Home > Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)

The party was founded in 1963 by Hardial Bains. It was initially a Maoist student group, and went by the name "The Internationalists". In 1970, it became the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), of which Bains was leader until his death in 1997.

The party is registered with Elections Canada as the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada. Elections Canada, the Canadian government agency that oversees elections and political parties, claimed that, in order to avoid confusion among voters, it could not allow registration of names that could cause confusion for voters with other parties. In this case, Elections Canada argues that allowing the party to use its preferred name could cause confusion with the Communist Party of Canada.

The CPC-ML differentiates itself from the Communist Party of Canada (CPC), claiming that the CPC's theory and practice are revisionist. Historically, the CPC supported the USSR in the Sino-Soviet splitThe Sino-Soviet split was a conflict between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, beginning in the late 1950s, reaching a peak in 1969 and continuing in various ways until the late 1980s. It led to a parallel split in the international Com, while the CPC-ML supported the People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China PRC comprises most of the cultural, historic, and geographic area known as China. Since its founding in 1949, it has been led by the Communist Party of China (CPC). It is the world's most populous country, with a population. It continued to uphold China as a model for socialism until shortly after the death of Mao ZedongMao Zedong ( December 26, 1893 September 9, 1976) was the chairman of the Communist Party of China from 1935 until his death. Under his leadership, it became the ruling party of mainland China as the result of its victory in the Chinese Civil War and the. Subsequently, the CPC-ML looked to Enver HoxhaEnver Hoxha en-vehr hoj-e ( October 16, 1908 April 11, 1985) was the communist leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death, primarily as the First Secretary of the Albanian Party of Labour. He was also prime minister of Albania from 194's AlbaniaAlbania is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro in the north, Serbia ( Kosovo) in the north-east, the Republic of Macedonia in the east, and Greece in the south, has a coast on the Adriatic Sea in the west, and a coast on the Ion as a model of socialism until the collapse of Communism in that country in 1992.

Today, the CPC-ML tends to be supportive of North KoreaThe Democratic People's Republic of Korea DPRK Korean: Choson Minjujuui Inmin Konghwaguk Hangul: ; Hanja: ), commonly known as North Korea is a country in eastern Asia, covering the northern half of the peninsula of Korea. To the south it borders South Ko, though it does not promote Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong-ilKim Jong-il Korean Name McCune-ReischauerKim Chong-il Revised RomanizationGim Jeong-il Hangul Hanja Kim Jong-il (born February 16, 1942) has been the ruler of North Korea since 1994. He succeeded his father, Kim Il-sung, who had led North Korea since 1948 in the manner that it promoted Hoxha and Mao in previous years. The CPC-ML has developed a more independent line since the collapse of the Soviet bloc.

On January 1, 1995, the party put forward a broad program of work for the current period, which it has named the Historic Initiative. This was further elaborated during its Seventh Congress.

The CPC-ML is active in several trade unions, particularly the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the United Steel Workers of America. It has also been active in the anti-war movement.

The party has run candidates in Canadian federal elections since 1972 with the number of candidates in any one election ranging from as few as 51 and as many as 177. Most of its candidates have run in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It was most prominent in the 1979 federal election and 1980 federal election, running under the slogan "Make the rich pay". Its slogan in the 2004 federal election was "Annexation no! Sovereignty yes!"

Since 1997, the party's leader has been Bains' widow, Sandra L. Smith.