Communist Party of Canada

The Communist Party of Canada (Parti communiste du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it does not currently have any parliamentary representation, the party's candidates have previously been elected to the House of Commons, the Ontario legislature, the Manitoba legislature, and various municipal governments across the country. The party has also made significant contributions to Canada's trade union, labour, and peace movements. The Communist Party of Canada is the second oldest active political party in Canada, after the Liberal Party of Canada. In 1993, the party was de-registered and had its assets seized, forcing it to begin what would become a successful thirteen-year political and legal battle to maintain the registration of small political parties in Canada. The campaign culminated with the final decision of Figueroa v. Canada (AG), changing the legal definition of a political party in Canada. Despite its status as a registered political party, the Communist Party of Canada places the vast majority of its emphasis on extra-parliamentary activity that it calls "the labour and people's movements", as reflected in its programme "Canada's Future is Socialism". The Communist Party of Canada participates in the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties. Between May 23 and 25, 1921, local communists and socialists held clandestine meetings in a barn behind a farmhouse (owned by Elizabeth Farley) at 257 Metcalf Street, then in the outskirts of Guelph, Ontario. An RCMP officer, working undercover, attended the meetings. His report states that delegates attended from "Winnipeg, Vancouver, Hamilton, Toronto, Montreal, Sudbury and Regina" and that the Soviet Union had offered to provide funding for the group. In addition to Guelph resident Fred Farley, a member of the United Communist Party of America, the attendees named in the RCMP report included Thomas J.