Major James Coldwell
Encyclopedia
Major James William Coldwell, (December 2, 1888 – August 25, 1974), usually known as M.J. (Major was his first name, not a military title), was a Canadian
social democratic politician, and leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
(CCF) party
from 1942 to 1960. He was born in England, and immigrated to Canada in 1910. Prior to his political career, he was an educator and union activist. In 1935 he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons, representing the Rosetown—Biggar
electoral district. He would be re-elected five more times until he was defeated in the 1958 Diefenbaker sweep
. He was the CCF's first national secretary in 1934, and became its national leader upon the death of J.S. Wordsworth in 1942. He remained as its leader until 1960, when there was a parliamentary caucus revolt against him. When the CCF was disbanded 1961, he joined its successor party, the NDP. He is mainly remembered for helping to introduce "welfare state
" policies to Canada, by persuading the Canadian government to introduce an Old Age Security
programme, and child benefits during the mid-1940s. Coldwell turned down several offers to cross the floor and join the governing Liberal Party of Canada
, including one offer that eventually would have made him the Prime Minister of Canada. After his defeat in 1958, he was offered a Senate appointment, but declined it as well. He became a member of the Privy Council in 1964 and in 1967 became one of the initial inductees into the Order of Canada
. After suffering two heart attacks on the same day, he died in Ottawa at the age of 85.
, England
on December 2, 1888. While Coldwell attended Exeter University (at the time called Royal Albert Memorial College), he met Norah Gertrude Dunsford in 1907, and in December 1909, they became engaged. Norah was born in 1888, and was the daughter of a wealthy newspaper proprietor, John Thomas Dunsford. Coldwell left to teach in Canada's Prairie provinces in 1910 and came back to the United Kingdom during his summer break in 1912. They were married at the Wembdon Church in Bridgwater, Somerset on July 22. They honeymooned in England for two weeks, before they sailed to Canada for him to continue teaching in Sedley, Saskatchewan
.
He started his teaching career, when he left for Canada in February 1910, and became a school teacher in New Norway, Alberta
. After moving to Saskatchewan, he became known nationally as a leader of teacher's associations from 1924 until 1934. He first ran for the Canadian House of Commons as a Progressive
candidate in Regina
in the 1925 federal election
but was defeated. He was elected to the city council
in Regina and developed links with labour and farmers organizations.
under Coldwell's leadership, and won five seats in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
, making it the official opposition to the Liberal government. Coldwell was defeated in his election bid. After the election, the party affiliated itself with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
, and became the Saskatchewan CCF.
, Coldwell was elected to the House of Commons
as Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding
of Rosetown-Biggar. Coldwell also served as the CCF's national chairman from 1938 to 1942. He split with CCF leader J.S. Woodsworth when World War II
broke out in 1939. Woodsworth, a pacifist, opposed the war effort, while Coldwell and the rest of the CCF caucus
supported the war.
. The Liberals, appropriated many of the CCF's policies, and made them government policy. Liberal governments implementing unemployment insurance, family allowances,and universal old age pensions stole much of the CCF's thunder with the electorate and one of the reasons that the party's electoral fortunes took a downward turn during the prosperous 1950s. Coldwell, mostly cared that his party's policies were becoming law, and was not too concerned if he and the CCF received little, if any, credit for them.
In 1945, Prime Minister MacKenzie King
offered Coldwell a Cabinet post in his government. When Coldwell refused, MacKenzie King made another offer, that would have made him the next Liberal leader, and by extension, the Prime Minister of Canada. Again Coldwell, refused, mainly due to his loyalty to his party, and its principles, when he stated that "if the country needed me in the Prime Minister's chair, then it would be at the head of a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation government and not as a member of a party with views and politics contradictory to those in which I believed." Rumours that King made Coldwell an offer became public during the 1946 by-election campaign in the Parkdale
electoral district. On October 11, while attending a rally for the CCF's by-election candidate, Ford Brand, at Parkdale Collegiate Institute
, a partisan audience member asked him about the rumour that he was offered the leadership of the federal Liberal Party. Coldwell responded by stating that there was no official offer, and that "...the Liberals thought they could buy Coldwell. Coldwell is not for sale."
