMMY DOUGLAS

[DC Al Fine]

My apologies for taking so long to update this.

I have a minor family emergency going on right now, and it's busy season at work. Things should calm down in the next few days, and I hope to have a new election up in a week or so.