Early Years
As the predecessor of the New Democratic Party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) first established itself in Prince Edward Island in the form of a club set up in the Bedeque area in June of 1936. The impetus for the establishment of the club was the visit of E. J. “Ted” Garland to the province on behalf of the national CCF organization. Local leadership was spearheaded by Rev. Arthur Organ, then Pastor of Bedeque United Church. Reverend Organ had been leader of a study group for the Bedeque area during the preceding winter. Part of the material studied was the book, Social Planning for Canada, written by prominent CCFers. At a meeting in Central Bedeque Hall, study group members took part in a debate on the subject of Capitalism vs. Socialism. Mr. Garland then gave a comprehensive talk on the CCF.
Following the meeting, a party club was organized. Charter members included W. N. Jenkins, Irving Toombs, Hector Leard and Douglas MacFarlane. Two other United Church ministers from the area were also interested, Reverend J.W.A. Nicholson, who was pastor of the North Bedeque Church, and Reverend Fred Young, who was at Tryon United. Rev. Nicholson later spent most of his retirement years in Halifax where he was very active in the party. During much of that time, he edited the Maritime CCF paper, the Maritime Commonwealth.
The original CCF club held a few meetings and generated enough interest in the area to make it a focal point for the party. In 1939, the province was visited again by an organizer from the national CCF. He was Dr. J. Stanley Allen, then a member of the faculty of Sir George Williams College, Montreal. He visited the Bedeque area where a meeting was held at the home of Irving Toombs.
Early in 1943, the national CCF decided to take further measures to stir up activity in the province. Douglas McFarlane attended a meeting of the national CCF Council, following which he visited various centres in the province and meetings were held to promote further activity. In the fall of 1943, a provincial election was held, during which the CCF fielded its first candidates. In the Wellington area, Cyrus F. Gallant and Napoleon Arsenault ran in the 3rd Prince riding (all provincial ridings at the time elected two representatives to the provincial legislature). Other candidates were Irving Toombs and Hector Leard in 4th Prince, William Buchanan and Ernest Houston in 2nd Queens, W.G. Rollings and David MacKinnon in 5th Queens and W.D. Johnson in 3rd Kings. Although the candidates from the other two parties refused to face the CCF in public meetings, the party had contested more than 25 percent of the seats required by the CBC for its “Provincial Affairs” radio time and they made good use of it.
Later that fall, a proper provincial founding convention was held. Guest speaker was Joe Noseworthy, then Member of Parliament for South York, who had defeated Conservative leadership hopeful Arthur Meighen in a by-election in 1942. Irving Toombs was elected president and Douglas MacFarlane was chosen provincial secretary.
During the 1945 federal election campaign, the party had its first full-time organizer in the province. He was Ken Green, a native of Albany. Also during its formative years, the Island party received great assistance from two Saskatchewan MPs, Percy Wright and Sandy Nicholson.
A provincial by-election was held in 5th Prince in December of 1945. Douglas McFarlane was asked by some Summerside people to run for the CCF. The race turned into a contest, which otherwise might have been an acclamation.
The party contested 16 seats in the 1947 provincial election and enjoyed more support than in 1943.
The 1951 provincial election was called when spring roads were at their worst. Portions of the vital Borden-Summerside-Charlottetown highway had been torn up for rebuilding. This, plus the high cost of candidates’ deposits, forced the CCF to field only five candidates. However one of the candidates in 4th Prince, J. Harrison MacFarlane, managed to carry his own poll and Hilda Ramsay, who ran in 3rd Prince, was the first woman to ever contest a provincial election on P.E.I.
In the 1953 federal election, the party ran one candidate — J. Harrison MacFarlane in Prince. The CCF contested no more provincial elections but it ran candidates in the next two federal elections — three in the 1957 contest and one in 1958.
The party pioneered in running women for public office. Hilda Ramsay ran in 3rd Prince in the 1951 provincial election. Muriel MacInnis ran in Prince in the 1957 federal election.
The NDP
The plan to build a new, more broadly-based party brought increased interest across the country and Prince Edward Island was no exception. It sent a sizeable delegation to the founding convention of the New Democratic Party held in Ottawa from July 31 to August 4, 1961.