and the Ontario elections of 1945
were possibly the most crucial to Canada in the 20th century. They took place at the beginning of the welfare state
, and the elections would set the course of political thought to the end of the century and beyond. The year was a disaster for the CCF, both nationally and in Ontario, which Coldwell and the CCF's main players realized at the time. The CCF never fully recovered, and in 1961 would dissolve and become the New Democratic Party. As NDP strategist and historian Gerald Caplan
put it: "June 4[ Ontario] , and June 11 [ Canada] , 1945, proved to be black days in CCF annals: socialism was effectively removed from the Canadian political agenda."
The anti-socialist crusade by the Ontario Conservative Party
, mostly credited to the Ontario Provincial Police
(OPP) special investigative branch's agent D-208 (Captain William J. Osborne-Dempster) and the Conservative propagandists Gladstone Murray and Montague A. Sanderson, diminished the CCF's initially favourable position both provincially and nationally: the September 1943 Gallup poll showed the CCF leading nationally with 29 percent support, with the Liberals and Conservatives tied for second place at 28 percent. By April 1945, the CCF was down to 20 percent nationally, and on election day it received only 16 percent.
Another factor in the CCF's defeat was the unofficial coalition between the Liberal Party of Canada
and the communist Labour-Progressive Party
. It guaranteed a split in the left-of-centre vote.
as a statement of party principles to replace the more radical Regina Manifesto
. He pushed the party to accept that there is room for the private sector in a mixed economy, in a hope that these new principles would make the CCF more palatable to the voting public.
In the 1958 election
, Coldwell lost his House of Commons seat, and the party was reduced to a rump of eight MPs. Prime Minister Diefenbaker
offered him a Senate appointment, which he declined. In the period following the election, he was constantly considering resigning as the CCF's leader, but was repeatedly dissuaded by the party's executive. However, the party needed a leader in the House of Commons to replace him, because he obviously was no longer a member of parliament. The CCF parliamentary caucus chose Hazen Argue
as its new leader in the House. During the lead-up to the 1960 CCF convention, Argue was pressing Coldwell to step down. This leadership challenge jeopardized plans for an orderly transition to the new party that was being planned by the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress
. CCF national president David Lewis
– who succeeded Coldwell as president in 1958, when the national chairman and national president positions were merged – and the rest of the new party's organizers, opposed Argue's manoeuvres, and wanted Saskatchewan
premier Tommy Douglas
to be the new party's first leader. To prevent their plans from derailing, Lewis attempted to persuade Argue not to force a vote at the convention on the question of the party's leadership. He was unsuccessful. There was a split between the parliamentary caucus and the party executive on the convention floor. Coldwell stepped-down as leader, and Argue replaced him, becoming the party's final national leader.
As far back as 1941, Coldwell wanted Douglas to succeed him in leading the National CCF (at that time, it was obvious that Coldwell would be assuming the national leadership in the near future). When the time came for the "New Party
" to form, in 1961, Coldwell pressured Douglas to run for the leadership. Coldwell did not trust Argue, and many in the CCF leadership thought that he was already having secret meetings with the Liberals to merge the "New Party" with the Liberal Party of Canada. As well, it was thought by Coldwell and Douglas, that Lewis would not be a viable alternative to Argue, because he likely could not defeat him, partially due to his lack of a parliamentary seat but also, and likely more importantly, his role as party disciplinarian over the years, made him many enemies, enough to potentially prevent him from winning the leadership. Douglas, after much consultation, with Coldwell, Lewis and his caucus, decided in June 1961 to reluctantly contest the leadership of the New Party. He handily defeated Argue on August 3, 1961. Six months later Argue crossed-the-floor, and became a Liberal.
