A failure of unity : Communist party-CCF relations in British Columbia, 1935-1939
Date
1977
Authors
Hill, Patrick George
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Abstract
A Failure of Unity Communist Party-CCF Relations in British Columbia 1935-1939 discusses the attempt to implement the decisions of the Communist InterĀnational in British Columbia during the latter half pf the decade of the 1930's. These decisions required that Communist Parties around the world attempt to form alliances with all other left wing or progressive groups to combat the growing menace of fascism. In British Columbia, by far the largest of such groups was the CCF, a recently formed social democratic party which had rapidly gained a powerful position in the province. By gaining this prominence, the CCF made itself the leading candidate for such an alliance.
This thesis undertakes a chronological review of the development of relations between the two parties. It briefly discusses the early years of the two parties, and attempts to make clear the hostility with which the Communist party greeted the birth and early growth of the CCF. It then notes the drastic about face that the Communists were forced to make to be in line with the new Communist International policy of 1935 and after. The largest section of the text is concerned with the events of 1936 and 1937 when the pressure for united action with the Communists, along with other tensions and rivalries within the CCF, forced a series of confrontations, all of which related to the Communist Party and unity. The climax of this period came at the 1937 CCF convention when, after a bitter struggle, the forces of unity were decisively defeated. The sixth chapter of the essay is concerned with the fortunes of popular front agiĀtation in 1938 and 1939, until World War II put an end to such matters. The fifth chapter is concerned with the alleged presence of Trotskyites in the CCF, while the seventh examines selected personalities and competing political groups, especially those considered of sufficient merit by the Communists to be potential members of the popular front.
The concluding chapter of this thesis attempts to discuss the two parties in terms of their structure, composition and manner of operation. In this manner it is hoped that it can be demonstrated that the very nature of the two parties precluded sincere cooperation.