On November 25, 1961, at a convention in Charlottetown, the Prince Edward Island section of the NDP was established. Ian Webster became provincial President and Lorne Perry took on the role of Vice-President. The party’s two federal candidates for Queen’s were nominated during the proceedings — Leo McIsaac and Wilfred Inman. In the evening, 400 people attended a public meeting that featured am address by the new federal NDP leader, Tommy, Douglas. Later, candidates were nominated in Prince and King’s to complete the party’s slate for the 1962 federal election and the party has fielded a full slate of candidates in every subsequent federal election.
Beginning with the 1968 federal election, the province was divided into four single-member ridings. Charlottetown teacher, David Hall, running in Hillsborough, made the best showing for the NDP. Subsequently, he became the party’s first provincial leader.
NDP fortunes improved in the 1972 federal election. The party received 8.9 per cent of the province-wide vote. Its Cardigan candidate, the popular St. Peter’s school principal Aquinas Ryan, benefited from a vigorous campaign and secured 14.2 per cent of the vote. On November 25, at a special leadership convention held at Poole’s Corner, he became the party’s provincial leader.
The NDP started its provincial election activity by contesting three by-elections held on December 4, 1972. It received 5.2 per cent of the total vote. The 1974 provincial election saw twenty provincial candidates in the field. The party criticized various aspects of the Comprehensive Development Plan being carried out in the province at the time. It called for public ownership of public utilities and automobile insurance and an end to various forms of patronage. The vote it received indicated that progress was being made. The results were highlighted by Ryan’s receipt of 14.6 per cent of the votes for the seat he contested.
Doreen Sark assumed the leadership temporarily to head the five-candidate slate in the 1979 election. A policy review and leadership convention was called for March 13 and 14, 1981. Doug Murray, who had earlier worked as party organizer, was elected leader. He set about his new duties in ambitious fashion and was especially interested in political education. After a year of leadership, a congenital heart problem re-asserted itself and he had to relinquish the post, with David Burke being appointed party leader.
A leadership convention was held in February of 1983, with three candidates — David Burke, Maurice Darte and Jim Mayne (who had just completed his term of office as President of the National Farmer’s Union). Guest speakers included ex-leader Doug Murray, who also moved Jim Mayne’s nomination for Leader. In the ensuing vote by party members, Mayne was selcted as the new Leader. Tragically, at a young age, Doug Murray died the next spring. In his memory, an internal education fund was set up to further the work he considered so important.
When Jim Mayne took over leadership of the P.E.I. NDP, it became a full-time, paid position for the first time. Mayne led the party in both the 1986 and 1989 provincial elections and, during his tenure as Leader, contested two by-elections. In the second by-election contest in the Summerside riding of Fifth Prince, he scoed an historic breakthrough by beating the Conservative Party candidate and finishing in second place.
Following the 1989 election, and after much dedicated work and personal sacrifice, Mayne relinquished the party leadership. Dolores Crane — who, during the 1988 federal election, received the largest vote ever for an Island NDP candidate — became the party spokesperson, pending a leadership convention. At that convention, Larry Duchesne was elected Leader.
Dr. Herb Dickieson followed Duchesne as Leader and, in 1996, became the first Island New Democrat elected to the Legislature of Prince Edward Island. The party enjoyed even higher suppport in the 2000 election although, sadly, Dickieson was defeated by a slim margin.
In 2001, Gary Robichaud was elected Leader and led the party into the 2003 election. Robichaud later revealed that he had inoperable lung cancer but bravely continued to lead the party, as well as teaching full time and devoting himself to other school activities. In July of 2005, he gave up the party leadership and succumbed to his disease soon thereafter.
In February of 2006, the party met in Summerside to elect a new Leader. The position was contested by Mike DesRoches of Summerside and Dean Constable of Charlottetown. Constable, a theatre manager, won the race and led the party into the 2007 provincial election. He resigned soon after and was succeeded by James Rodd on an interim basis. Rodd was later elected party Leader in April of 2009 and is currently serving as Leader of the Island New Democrats.