Coldwell was unenthusiastic about the movement to merge the CCF with the Canadian Labour Congress and create the "New Party", but he joined the New Democratic Party
at its founding in 1961, and remained an elder statesman in the party until his death in 1974.
, thereby allowing him to be referred to by the honorific "The Honourable" for the rest of his life. Also in 1964, he was appointed to the House of Commons Advisory Committee on Election Finances, which was chaired by Liberal Cabinet Minister, Judy LaMarsh
. In 1966, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson
appointed him to the Royal Commission on Security (the "Mackenzie Commission"), dealing with the RCMP and security issues that arose from the Munsinger Affair
. On July 6, 1967, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada. He was invested into the order on November 24, 1967 for "his contribution as a Parliamentarian." It is noteworthy that his Order of Canada badge was sold at auction in 1981, the first time the Order of Canada is known to have been sold. The Douglas-Coldwell Foundation
was established in 1971. On November 5, 1972, Coldwell was honoured by St. Francis Xavier University
with a Doctorate in Laws degree (LL.D.).
In his final years, his health was deteriorating. He was living alone in his home in Ottawa
, with the assistance of his housekeeper, Beatrice Bramwell. He died in Ottawa's Civic Hospital after suffering two heart attacks on August 25, 1974. He had given specific orders not to perform "heroic measures" to keep him alive. He was 85 years old when he died.
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...
social democratic politician, and leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
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...
(CCF) party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
from 1942 to 1960. He was born in England, and immigrated to Canada in 1910. Prior to his political career, he was an educator and union activist. In 1935 he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons, representing the Rosetown—Biggar
Rosetown—Biggar
Rosetown—Biggar was a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1968.This riding was created in 1933 from parts of Kindersley and Rosetown ridings....
electoral district. He would be re-elected five more times until he was defeated in the 1958 Diefenbaker sweep
Canadian federal election, 1958
The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...
. He was the CCF's first national secretary in 1934, and became its national leader upon the death of J.S. Wordsworth in 1942. He remained as its leader until 1960, when there was a parliamentary caucus revolt against him. When the CCF was disbanded 1961, he joined its successor party, the NDP. He is mainly remembered for helping to introduce "welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
" policies to Canada, by persuading the Canadian government to introduce an Old Age Security
Old Age Security
The Old Age Security pension is a taxable monthly social security payment available to most Canadians 65 years of age or older. As of July, 2011, the basic amount is C$533.70 per month. At tax time, recipients with 2010 incomes over C$67,668 must pay back a portion of their Old Age Security at a...
programme, and child benefits during the mid-1940s. Coldwell turned down several offers to cross the floor and join the governing Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The 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...
, including one offer that eventually would have made him the Prime Minister of Canada. After his defeat in 1958, he was offered a Senate appointment, but declined it as well. He became a member of the Privy Council in 1964 and in 1967 became one of the initial inductees into the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. After suffering two heart attacks on the same day, he died in Ottawa at the age of 85.
Early life
Coldwell was born in SeatonSeaton, Devon
Seaton is a seaside town in East Devon on the south coast of England. It faces onto Lyme Bay, to the west of the mouth of the River Axe with red cliffs to one side and white cliffs on the other. Axmouth and Beer are nearby...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on December 2, 1888. While Coldwell attended Exeter University (at the time called Royal Albert Memorial College), he met Norah Gertrude Dunsford in 1907, and in December 1909, they became engaged. Norah was born in 1888, and was the daughter of a wealthy newspaper proprietor, John Thomas Dunsford. Coldwell left to teach in Canada's Prairie provinces in 1910 and came back to the United Kingdom during his summer break in 1912. They were married at the Wembdon Church in Bridgwater, Somerset on July 22. They honeymooned in England for two weeks, before they sailed to Canada for him to continue teaching in Sedley, Saskatchewan
Sedley, Saskatchewan
-Area statistics:*Lat 50° 10' 00" N*Long 104° 00' 00" W*Dominion Land Survey Sec.17, Twp.14, R.15, W2*Time zone UTC-6-External links:* *-See also:*List of communities in Saskatchewan...
