A STUDY IN CONTINUITY AND CHANGE
T.C. Douglas giving a speech on a stage, 1944
PAS Photo: R-A7917-1
"People sometimes ask me:
'What is the main difference between
the CCF and the old line parties?'
Well, that is a very easy question to answer..."
- T.C. Douglas, M.P., radio broadcast on February 2, 1943
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) came together as
a party in the 1930s in western Canada, in response to the economic
devastation suffered in the region during the Great Depression.
The CCF believed that radical change was required to improve conditions for
ordinary, hard-working people. From the time of its inception
until it formed a government, the CCF's goal was to explain
how it would manage things differently then the governing parties of the time.
During the 1944 Saskatchewan provincial election campaign,
the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation campaigned for change,
sharing its vision at political rallies, in public speeches,
through radio broadcasts, and in printed publications like pamphlets and flyers.
♦
What problems had the CCF identified in Saskatchewan,
Canada, and the world at this time?
What solutions had the CCF proposed
to solve those problems?
How much and what kind of change
(ie. political, economic, technological,
environmental, philosophical, population)
was proposed by the CCF to bring about those solutions?
♦
A study of primary source documentary evidence from the time
can reveal answers to these important questions.
Keep the questions in mind as you review
the sources available below, which include
speeches, manifestos, brochures, and other publications
that were created and distributed by the CCF Saskatchewan Section
to share its vision of change with the people of that province.
♦
Click on each document image to view that document in its entirety.
REGINA MANIFESTO, 1933
PAS, S-G2.1933.6, CCF Pamphlets
T.C. DOUGLAS RADIO BROADCAST
'THE CCF AND CO-OPERATIVES'
FEBRUARY 2, 1943
PAS, S-B7, CCF Records, File VI.5. Radio Broadcasts
PAS, CCF Pamphlets, S-G1.1944.21
CCF PAMPHLET - 'THE NEW ORDER'
PAS, CCF Pamphlets, S-G1.1944.26
CCF PAMPHLET - 'CCF LAND POLICY'
PAS, CCF Pamphlets, S-G1.1944.6
CCF PAMPHLET - 'THE CCF POLICY ON MONEY'
PAS, CCF Pamphlets, S-G1.1944.8
CCF PAMPHLET - 'THE FARMER AND THE CCF'
PAS, CCF Pamphlets, S-G1.1944.13
CCF PAMPHLET - 'WHERE'S THE MONEY COMING FROM'
PAS, CCF Pamphlets, S-G1.1944.23
CCF PAMPHLET - 'CITIZENS OF THE KELVINGTON CONSTITUENCY
MEET YOUR CCF CANDIDATE: P.A. HOWE'
PAS, CCF Pamphlets, S-G1.1944.12
CCF PAMPHLET - 'VOTERS OF MELVILLE CONSTITUENCY
WIN WITH THE CCF: W.J. ARTHURS'
PAS, CCF Pamphlets, S-G1.1944.20
HOW DID THE CCF PLATFORM COMPARE TO THE
SASKATCHEWAN LIBERAL GOVERNMENT'S
'ELECTION MANIFESTO'
BEFORE THE PROVINCIAL ELECTION IN 1944?
PAS, Liberal Pamphlets, S-G7.1944.5
This documentary evidence outlines promises that were made
and changes that were proposed during the 1944 election campaign,
by both the hopeful CCF and the governing Liberals.
However, some questions remain...
Once in power, how successful was the CCF
in making the changes that it envisioned in the years
running up to its victory in 1944?
Was that change as far-reaching as the party hoped,
or did it fall short of expectations?
Click here to find out!
