Communist Party candidates, 1979 Canadian federal election

The Communist Party of Canada fielded several candidates in the 1979 federal election, none of whom were elected. Information about these candidates may be found on this page.

Ontario

John Bizzell (Broadview—Greenwood)

Bizzell was raised in South Africa, and was a vocal opponent of that country's apartheid government during the 1960s. He was imprisoned in 1964, and was tortured by Capt. T.J. Swanepoel while in jail. [John Bizzell, "'Beast' a modern day war criminal" [letter] , "Toronto Star", 4 July 1986, A18.] He later moved to Canada, where earned a Master's Degree from the University of Toronto and worked as an architect. ["The People Say", "Toronto Star", 20 April 1968, p. 11; "Broadview-Greenwood", "Toronto Star", 19 May 1979, A12.] In 1986, he called for Canada to impose mandatory sanctions against South Africa and to support the then-outlawed African National Congress. [John Bizzell, "South African sanctions" [letter] , "Globe and Mail", 12 July 1986, A7.]

Bizzell was the election coordinator for the Communist Party in Toronto during the late 1970s and early 1980s. [Julia Turner, "Board shields young Catholics from 'exposure' to Communists", "Globe and Mail", 26 January 1980, P11.] He was the party's national campaign manager in the 1984 federal election, and its central organizer in 1988. ["Communists open campaign", "Globe and Mail", 13 July 1984, P5; "Communist Party of Canada holds convention" [News Release] , "Canada NewsWire", 18 May 1988, 09:30 report.] His wife, Maggie Bizzell, was also a Communist Party candidate. Bizzell was endorsed by the Movement for Municipal Reform in 1976, when running for a municipal seat in Toronto. ["Reformers endorse 29 for election", "Toronto Star", 22 November 1976, C1.]

He returned to South Africa after the end of apartheid, and in 2002 issued a book entitled "Blueprints in Black and White - The Built Environment Professions in South Africa - An Outline History". In 2005, African National Congress members on the Durban Municipal Council proposed renaming Kloof Memorial Park in his honour. [ [http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=6&art_id=vn20050324081350708C988584 Philani Makhanya, "DA lashes out at ANC over renaming"] , "The Mercury", 24 March 2005, p. 2.]

[The 1974 results are taken from the "Toronto Star" newspaper, 3 December 1974, E11 (148 out of 150 polls reporting). The 1976 results are taken from the "Toronto Star", 7 December 1976, A11.]

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