.
He started his teaching career, when he left for Canada in February 1910, and became a school teacher in New Norway, Alberta
New Norway, Alberta
New Norway is a small rural village located in the central prairies of Alberta, Canada. Named in 1895 and properly established in 1909, it is located on Hwy 21, approximately 100 kilometres SSE of Edmonton and 22 kilometres SW of Camrose, the closest major trading center.With a population of over...
. After moving to Saskatchewan, he became known nationally as a leader of teacher's associations from 1924 until 1934. He first ran for the Canadian House of Commons as a Progressive
Progressive Party of Canada
The Progressive Party of Canada was a political party in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces and, in Manitoba, ran candidates and formed governments as the Progressive Party of Manitoba...
candidate in Regina
Regina (electoral district)
Regina was a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1908 to 1935.This riding was created in 1907 from parts of the former Northwest Territories ridings Assiniboia West and Qu'Appelle ridings...
in the 1925 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1925
The Canadian federal election of 1925 was held on October 29 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 15th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal Party formed a minority government. This precipitated the "King-Byng Affair".The Liberals under...
but was defeated. He was elected to the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
in Regina and developed links with labour and farmers organizations.
Political beginnings
In 1926, Coldwell organized the Independent Labour party (ILP) in Saskatchewan. In 1929, The Farmers' Political Association and the ILP nominated three candidates, for the provincial election, under the joint banner of the Saskatchewan Farmer-Labour party, with Coldwell leading it. The party fought the 1934 provincial electionSaskatchewan general election, 1934
The Saskatchewan general election of 1934 was the eighth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 19, 1934, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
under Coldwell's leadership, and won five seats in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
The 25th Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan was in power from 2003 until November 20, 2007. It was controlled by the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party under premier Lorne Calvert.-Members:-By-elections:...
, making it the official opposition to the Liberal government. Coldwell was defeated in his election bid. After the election, the party affiliated itself with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
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...
, and became the Saskatchewan CCF.
Elected MP
In 1934, he became the CCF's first national secretary. In the 1935 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1935
The Canadian federal election of 1935 was held on October 14, 1935 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Minister R.B. Bennett's Conservative Party.The central...
, Coldwell was elected to the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
as Member of Parliament (MP) for the 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 Rosetown-Biggar. Coldwell also served as the CCF's national chairman from 1938 to 1942. He split with CCF leader J.S. Woodsworth when 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...
broke out in 1939. Woodsworth, a pacifist, opposed the war effort, while Coldwell and the rest of the CCF caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
supported the war.
CCF leader
When Woodsworth resigned as CCF leader in 1942, shortly before his death, Coldwell was unanimously elected the party's new national leader and president. He led the party through five general elections. After an upsurge of support for the party in the mid-1940s, the party embarked on a long decline during the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. The Liberals, appropriated many of the CCF's policies, and made them government policy. Liberal governments implementing unemployment insurance, family allowances,and universal old age pensions stole much of the CCF's thunder with the electorate and one of the reasons that the party's electoral fortunes took a downward turn during the prosperous 1950s. Coldwell, mostly cared that his party's policies were becoming law, and was not too concerned if he and the CCF received little, if any, credit for them.
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...
offered Coldwell a Cabinet post in his government. When Coldwell refused, MacKenzie King made another offer, that would have made him the next Liberal leader, and by extension, the Prime Minister of Canada. Again Coldwell, refused, mainly due to his loyalty to his party, and its principles, when he stated that "if the country needed me in the Prime Minister's chair, then it would be at the head of a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation government and not as a member of a party with views and politics contradictory to those in which I believed." Rumours that King made Coldwell an offer became public during the 1946 by-election campaign in the Parkdale
Parkdale (electoral district)
Parkdale was a Canadian federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1979. It included the community of Parkdale in the western part of Toronto...
electoral district. On October 11, while attending a rally for the CCF's by-election candidate, Ford Brand, at Parkdale Collegiate Institute
Parkdale Collegiate Institute
Parkdale Collegiate Institute is a public high school located on Jameson Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1888 in the community of Parkdale.-History:Parkdale High School opened in the Masonic Hall on Dowling Avenue in 1888...
