Ontario CCF/NDP leadership elections

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The Ontario New Democratic Party elects its leaders by secret ballot of the party members and/or their delegates at leadership elections, as did its predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section). The party leader can be challenged for the leadership at the party's biennial convention. The Ontario New Democratic Party is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada.

From 1934 until 1942, the president of the Ontario CCF acted as the party's spokesperson and leader during election campaigns. John Mitchell, a Hamilton alderman, was CCF president from 1934 until 1941. Samuel Lawrence, former Ontario CCF MPP for Hamilton East was elected party president in 1941 and recommended that the party elect a leader in 1942.[1][2]

Ontario Co-operative Commonwealth Federation[edit]

1942 leadership convention[edit]

(Held on April 3, 1942, at the Hotel Carls-Rite in Toronto)[1]

Fifteen other individuals were nominated but declined to stand including Ontario CCF President and former Hamilton East MPP Samuel Lawrence; Allan Schroeder of St. Catharines; York West Member of Parliament Joseph W. Noseworthy; Canadian United Steelworkers of America executive director Charles Millard, lawyer Andrew Brewin; former Member of Parliament Agnes MacPhail; Toronto alderman William Dennison, CCF National Secretary David Lewis; University of Toronto professor and Toronto school trustee George Grube; teacher Everett Orlan Hall of London, Ontario; Alderman and former party president John Mitchell of Hamilton; B.E. Leavens of Toronto; Lou Isaacs; William Grant of Peterborough, and Margaret Sedgewick of Toronto.[1][2]

(Note: The vote totals were not announced. 150 delegates participated in total.[1])

1946 leadership challenge[edit]

(Held November 23, 1946)

1953 leadership convention[edit]

(Held at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall on College Street, in Toronto, on November 21, 1953.)[3]

First Ballot
Candidate Votes Percentage
Fred Young 154 43.2
Donald C. MacDonald 127 35.6
Andrew Brewin 75 21.0
Total 356 100
Second Ballot
Candidate Votes Percentage +/-
Donald C. MacDonald 181 50.8 +15.2
Fred Young 175 49.2 +6.0
Total 356 100

Former MPPs Agnes Macphail, Eamon Park, Charles Millard, and William Dennison were nominated as was sitting MPP and CCF house leader Bill Grummett but all declined.[4]

(Note: These totals are taken from an interview with Donald C. MacDonald several years after the convention. They do not appear to have been announced at the convention itself.)

Ontario New Democratic Party[edit]

1961 leadership convention[edit]

(Held on October 8, 1961, at the Sheraton-Brock Hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario)[5]

1968 leadership challenge[edit]

(Held on November 17, 1968, at Bingeman Park in Kitchener, Ontario.)[6]

Candidate Votes Percentage
Donald C. MacDonald 859 69.9
Jim Renwick 370 30.1
Total 1,229 100

1970 leadership convention[edit]

(Held at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto on October 4, 1970.)[7]

Candidate Votes Percentage
Stephen Lewis 1,188 64.1
Walter Pitman 642 34.7
Douglas Campbell 21 1.1
Total 1,851 100

1972 leadership challenge[edit]

(Held on December 10, 1972, at the Four Seasons Sheraton Hotel in Toronto, Ontario.)[8]

Candidate Votes Percentage
Stephen Lewis 752 85.8
Douglas Campbell 124 14.1
Total 876 100

An additional 137 ballots were spoiled. If the spoiled votes are factored in then Lewis received 74.2% support overall

1978 leadership convention[edit]

(Held on February 5, 1978, at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto.)[9]

First Ballot
Candidate Votes Percentage
Michael Cassidy 675 37.6
Ian Deans 623 34.7
Michael Breaugh 499 27.8
Total 1,797 100

Breaugh eliminated, goes to Cassidy

Second Ballot
Candidate Votes Percentage +/-
Michael Cassidy 980 54.8 +17.2
Ian Deans 809 45.2 +10.6
Total 1,789 100

1982 leadership convention[edit]

(Held at the Harbour Castle Convention Centre in Toronto on February 7, 1982.)[10]

Candidate Votes Percentage
Bob Rae 1,356 64.6
Richard Johnston 512 24.4
Jim Foulds 232 11.0
Total 2,100 100

1986 leadership challenge[edit]

(Held on June 22, 1986, at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.)

