Canadian Peace Congress
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Peace Congress is an anti-imperialist group founded in 1949 by Canadian minister James Gareth Endicott
in response to the new dangers to peace posed because of the Cold War. It described itself as "a place were people of different views and faiths can meet and discuss world affairs... and work together as effectively as possible to improve international relations and step by step [move] towards the goal of universal disarmament and a lasting peace" The CPC was the Canadian affiliate of the World Peace Council
and a leading player in the peace movement
in Canada, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. The CPC was active in the nuclear disarmament
and anti-imperialist
movements such as the movement against the Vietnam War
and promoted the concept of peaceful co-existence between the Communist bloc and the Western bloc
.
The CPC was made up of affiliated local peace councils from across Canada as well as associate members including the Trade Union Peace Committee, the Labour-Progressive Party
(later known as the Communist Party of Canada
was known), the Federation of Russian Canadians and the United Jewish People's Order. Its founding meeting was attended by representatives of 47 different organizations and groups, including women's, youth and church groups, trade unions, and ethnic associations. The organization also worked closely with many CCF
activists.
Active councils of the CPC were established in: British Columbia, Calgary, Edmonton, Fraser Valley, Guelph, Halifax, Hamilton, Kamsack, London, Niagara, Peterborough, Saskatoon, Sydney, Thunder Bay, Vernon, Victoria, and Windsor. These councils were active in campaigns against the Korean War
, Vietnam War
, the military coup in Chile, South African Apartheid, Zionism, US interventions into Nicaragua and Panama, NORAD and NATO as well as the arms race and nuclear build-up.
The CPC was perceived as being close to the Labour-Progressive Party and its successor the Communist Party of Canada, though Endicott, himself, was not a party member. Endicott remained the CPC's chairman until 1971 when, according to his biography, he was pressured to resign by the leadership of the Communist Party for his pro-China
views during the Sino-Soviet split
. Endicott was succeeded by John Hanly Morgan who led the Congress as president until 1986. A Quebec Peace Congress, Conseil québécois de la paix, also established a nationally autonomous group separate from the Canadian Peace Congress in the 1970s. By the late 1970s, published materials of the Peace Congress's membership included scientists, artists, musicians and writers from across the country.
During the 1980s struggles for nuclear disarmament, the Congress helped found the much broader Canadian Peace Alliance
in 1985 as a more inclusive and less centralized network of peace organizations, including many newly formed groups (as opposed to the CPC which was seen as aligned with the Soviet Union
). The CPA has since developed essentially into a coalition.
After 1986 Lari Prokop led the Congress until it became inactive in the early 1990s. At its 1991 conference, the CPC decided to disaffiliate from the World Peace Council but the organization never formally dissolved. However, the Regina Peace Council continued its activity, publishing a regular newsletter and paying dues to the World Peace Council.
While the Canada-wide council became inactive with the world crisis in the socialist and Communist movement around 1992, by the mid-2000s an effort was made to re-establish Peace Councils in Edmonton and the BC Lower Mainland, in addition to Regina. The Peace Council was then re-established in April 2006 at an Edmonton conference attended by 20 delegates from across Canada. A "Special Renewal Conference" was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2008 which ratified the organization's constitution and politics and elected as president David McKee, a trade unionist and past co-chair of the Canadian Peace Alliance. Currently there are active Peace Councils in Surrey (Fraser Valley), BC; Edmonton, AB; Regina, SK; Winnipeg, MB; and Toronto, ON. The revived Canadian Peace Congress has affirmed its continuity with the original organization, again the Canadian affiliating with the World Peace Council. Canadian delegates have attended various international meetings, and the Peace Congress is hosting a tri-lateral meeting of Peace Congress's from Mexico, USA and Cuba in October 2009.