, a partisan audience member asked him about the rumour that he was offered the leadership of the federal Liberal Party. Coldwell responded by stating that there was no official offer, and that "...the Liberals thought they could buy Coldwell. Coldwell is not for sale."
1945 elections: disappointment and defeat
Coldwell, and the CCF in general, were looking forward to the upcoming federal election in 1945, and to the Ontario provincial election. As it would turn out, the Canadian federalCanadian federal election, 1945
The Canadian federal election of 1945 was the 20th general election in Canadian history. It was held June 11, 1945 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 20th Parliament of Canada...
and the Ontario elections of 1945
Ontario general election, 1945
The Ontario general election of 1945 was held on June 4, 1945, to elect the 90 members of the 22nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
were possibly the most crucial to Canada in the 20th century. They took place at the beginning of the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
, and the elections would set the course of political thought to the end of the century and beyond. The year was a disaster for the CCF, both nationally and in Ontario, which Coldwell and the CCF's main players realized at the time. The CCF never fully recovered, and in 1961 would dissolve and become the New Democratic Party. As NDP strategist and historian Gerald Caplan
Gerald Caplan
Gerald Lewis Caplan, PhD is a Canadian academic, public policy analyst, commentator and political activist. He has had a varied career in academia, as a political organizer for the New Democratic Party, in advocacy around education, broadcasting and African affairs and as a commentator in various...
put it: "June 4
The anti-socialist crusade by the Ontario Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
, mostly credited to the Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
(OPP) special investigative branch's agent D-208 (Captain William J. Osborne-Dempster) and the Conservative propagandists Gladstone Murray and Montague A. Sanderson, diminished the CCF's initially favourable position both provincially and nationally: the September 1943 Gallup poll showed the CCF leading nationally with 29 percent support, with the Liberals and Conservatives tied for second place at 28 percent. By April 1945, the CCF was down to 20 percent nationally, and on election day it received only 16 percent.
Another factor in the CCF's defeat was the unofficial coalition between the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The 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...
and the communist 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....
. It guaranteed a split in the left-of-centre vote.
Leadership succession crisis
Coldwell had a moderating influence on party policy, and in 1956, at the party's bi-annual convention in Winnipeg, the party passed the Winnipeg DeclarationWinnipeg Declaration
The Winnipeg Declaration was the programme adopted by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in Canada to replace the Regina Manifesto...
as a statement of party principles to replace the more radical Regina Manifesto
Regina Manifesto
The Regina Manifesto was the programme of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and was adopted at the first national convention of the CCF held in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1933. The primary goal of the "Regina Manifesto" was to eradicate the system of capitalism and replace it with a planned...
. He pushed the party to accept that there is room for the private sector in a mixed economy, in a hope that these new principles would make the CCF more palatable to the voting public.
In the 1958 election
Canadian federal election, 1958
The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...
, Coldwell lost his House of Commons seat, and the party was reduced to a rump of eight MPs. Prime Minister Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
offered him a Senate appointment, which he declined. In the period following the election, he was constantly considering resigning as the CCF's leader, but was repeatedly dissuaded by the party's executive. However, the party needed a leader in the House of Commons to replace him, because he obviously was no longer a member of parliament. The CCF parliamentary caucus chose Hazen Argue
Hazen Argue
Hazen Robert Argue, PC was a Canadian politician based in Saskatchewan who served in Ottawa for 43 years at various levels of Canada's federal government. He was first elected as a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Member of Parliament in 1945 and ended his career as a Liberal Party Senator...
as its new leader in the House. During the lead-up to the 1960 CCF convention, Argue was pressing Coldwell to step down. This leadership challenge jeopardized plans for an orderly transition to the new party that was being planned by the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress
Canadian Labour Congress
The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...