Candidate Votes Percentage
Bob Rae 776 95.3
Ian Orenstein 38 4.7
Total 814 100

1996 leadership convention[edit]

(Held on June 22, 1996, at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.)

After the first ballot, Silipo was eliminated and he endorsed Hampton. After the 2nd ballot, Kormos was eliminated but he endorsed no one and released his delegates. There were eighty spoiled ballots on the final count, mostly from disgruntled supporters of Kormos.

Ballot results[edit]

Delegate support by ballot
Candidate 1st ballot 2nd ballot 3rd ballot
Name Votes cast % Votes cast % Votes cast %
Howard Hampton 649 33.7 806 43.4 971 55.0
Frances Lankin 611 31.7 691 36.3 793 45.0
Peter Kormos 434 22.5 402 21.1
Tony Silipo 232 12.0
Total 1,926 100.0 1,899 100.0 1,764 100.0

2009 leadership election[edit]

(Held on March 7, 2009, at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario)

First Ballot
Candidate Weighted Votes Percentage
Andrea Horwath 4,625.29 37.1
Peter Tabuns 3,437.93 27.6
Gilles Bisson 2,954.23 23.7
Michael Prue 1,438.44 11.5
Total 12,455.89 100

Prue eliminated, endorses Bisson

Second Ballot
Candidate Weighted Votes Percentage +/-
Andrea Horwath 5,259.06 43.6 +6.5
Peter Tabuns 3,819.82 31.7 +4.1
Gilles Bisson 2,988.12 24.8 +1.1
Total 12,067 100.0

Bisson eliminated, endorses Horwath

Third Ballot
Candidate Weighted Votes Percentage +/-
Andrea Horwath 6,732.34 60.4 +16.8
Peter Tabuns 4,420.66 39.6 +7.9
Total 11,152.9 100.0

Starting with the 2009 leadership election, the Ontario NDP instituted a modified one member one vote system in which the vote is calculated so that ballots cast by labour delegates have 25% weight in the total result, while votes cast by party members have a weight of 75% in the overall result.

2023 leadership election[edit]

(Held on February 4, 2023, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "C.C.F. Names Jolliffe As Leader for Ontario: Provincial Platform Includes Planks for Agriculture and Labor". Globe and Mail. 4 April 1942.
  2. ^ a b "Rhodes Scholar, Lawyer, is Ontario CCF Leader". Toronto Daily Star. 4 April 1942.
  3. ^ "Dangerous McCarthy Minority Threat to Peace - Coldwell". Toronto Daily Star. 21 November 1953.
  4. ^ "Coldwell Raps Betrayal of Canada Secrets by US". Toronto Daily Star. 21 November 1953.
  5. ^ "Provincial NDP To Be Born This Weekend". Globe and Mail. 7 October 1961.
  6. ^ "Quits NDP executive: Scott fails to bag support for head hunt". Globe and Mail. 23 November 1968.
  7. ^ "Lewis to lead NDP in fight against U.S. influence". Toronto Daily Star. 5 October 1970.
  8. ^ "Restyled Waffle delays review of policies by NDP convention". Globe and Mail. 9 December 1972.
  9. ^ "Lewis steps down with tears after three-minute ovation". Globe and Mail. 6 February 1978.
  10. ^ "Rae promises health-care battle". Toronto Star. 8 February 1982.
  11. ^ "Marit Stiles officially confirmed as Ontario NDP leader by majority vote". CTV News. Canadian Press. February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.