Elizabeth Rowley
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Rowley is a politician
, writer, and political activist in Ontario
, Canada
. Current leader of the Communist Party of Ontario
, and a leading member of the Communist Party of Canada
, Rowley has campaigned for office many times at both the municipal, federal and provincial levels.
, Alberta
and was active with the Young Communist League of Canada
campaigning on issues such as women's reproductive rights and an end to the Vietnam War. After traveling across the country, she subsequently moved to southern Ontario, and worked as a typesetter apprentice and secretary in Windsor and later Hamilton. In Hamilton in the 1980s she was involved in campaigns against the Ku Klux Klan and had her home destroyed and car burnt. She also became active the local labour movement and municipal politics.
Rowley moved to Toronto in the late 1980s after being elected leader of the Ontario Committee of the Communist Party, one of the first women leaders of an Ontario political party, and led the Ontario Committee of the Communist Party in the 1990 general election
. Shortly after, during the Communist Party's internal dispute on dissolution following the fall of the Soviet Union
, Rowley became a leader of the group opposed to then-General Secretary George Hewison
's proposals to abandon Marxism-Leninism
as an ideology and liquidate the Communist Party of Canada
into a broad-left formation.
Rowley was one of the first party activists to be expelled during the dispute, which later included Sam Hammond, now BC leader of the CPC, former Party General Secretary William Kashtan
, Kimball Cariou now editor of the People's Voice, and Miguel Figueroa
, current leader of the Communist Party. The resulting legal case, of which Rowley was a chief negotiator, resulted in the assets of the party being split in half and the Leninist group keeping the Party name. The Communist Party held a new convention and new elections, at which Rowley was again elected to the Party leadership, and began another legal challenge this time to maintain its identify as a registered political party, the Figueroa case.
Despite red-baiting, Rowley was elected school trustee in the former Toronto
borough of East York
during the 1990s where she became an outspoken progressive voice. She was active in campaigns against Mike Harris including the Ontario Days of Action. Rowley strongly opposed the free trade
agreements that she believes threaten public services, is a promoter of public education and medicare
, and has promoted civil rights
and labour causes.
After her term as school trustee, Rowley returned as Ontario leader of the CPC. In 2001, she was again re-elected to the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Canada, and replaced Hassan Husseini
as leader of the Ontario Communist Party around the same time. She has worked as a columnist for the People's Voice
, a Communist Party newspaper, and has also written numerous articles on public resistance in Canada that have been translated into several languages and published around the world. She has most recently been outspoken on issues such as proportional representation, the G20 arrests in Toronto, the Rob Ford administration, migrant and immigrant rights in Toronto, and labour issues.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, writer, and political activist in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Current leader of the Communist Party of Ontario
Communist Party of Ontario
The Communist Party of Canada is the Ontario, Canada provincial wing of the Communist Party of Canada. In the 1940s and 1950s under the name Labour-Progressive Party, the group won two seats in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: A.A. MacLeod and J.B...
, and a leading member of 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...
, Rowley has campaigned for office many times at both the municipal, federal and provincial levels.
Political History
Born in British Columbia, Rowley attended university in EdmontonEdmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
and was active with the Young Communist League of Canada
Young Communist League of Canada
The Young Communist League of Canada is a Marxist-Leninist youth organization which fights to build a powerful youth and student movement across Canada and for socialism.According to their website,- History :...
campaigning on issues such as women's reproductive rights and an end to the Vietnam War. After traveling across the country, she subsequently moved to southern Ontario, and worked as a typesetter apprentice and secretary in Windsor and later Hamilton. In Hamilton in the 1980s she was involved in campaigns against the Ku Klux Klan and had her home destroyed and car burnt. She also became active the local labour movement and municipal politics.
Rowley moved to Toronto in the late 1980s after being elected leader of the Ontario Committee of the Communist Party, one of the first women leaders of an Ontario political party, and led the Ontario Committee of the Communist Party in the 1990 general election
Ontario general election, 1990
The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
. Shortly after, during the Communist Party's internal dispute on dissolution following the fall of 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....
, Rowley became a leader of the group opposed to then-General Secretary George Hewison
George Hewison
George Hewison is a former long-time member of the Communist Party of Canada and trade unionist. A second-generation member of the party, Hewison grew up selling the party press and joined the party at the age of 17...
's proposals to abandon Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
as an ideology and liquidate 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...
into a broad-left formation.
Rowley was one of the first party activists to be expelled during the dispute, which later included Sam Hammond, now BC leader of the CPC, former Party General Secretary William Kashtan
William Kashtan
William Kashtan became general secretary of the Communist Party of Canada in January 1965, several months following the death of Leslie Morris. The delay in his assuming the position was due to the opposition of Tim Buck to his appointment....