. CCF national president David Lewis
David Lewis (politician)
David Lewis, CC was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950, and one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party in 1961...
– who succeeded Coldwell as president in 1958, when the national chairman and national president positions were merged – and the rest of the new party's organizers, opposed Argue's manoeuvres, and wanted Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
premier Tommy Douglas
Tommy Douglas
Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...
to be the new party's first leader. To prevent their plans from derailing, Lewis attempted to persuade Argue not to force a vote at the convention on the question of the party's leadership. He was unsuccessful. There was a split between the parliamentary caucus and the party executive on the convention floor. Coldwell stepped-down as leader, and Argue replaced him, becoming the party's final national leader.
As far back as 1941, Coldwell wanted Douglas to succeed him in leading the National CCF (at that time, it was obvious that Coldwell would be assuming the national leadership in the near future). When the time came for the "New Party
New Party (Canada)
New Party was the interim name used by the new political party being established in Canada from 1958 to 1961 by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the Canadian Labour Congress , which eventually defined itself as a social democratic party...
" to form, in 1961, Coldwell pressured Douglas to run for the leadership. Coldwell did not trust Argue, and many in the CCF leadership thought that he was already having secret meetings with the Liberals to merge the "New Party" with the Liberal Party of Canada. As well, it was thought by Coldwell and Douglas, that Lewis would not be a viable alternative to Argue, because he likely could not defeat him, partially due to his lack of a parliamentary seat but also, and likely more importantly, his role as party disciplinarian over the years, made him many enemies, enough to potentially prevent him from winning the leadership. Douglas, after much consultation, with Coldwell, Lewis and his caucus, decided in June 1961 to reluctantly contest the leadership of the New Party. He handily defeated Argue on August 3, 1961. Six months later Argue crossed-the-floor, and became a Liberal.
Coldwell was unenthusiastic about the movement to merge the CCF with the Canadian Labour Congress and create the "New Party", but he joined the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The 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...
at its founding in 1961, and remained an elder statesman in the party until his death in 1974.
Later life
In 1964 he became a member of the Queen's Privy Council for CanadaQueen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, thereby allowing him to be referred to by the honorific "The Honourable" for the rest of his life. Also in 1964, he was appointed to the House of Commons Advisory Committee on Election Finances, which was chaired by Liberal Cabinet Minister, Judy LaMarsh
Judy LaMarsh
Julia Verlyn LaMarsh, PC, OC, QC was a Canadian politician, lawyer, author and broadcaster. In 1963, she was only the second woman to ever serve as a federal Cabinet Minister...
. In 1966, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
appointed him to the Royal Commission on Security (the "Mackenzie Commission"), dealing with the RCMP and security issues that arose from the Munsinger Affair
Munsinger Affair
The Munsinger Affair was Canada's first national political sex scandal. It focused on Gerda Munsinger, an alleged East German prostitute and Soviet spy living in Ottawa who had slept with a number of cabinet ministers in John Diefenbaker's government....
. On July 6, 1967, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada. He was invested into the order on November 24, 1967 for "his contribution as a Parliamentarian." It is noteworthy that his Order of Canada badge was sold at auction in 1981, the first time the Order of Canada is known to have been sold. The Douglas-Coldwell Foundation
Douglas-Coldwell Foundation
The Douglas-Coldwell Foundation is a Canadian think tank devoted, in the words of its slogan, to "promoting education and research into social democracy." It was founded in 1971, and is based in Ottawa....
was established in 1971. On November 5, 1972, Coldwell was honoured by St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a post-secondary institution located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The school was founded in 1853, but did not offer degrees until 1868. The university has approximately 5000 students.-History:...
with a Doctorate in Laws degree (LL.D.).
In his final years, his health was deteriorating. He was living alone in his home in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, with the assistance of his housekeeper, Beatrice Bramwell. He died in Ottawa's Civic Hospital after suffering two heart attacks on August 25, 1974. He had given specific orders not to perform "heroic measures" to keep him alive. He was 85 years old when he died.