A. A. MacLeod
Encyclopedia
Albert Alexander MacLeod, widely known as A.A. MacLeod and familiarly as "Alex", was a prominent member of the Communist Party of Canada
and, later, of its legal group the Labor-Progressive Party. In the mid-1930s, he was leader of the Canadian League Against War and Fascism, a popular front
group founded by the party which in its last years was known as the Canadian League for Peace and Democracy. The league recruited members for the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion
, the Canadian contingent of the International Brigade that fought to defend the Spanish Republic
in the Spanish Civil War
. The League was banned in early 1940 under the Defence of Canada Regulations
along with the Communist Party itself.
MacLeod became editor of Canadian Tribune, the weekly newspaper launched in June 1940 as the unofficial organ of the banned Communist Party.
In the 1943 Ontario provincial election
, he was elected as a Labour Progressive Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
for the downtown Toronto
riding
of Bellwoods
. His colleague, J.B. Salsberg, was also elected in the neighbouring riding of St. Andrew
. MacLeod remained an MPP and led the party in the 1948 Ontario provincial election
and the 1951 election
in which he lost his seat.
MacLeod left the Labor-Progressive Party along with the majority of its members following Nikita Khrushchev
's Secret Speech at the Twentieth Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
that revealed the crimes of Joseph Stalin
and the Soviet invasion of Hungary
in 1956.
Despite their ideological differences, MacLeod was a personal favourite of Progressive Conservative Premier of Ontario Premier Leslie Frost
who gave MacLeod an office on the fourth floor of the legislative building at Queen's Park following his defeat and made him a paid advisor. One of MacLeod's initiatives was the naming of Highway 401
, a major new cross-province expressway, the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway after Sir John A. Macdonald
and George-Étienne Cartier
. Macleod kept his office into the 1970s acting as an advisor to premiers John Robarts
and Bill Davis
.
MacLeod was the uncle of Hollywood movie actors Warren Beatty
and Shirley MacLaine
. Both Beatty and MacLaine have frequently alluded to his political beliefs as a major influence on their own liberal political philosophy.
MacLeod's son, David Leigh MacLeod, served as a senior adviser to the provincial Ontario Progressive Conservatives during the 1970s. He later worked for Beatty and was co-producer of Beatty's films Reds and Ishtar
.
Communist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
and, later, of its legal group the Labor-Progressive Party. In the mid-1930s, he was leader of the Canadian League Against War and Fascism, a popular front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
group founded by the party which in its last years was known as the Canadian League for Peace and Democracy. The league recruited members for the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion
Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion
The Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion or Mac-Paps were a battalion of Canadians who fought as part of the XV International Brigade on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. Except for France, no other country gave a greater proportion of its population as volunteers in Spain than Canada. The...
, the Canadian contingent of the International Brigade that fought to defend the Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. The League was banned in early 1940 under the Defence of Canada Regulations
Defence of Canada Regulations
The Defence of Canada Regulations were a set of emergency measures implemented under the War Measures Act a week before Canada's entry into World War II in the fall of 1939....
along with the Communist Party itself.
MacLeod became editor of Canadian Tribune, the weekly newspaper launched in June 1940 as the unofficial organ of the banned Communist Party.
In the 1943 Ontario provincial election
Ontario general election, 1943
The Ontario general election of 1943 was held on August 4, 1943, to elect the 90 Members of the 21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, he was elected as a Labour Progressive Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
for the downtown Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Bellwoods
Bellwoods
Bellwoods was a provincial electoral district in the west end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1924 to 1987.The riding elected Members of the Legislative Assembly to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario...
. His colleague, J.B. Salsberg, was also elected in the neighbouring riding of St. Andrew
St. Andrew (electoral district)
St. Andrew was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was established to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly and then Members of Provincial Parliament to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario....
. MacLeod remained an MPP and led the party in the 1948 Ontario provincial election
Ontario general election, 1948
The Ontario general election of 1948 was held on June 7, 1948, to elect the 90 members of the 23rd Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
and the 1951 election
Ontario general election, 1951
The Ontario general election of 1951 was held on November 22, 1951, to elect the 90 members of the 24th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
in which he lost his seat.
MacLeod left the Labor-Progressive Party along with the majority of its members following Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's Secret Speech at the Twentieth Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
that revealed the crimes of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and the Soviet invasion of Hungary
Hungarian Revolution
Hungarian Revolution may refer to:* The Hungarian Revolution of 1848.* The Hungarian Revolution of 1919, which led to the formation of the Hungarian Soviet Republic headed by Béla Kun.* The Hungarian Revolution of 1956....
in 1956.
Despite their ideological differences, MacLeod was a personal favourite of Progressive Conservative Premier of Ontario Premier Leslie Frost
Leslie Frost
Leslie Miscampbell Frost, was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the 16th Premier from May 4, 1949 to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man Ontario".-Early years:...
who gave MacLeod an office on the fourth floor of the legislative building at Queen's Park following his defeat and made him a paid advisor. One of MacLeod's initiatives was the naming of Highway 401
Highway 401 (Ontario)
King's Highway 401, also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway and colloquially as the four-oh-one, is a 400-Series Highway in the Canadian province of Ontario stretching from Windsor to the Quebec border...
, a major new cross-province expressway, the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway after Sir John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
and George-Étienne Cartier
George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, PC was a French-Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.The English spelling of the name, George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling, is explained by his having been named in honour of King George III....
. Macleod kept his office into the 1970s acting as an advisor to premiers John Robarts
John Robarts
John Parmenter Robarts, PC, CC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and statesman, and the 17th Premier of Ontario.-Early life:...
and Bill Davis
Bill Davis
William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
.
MacLeod was the uncle of Hollywood movie actors Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
and Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
. Both Beatty and MacLaine have frequently alluded to his political beliefs as a major influence on their own liberal political philosophy.
MacLeod's son, David Leigh MacLeod, served as a senior adviser to the provincial Ontario Progressive Conservatives during the 1970s. He later worked for Beatty and was co-producer of Beatty's films Reds and Ishtar
Ishtar (film)
Ishtar is a 1987 American comedy film directed by Elaine May and starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman as "Rogers and Clarke" – a duo of incredibly untalented lounge singers who travel to Morocco looking for work, and stumble into a four-party Cold War standoff.It also starred Isabelle Adjani...
.