, Kimball Cariou now editor of the People's Voice, and Miguel Figueroa
Miguel Figueroa
Miguel Figueroa has been the leader of the Communist Party of Canada since 1992.- Early political career :Figueroa was born in Montreal, and has been a member of the CPC since 1977. He has held many positions within the CPC, including party organizer in Vancouver from 1978 to 1985, and leader of...
, current leader of the Communist Party. The resulting legal case, of which Rowley was a chief negotiator, resulted in the assets of the party being split in half and the Leninist group keeping the Party name. The Communist Party held a new convention and new elections, at which Rowley was again elected to the Party leadership, and began another legal challenge this time to maintain its identify as a registered political party, the Figueroa case.
Despite red-baiting, Rowley was elected school trustee in the former 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...
borough of East York
East York
East York can refer to:*East York, Pennsylvania, United States*East York, Ontario, Canada...
during the 1990s where she became an outspoken progressive voice. She was active in campaigns against Mike Harris including the Ontario Days of Action. Rowley strongly opposed the free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
agreements that she believes threaten public services, is a promoter of public education and medicare
Medicare (Canada)
Medicare is the unofficial name for Canada's publicly funded universal health insurance system. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.Under the terms of the Canada Health...
, and has promoted civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and labour causes.
After her term as school trustee, Rowley returned as Ontario leader of the CPC. In 2001, she was again re-elected to the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Canada, and replaced Hassan Husseini
Hassan Husseini
Hassan Husseini was a politician and political activist in Ontario, Canada. He was a prominent member of the Communist Party of Canada - Ontario, and led the party in the 1999 provincial election. He left the CPC in 2003....
as leader of the Ontario Communist Party around the same time. She has worked as a columnist for the People's Voice
People's Voice (newspaper)
People's Voice is a Canadian English-language newspaper published fortnightly by New Labour Press Ltd. The paper's editorial line reflects the viewpoints of the Communist Party of Canada, although it also runs articles by other left-wing voices....
, a Communist Party newspaper, and has also written numerous articles on public resistance in Canada that have been translated into several languages and published around the world. She has most recently been outspoken on issues such as proportional representation, the G20 arrests in Toronto, the Rob Ford administration, migrant and immigrant rights in Toronto, and labour issues.
Electoral record references
- Canadian federal election, 1972Canadian federal election, 1972The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...
, Edmonton—StrathconaEdmonton—StrathconaEdmonton—Strathcona is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1953. It spans the south central part of the city of Edmonton.-Geography:...
, 152 votes (winner: Douglas RocheDouglas RocheDouglas James Roche, OC, KCSG is a former Canadian politician, He served as Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Edmonton—Strathcona from 1972 to 1979 and for Edmonton South 1979-1984. In 1984, he was appointed Canada's Ambassador for Disarmament, a position he held until 1989...
, Progressive ConservativeProgressive Conservative Party of CanadaThe Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
) (note: Rowley, still a student at the time of this election, ran as an independent candidate) - Canadian federal election, 1974Canadian federal election, 1974The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party won its first majority government since 1968, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term...
, Windsor—WalkervilleWindsor—WalkervilleWindsor—Walkerville was a federal electoral district that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1988. It was located in the southwest corner of the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1966 from parts of Essex East and Essex West ridings. The electoral district...
, 165 votes (winner: Mark MacGuiganMark MacGuiganMark Rudolph MacGuigan, PC was a Canadian academic and politician.Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the son of Mark Rudolph MacGuigan and Agnes Violet Trainor, he was educated at Saint Dunstan's University, the University of Toronto, Osgoode Hall Law School and Columbia University...
, LiberalLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
) - Canadian federal election, 1979Canadian federal election, 1979The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive...
, Hamilton MountainHamilton MountainHamilton Mountain is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968. The riding is located in the Hamilton, Ontario region....
, 102 votes (winner: Duncan BeattieDuncan BeattieDuncan Beattie was the Progressive Conservative Member of the Canadian House of Commons for the riding of Hamilton Mountain in Ontario from 1972 to 1974 and again from 1979 to 1980.-References:...
, Progressive ConservativeProgressive Conservative Party of CanadaThe Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
) - Canadian federal election, 1980Canadian federal election, 1980The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...
, Hamilton MountainHamilton MountainHamilton Mountain is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968. The riding is located in the Hamilton, Ontario region....
, 65 votes (winner: Ian DeansIan DeansIan Deans is a Canadian politician.Born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, Deans moved to Canada as a youth and found work as a firefighter...
, New Democratic PartyNew Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
) - Ontario general election, 1981Ontario general election, 1981The Ontario general election of 1981 was held on March 19, 1981, to elect members of the 32nd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, Hamilton West, 260 votes (winner: Stuart SmithStuart Lyon SmithStuart Lyon Smith is a politician, psychiatrist, academic and public servant in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1982, and led the Ontario Liberal Party for most of this period....
