Douglas Campbell (Ontario politician)

Douglas Campbell (Ontario politician)

Douglas Kay Campbell (born circa 1930) is a longtime political activist in Canada. A trade union activist in his youth, Campbell has spent several years in the peace movement and has run for political office on numerous occasions. He has also contested for the leadership of the Ontario New Democratic Party and the New Democratic Party of Canada on five occasions, beginning in 1970.

Campbell participated in the Great Lakes Seaman's Strike of 1946, which succeeded in significantly reducing the number of mandatory working hours for employees. He continued to work as a seaman for a number of years, eventually becoming a sea captain.

In the federal election of 1962, Campbell ran as an Independent candidate in the Toronto riding of St. Paul's. At the time, he described his vocation as "coffee house proprietor". He received only 328 votes, finishing last in a field of five candidates.

In the 1960s, while a student at the University of Toronto, Campbell became active in several protest movements. His primary concern was the peace movement: he opposed the Vietnam War, supported the Ban The Bomb movement, and made efforts to remove "militarization" from the public school system. He also took part in protests against capital and corporal punishment. In 1968, while working as a high-school principal in Newfoundland, Campbell was responsible for introducing sex education into the curriculum.

Campbell also become involved in the New Democratic Party during the 1960s. In 1966, he ran for Treasurer of the Ontario NDP, and received 22% of the vote. In 1970, while working as a taxi driver and part-time teacher, he was a last-minute entry into the Ontario party's leadership race in which the leading candidates were Walter Pitman and Stephen Lewis. Campbell was initially kept off the ballot by a ruling of the party executive that all candidates must have fifty signatures from delegates to stand. On the day before voting, Campbell brought forward a motion which reduced the required number from fifty to one; the convention approved the motion by 36 votes, and he was able to stand.

The basic thrust of Campbell's campaign was put forward in a Toronto Star piece, published on October 1, 1970, in which he opposed what he described as the NDP's drift toward centrist liberalism. He did not specifically identify himself as a member of The Waffle, but clearly supported that group's efforts at renewing the party from a left-wing perspective. At the convention itself, he vowed to take the party's message "into the streets". He was not regarded as a serious candidate by most delegates, and received only 21 votes. Campbell challenged Lewis for the leadership again in 1972, without success.

Campbell also challenged David Lewis (Stephen Lewis's father) for the leadership of the federal NDP in 1973. In 1975, he ran in the party's federal leadership convention to succeed Lewis and received 11 votes, finishing last in a field of five candidates.

Campbell resurfaced in 1988 as a fringe candidate for mayor of North York, Ontario. He appears to have campaigned for the federal NDP leadership again the following year (after the resignation of Ed Broadbent), but dropped from the race before the convention took place.

Most recently, Campbell has run for Mayor of Toronto in 2000, 2003 and 2006, receiving 1.2% and 0.3% of the vote in the first two contests respectively. During the 2006 campaign he was quoted as saying "the answer is public ownership of land. Businessmen are going to nuclearize the planet. If you vote for a capitalist candidate, you're voting to kill children".[1] He has registered again as a mayoral candidate in the 2010 election.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Douglas Campbell — may refer to: Douglas Lloyd Campbell (1895–1995), Premier of Manitoba 1948 1958 Douglas Campbell (Ontario politician), Canadian politician Douglas Campbell (actor) (1922 2009), Scottish born Canadian actor and director Douglas Campbell (Michigan… …   Wikipedia

  • List of articles about Ontario CCF/NDP members — This is a list of articles about members of the Co operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and its successor, the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP), social democratic political parties in Ontario, Canada. Articles on current and former CCF/NDP… …   Wikipedia

  • Douglas Harkness — Douglas Scott Harkness, PC, OC, GM, ED (March 29, 1903 – May 2, 1999), was a Canadian politician, teacher, farmer and former Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Canadian Artillery. He was born in Toronto, Ontario and moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1929 …   Wikipedia

  • Douglas MacArthur — General MacArthur redirects here. For other uses, see General MacArthur (disambiguation). For the diplomat, see Douglas MacArthur II. Douglas MacArthur …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from Hamilton, Ontario — The following people were born in, residents of, or are otherwise closely connected to the city of Hamilton, Ontario. Arts Architecture and design * Lida Baday, (1957 ), fashion designer. Her namesake label is sold at Holt Renfrew across Canada,… …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Stewart (Canadian politician) — For the Canadian Member of Parliament for Humboldt, see Charles Wallace Stewart. For the MLA from 1975 to 1982, see Charles Stewart (Alberta politician). For the MLA from 1905 to 1906, see Charles Stuart (politician). For other uses, see Charles… …   Wikipedia

  • History of Hamilton, Ontario — From the beginning, what is now Hamilton has benefited from its geographical proximity to major land and water transportation routes along the Niagara Peninsula and Lake Ontario. Its strategic importance has created, by Canadian standards, a rich …   Wikipedia

  • David Miller (Canadian politician) — For other people named David Miller, see David Miller (disambiguation). David Raymond Miller David Miller launching ICT Toronto 63rd Mayor of Toronto In office …   Wikipedia

  • Duncan Campbell Ross — Member of the Canadian Parliament for Middlesex West In office 1909–1921 Preceded by William Samuel Calvert Succeeded by John Douglas Fraser Drummond …   Wikipedia

  • Gordon Campbell — L honorable Gordon Campbell 34e premier ministre de la Colombie Britannique Mandat: 5 juin, 2001 14 mars 2011 Prédécesseur …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”