James Gareth Endicott
James Gareth Endicott was a Canadian clergyman, Christian missionary and socialist.- Family and early life :Endicott was born in Szechuan Province, China, the third of five children to a Methodist missionary family and became fluent in Chinese. His family returned to Canada in 1910...
in response to the new dangers to peace posed because of the Cold War. It described itself as "a place were people of different views and faiths can meet and discuss world affairs... and work together as effectively as possible to improve international relations and step by step [move] towards the goal of universal disarmament and a lasting peace" The CPC was the Canadian affiliate of the World Peace Council
World Peace Council
The World Peace Council is an international organization that advocates universal disarmament, sovereignty and independence and peaceful co-existence, and campaigns against imperialism, weapons of mass destruction and all forms of discrimination...
and a leading player in the peace movement
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
in Canada, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. The CPC was active in the nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
and anti-imperialist
Anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism, strictly speaking, is a term that may be applied to a movement opposed to any form of colonialism or imperialism. Anti-imperialism includes opposition to wars of conquest, particularly of non-contiguous territory or people with a different language or culture; it also includes...
movements such as the movement against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and promoted the concept of peaceful co-existence between the Communist bloc and the Western bloc
Western Bloc
The Western Bloc or Capitalist Bloc during the Cold War refers to the powers allied with the United States and NATO against the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact...
.
The CPC was made up of affiliated local peace councils from across Canada as well as associate members including the Trade Union Peace Committee, the Labour-Progressive Party
Labour-Progressive Party
For the Labour-Progressive Coalition Government in New Zealand see the Fifth Labour Government of New ZealandThe Labor-Progressive Party was the legal political organization of the Communist Party of Canada between 1943 and 1959....
(later known as the Communist Party of Canada
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...
was known), the Federation of Russian Canadians and the United Jewish People's Order. Its founding meeting was attended by representatives of 47 different organizations and groups, including women's, youth and church groups, trade unions, and ethnic associations. The organization also worked closely with many CCF
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
activists.
Active councils of the CPC were established in: British Columbia, Calgary, Edmonton, Fraser Valley, Guelph, Halifax, Hamilton, Kamsack, London, Niagara, Peterborough, Saskatoon, Sydney, Thunder Bay, Vernon, Victoria, and Windsor. These councils were active in campaigns against the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the military coup in Chile, South African Apartheid, Zionism, US interventions into Nicaragua and Panama, NORAD and NATO as well as the arms race and nuclear build-up.
The CPC was perceived as being close to the Labour-Progressive Party and its successor the Communist Party of Canada, though Endicott, himself, was not a party member. Endicott remained the CPC's chairman until 1971 when, according to his biography, he was pressured to resign by the leadership of the Communist Party for his pro-China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
views during the Sino-Soviet split
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
. Endicott was succeeded by John Hanly Morgan who led the Congress as president until 1986. A Quebec Peace Congress, Conseil québécois de la paix, also established a nationally autonomous group separate from the Canadian Peace Congress in the 1970s. By the late 1970s, published materials of the Peace Congress's membership included scientists, artists, musicians and writers from across the country.
During the 1980s struggles for nuclear disarmament, the Congress helped found the much broader Canadian Peace Alliance
Canadian Peace Alliance
The Canadian Peace Alliance / L'Alliance canadienne pour la paix is a Canadian umbrella peace organization claiming more than 140 member groups...
in 1985 as a more inclusive and less centralized network of peace organizations, including many newly formed groups (as opposed to the CPC which was seen as aligned with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
). The CPA has since developed essentially into a coalition.
After 1986 Lari Prokop led the Congress until it became inactive in the early 1990s. At its 1991 conference, the CPC decided to disaffiliate from the World Peace Council but the organization never formally dissolved. However, the Regina Peace Council continued its activity, publishing a regular newsletter and paying dues to the World Peace Council.
While the Canada-wide council became inactive with the world crisis in the socialist and Communist movement around 1992, by the mid-2000s an effort was made to re-establish Peace Councils in Edmonton and the BC Lower Mainland, in addition to Regina. The Peace Council was then re-established in April 2006 at an Edmonton conference attended by 20 delegates from across Canada. A "Special Renewal Conference" was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2008 which ratified the organization's constitution and politics and elected as president David McKee, a trade unionist and past co-chair of the Canadian Peace Alliance. Currently there are active Peace Councils in Surrey (Fraser Valley), BC; Edmonton, AB; Regina, SK; Winnipeg, MB; and Toronto, ON. The revived Canadian Peace Congress has affirmed its continuity with the original organization, again the Canadian affiliating with the World Peace Council. Canadian delegates have attended various international meetings, and the Peace Congress is hosting a tri-lateral meeting of Peace Congress's from Mexico, USA and Cuba in October 2009.