, LiberalOntario Liberal PartyThe Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
) - Canadian federal election, 1984Canadian federal election, 1984The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
, Hamilton East, 87 votes (winner: Sheila CoppsSheila CoppsSheila Maureen Copps, PC is a former Canadian politician who also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to April 30, 1996 and June 19, 1996 to June 11, 1997....
, LiberalLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
) - Canadian federal election, 1988Canadian federal election, 1988The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
, Hamilton East, 133 votes (winner: Sheila CoppsSheila CoppsSheila Maureen Copps, PC is a former Canadian politician who also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to April 30, 1996 and June 19, 1996 to June 11, 1997....
, LiberalLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
) - Ontario general election, 1990Ontario general election, 1990The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
, OakwoodOakwood (electoral district)Oakwood was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It was created for the 1975 provincial election, and was retained until redistribution in 1999. It was abolished into Davenport, Eglinton—Lawrence, York South—Weston and St. Paul's...
, 197 votes (winner: Tony RizzoTony RizzoTony Rizzo is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995....
, New Democratic Party) - Canadian federal election, 1993Canadian federal election, 1993The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
, Broadview—GreenwoodToronto—DanforthToronto—Danforth is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979. It lies to the east of Downtown Toronto....
, 151 votes (winner: Dennis MillsDennis MillsDennis Joseph Mills is a Canadian businessman and former politician. He was a Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Toronto-Danforth in the east-end of downtown Toronto. He now sits on the board of directors of Magna International....
, LiberalLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
) (note: Rowley ran as an independent in this election, as the Communist Party of Canada was not recognized as an official party) - Ontario general election, 1999Ontario general election, 1999An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, Don Valley EastDon Valley EastDon Valley East is a federal electoral district in Canada that covers the northeast section of the North York part of Toronto. The federal riding was created in 1976 from parts of Willowdale, York East, York North, and York—Scarborough ridings....
, 91 votes (winner: David CaplanDavid CaplanDavid Caplan is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty...
, LiberalOntario Liberal PartyThe Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
) - Canadian federal election, 2000Canadian federal election, 2000The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, Etobicoke NorthEtobicoke NorthEtobicoke North is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979. It covers Rexdale, the northern part of Etobicoke, which is part of Toronto....
, 347 votes (winner: Roy CullenRoy CullenFor the Texas businessman, see Hugh Roy Cullen.Roy Cullen, PC, MP was a Liberal MP for the riding of Etobicoke North in the Canadian House of Commons.-Background:...
, LiberalLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
) - Ontario general election, 2003Ontario general election, 2003The Ontario general election of 2003 was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, Scarborough Centre, 241 votes (winner: Brad DuguidBrad DuguidBrad Duguid is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Scarborough Centre and is the province's Minister of Economic Development and Innovation in the Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty for the Ontario Liberal...
, LiberalOntario Liberal PartyThe Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
) - Canadian federal election, 2004Canadian federal election, 2004The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, Scarborough SouthwestScarborough SouthwestScarborough Southwest is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons.On Toronto City Council, the southeast portion is represented by Gary Crawford. The northwest section is represented by Michelle Berardinetti.-Geography:It covers the...
, 168 votes (winner: Tom WappelTom WappelThomas William "Tom" Wappel is a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons from 1988 to 2008, representing the Toronto riding of Scarborough West and its successor riding of Scarborough Southwest. He did not seek re-election in the 2008 general election.Wappel is a...
, LiberalLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
) - Canadian federal election, 2006Canadian federal election, 2006The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, Scarborough SouthwestScarborough SouthwestScarborough Southwest is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons.On Toronto City Council, the southeast portion is represented by Gary Crawford. The northwest section is represented by Michelle Berardinetti.-Geography:It covers the...
, 120 votes (0.29%) (winner: Tom WappelTom WappelThomas William "Tom" Wappel is a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons from 1988 to 2008, representing the Toronto riding of Scarborough West and its successor riding of Scarborough Southwest. He did not seek re-election in the 2008 general election.Wappel is a...
, LiberalLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
) - Ontario general election, 2007Ontario general election, 2007The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...
, Brampton-Springdale, 150 votes (0.4%) (winner: Linda JeffreyLinda JeffreyLinda Jeffrey is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Brampton—Springdale for the Ontario Liberal Party, and is the province's Minister of Natural Resources in the Liberal government of Premier Dalton...
, LiberalOntario Liberal PartyThe Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
) - Canadian federal election, 2008Canadian federal election, 2008The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
, Windsor WestWindsor WestWindsor West is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.The district consists of the part of the city of Windsor lying west and south of a line drawn from the U.S...
, 125 votes (0.3%) (winner: Brian MasseBrian MasseBrian S. Masse is a Canadian politician. He has served in the Canadian House of Commons since 2002, representing the riding of Windsor West as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, New Democratic PartyNew Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
)