Social Democrats of the North: Agnes Macphail
Rather than treating feminism and social democracy as separate projects, Agnes Macphail understood both as essential to building a more democratic and equal society.
Dave McGrane is an Associate Professor of Political Studies at St. Thomas More College and the University of Saskatchewan. He has written extensively on the NDP and Canadian social democracy.
Rather than treating feminism and social democracy as separate projects, Agnes Macphail understood both as essential to building a more democratic and equal society.

This Scottish-born preacher turned politician helped lay the foundation for early social democratic electoral success in Alberta and across Canada.

A pioneer of Canadian prairie socialism, E.A. Partridge was a radical farmer who organized Saskatchewan grain growers in the face of rampant price fixing.

From the Winnipeg General Strike to the birth of the CCF, J.S. Woodsworth became a pioneer of Canadian social democracy.

Francis Marion Beynon represented early Canadian feminism that fought for the right to vote for women, and laid the groundwork for elected political representation in Manitoba and across early 20th century Canada.

Amidst working-class poverty and the upheaval around the First World War, Olivar Asselin emerged as one of Montreal’s most famous journalists who advocated for Quebec’s working poor.

With Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government still a few seats short of a majority government, working-class Canadians should start asking NDP leadership candidates how they would wield the balance of power.

The prolific satirist-turned-labour-leader penned the first full account of working-class struggles in 19th century Canada.

In this first episode of ‘Social Democrats of the North’ Dave McGrane recounts the life of Médéric Lanctôt — the journalist, politician, and union leader from Montreal, considered to be one of Canada’s first social democrats.


