Dominion Communist-Labor Total War Committee
Encyclopedia
The Dominion Communist-Labor Total War Committee was a front
organization of the then-banned Communist Party of Canada
. The Committees originated as the "Tim Buck
Plebiscite Committees" which were organized by the party in 1942 to campaign for a "yes" vote in the 1942 referendum
on conscription
(see Conscription Crisis of 1944
).
The Communist Party had been banned in May 1940 soon after the outset of World War II
under the Defence of Canada Regulations
of the War Measures Act
. This was due to the party's antiwar policy. However, with the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union
in 1941, the Communists reversed their line on the war and became supportive of the Canadian war effort. The party backed total war
mobilization and created the Tim Buck Plebiscite Committees as both a way for the still banned party to organize legally and as a reflection of the party's support for conscription in the 1942 national plebiscite. Following the vote, the committee renamed itself the Dominion Communist-Labor Total War Committee and, through numerous local committees, urged a "no strike" pledge for the duration of the war and "all-out" industrial production to help the war effort. The Committee also urged the creation of labour-management committees in all war plants in order to co-ordinate production. Manitoba MLA William Kardash was elected president at a conference of 1,500 members.
The Committee organized pro-war rallies, including a 2 to 3,000 strong assembly in Montreal, to support the war effort and encourage trade unionists and progressives to enlist in the military.
The campaigning in support of the war helped change public opinion towards the Communists and resulted in the government's release of Communist leaders being held in detention. In 1943, Tim Buck
even appeared on the same stage as Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
and Ontario Premier Mitchell Hepburn
during a rally celebrating the success of the Red Army
's offensive. However, while the government became tolerant of Communist activity the ban on the party itself was not lifted though it was allowed to organize the Labour-Progressive Party
as a legal public face.
Communist front
A Communist front organization is an organization identified to be a front organization under the effective control of a Communist party, the Communist International or other Communist organizations. Lenin originated the idea in his manifesto of 1902, "What Is to Be Done?"...
organization of the then-banned 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...
. The Committees originated as the "Tim Buck
Tim Buck
Timothy "Tim" Buck was a long-time leader of the Communist Party of Canada...
Plebiscite Committees" which were organized by the party in 1942 to campaign for a "yes" vote in the 1942 referendum
Referendums in Canada
National referendums are seldom used in Canada. The first two referendums saw voters in Québec and the rest of Canada take dramatically opposing stands, the third saw most of the voters take a stand dramatically opposed to that of the politicians in power....
on conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
(see Conscription Crisis of 1944
Conscription Crisis of 1944
The Conscription Crisis of 1944 was a political and military crisis following the introduction of forced military service in Canada during World War II. It was similar to the Conscription Crisis of 1917, but was not as politically damaging....
).
The Communist Party had been banned in May 1940 soon after the outset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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....
of the War Measures Act
War Measures Act
The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers in the event of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended"...
. This was due to the party's antiwar policy. However, with the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in 1941, the Communists reversed their line on the war and became supportive of the Canadian war effort. The party backed total war
Total war
Total war is a war in which a belligerent engages in the complete mobilization of fully available resources and population.In the mid-19th century, "total war" was identified by scholars as a separate class of warfare...
mobilization and created the Tim Buck Plebiscite Committees as both a way for the still banned party to organize legally and as a reflection of the party's support for conscription in the 1942 national plebiscite. Following the vote, the committee renamed itself the Dominion Communist-Labor Total War Committee and, through numerous local committees, urged a "no strike" pledge for the duration of the war and "all-out" industrial production to help the war effort. The Committee also urged the creation of labour-management committees in all war plants in order to co-ordinate production. Manitoba MLA William Kardash was elected president at a conference of 1,500 members.
The Committee organized pro-war rallies, including a 2 to 3,000 strong assembly in Montreal, to support the war effort and encourage trade unionists and progressives to enlist in the military.
The campaigning in support of the war helped change public opinion towards the Communists and resulted in the government's release of Communist leaders being held in detention. In 1943, Tim Buck
Tim Buck
Timothy "Tim" Buck was a long-time leader of the Communist Party of Canada...
even appeared on the same stage as Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
and Ontario Premier Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn was the 11th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37....
during a rally celebrating the success of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
's offensive. However, while the government became tolerant of Communist activity the ban on the party itself was not lifted though it was allowed to organize 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....
as a legal public face.