The Manifesto for an Independent Socialist Canada was a document drafted by a leftist

Left-wing politics

In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...

 faction of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

, known as the Waffle

The Waffle

The Waffle was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little electoral success before it permanently disbanded in the mid-1970s...

, in 1969. When that group briefly left the NDP between 1972 and 1974, it became their party's main programmatic statement.

The Manifesto for an Independent Socialist Canada is also known as the Waffle Resolution. It outlined the Waffle's deep resentment for the "American Empire," and their organization's commitment to furthering the socialist cause in Canada within the template of a successful democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

.

The Manifesto helped contribute to a debate on American control of the Canadian economy and particularly the extent of US ownership of Canadian business and resources and the emergence in Canada of a branch plant economy. The Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 government of Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

 Pierre Trudeau

Pierre Trudeau

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...

 instituted attempts to assert domestic economic control such as the creation of Petro-Canada

Petro-Canada

Petro-Canada was a crown corporation of Canada in the field of oil and natural gas. It was headquartered in the Petro-Canada Centre in Calgary, Alberta. In August, 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, a deal in which Suncor investors received approximately 60 per cent ownership of the...

, meant to assert Canadian control of the energy sector, and the Foreign Investment Review Agency

Foreign Investment Review Agency

Invest In Canada is the Government of Canada organization that promotes and attracts foreign direct investment into Canada. As a bureau in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Invest In Canada assists companies planning to invest in Canada or to expand their Canadian...

, intended to review and limit foreign ownership

Foreign ownership

Foreign ownership refers to the complete or majority ownership/control of a business or resource in a country by individuals who are not citizens of that country, or by companies whose headquarters are not in that country.-See also:...

 and particularly American takeovers of Canadian companies. These measures were introduced in part due to pressure by the NDP, particularly during the minority government

Minority government

A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

 that followed the 1972 election

Canadian federal election, 1972

The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...

. The NDP, in turn, had urged these measures in part due to pressure by the Waffle within the party.

After 1974, when the Waffle's party, Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada, disbanded, the Manifesto for an Independent Socialist Canada became a historical document. The name of the NDP's Socialist Caucus

New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus

The New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus is an unofficial left-wing faction within Canada's New Democratic Party. Its manifesto maintains that the New Democratic Party has moved too far to the right, and is in danger of becoming indistinguishable from the Liberal Party...

's Manifesto for a Socialist Canada is an echo of the earlier document's influence.