Robert Carlin
Encyclopedia
Robert Carlin was a Canadian
labour union organizer and politician, who represented the electoral district
of Sudbury
in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
from 1943 to 1948. He was a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section)
(CCF).
Born in Buckingham, Quebec
, Carlin moved to Cobalt
in 1916 to work in the silver mines. He joined the Western Federation of Miners
as a union representative, and was involved in the 1919 Cobalt Miners' Strike. He later began working at Teck Hughes in Kirkland Lake, but was fired in 1940 along with 36 other miners. He remained active as a union organizer, coordinating a major Labour Day demonstration against Teck Hughes in 1941.
He subsequently moved to Sudbury, where he became president of Mine Mill Local 598, and won election to the Legislative Assembly in the 1943 election
and was re-elected in the 1945 election
.
Following the 1945 election, the leadership of the CCF launched a purge of suspected Communists
within the party and its supporters in the trade union movement attempted to eliminate suspected Communist influence in the union movement targeting, in particular, Mine Mill. National CCF
secretary David Lewis
and Charles Millard
of the Canadian Congress of Labour
decided to root the communists out of organized labour's decision-making bodies. Their first target was the CCF riding association in Sudbury, and its affiliated Mine Mill Local 598, even though the local was not under Communist control: out of 11,000 dues-paying members, very few were communists (less than 100). Over the next twenty years, a fierce battle was waged to take over Local 598 by Millard's United Steel Workers of America. Steel won.
Carlin was loyal to his union, Local 598, putting him in conflict with CCF establishment in both Toronto and Ottawa.
Charles Millard, Ontario CCF leader Ted Jolliffe
, and David Lewis did not directly accuse Carlin of being a communist. Instead, they attacked him for not dealing with the perceived problem of communists in the Sudbury Mine Mill local. Local 598 was built by both Communists and CCFers, with the CCFers firmly in control of the executive. Carlin's first loyalty was to the men and women who helped build Local 598, regardless of their political affiliation. This is what got him in trouble with Lewis and Jolliffe. So Lewis and Jolliffe made the case to expel him from the Ontario CCF caucus
at a special meeting of the CCF executive and the legislative caucus in Toronto on April 13, 1948. In essence, Carlin became a casualty of Steel's plans to raid Mine, Mill. The CCF lost the seat in the 1948 Ontario election
, placing fourth to Welland Gemmell
of the Progressive Conservatives. Carlin, running as an independent, finished a very close second. It wasn't until the CCF changed its name to the New Democratic Party
(NDP) and the Mine Mill/Steelworkers war was over in 1967, that another social democratic candidate — Elie Martel
in Sudbury East
— was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from the city.
Carlin then stood as a Farmer-Labour
candidate in the 1949 federal election
in the federal riding of Sudbury
, losing to Liberal
candidate Léoda Gauthier
but placing ahead of Willard Evoy, the CCF candidate.
He subsequently returned to labour organizing in Sudbury, becoming a bargaining agent for the Steelworkers Local 6500 from 1962 until his retirement.
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...
labour union organizer and politician, who represented the electoral district
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Sudbury
Sudbury (provincial electoral district)
Sudbury is a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1908. It is one of the two districts serving the city of Greater Sudbury.Its population in 2001 was 89,443....
in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
from 1943 to 1948. He was a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section)
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section)
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation – The Farmer-Labor Party of Ontario, or more informally and commonly known as The Ontario CCF, was a democratic socialist political party that existed from 1932 to 1961. It was the provincial wing of the National CCF. The party officially had no leader in...
(CCF).
Born in Buckingham, Quebec
Buckingham, Quebec
Buckingham was a city located in the Outaouais region of the province of Quebec. Since January 1, 2002, it has been part of the amalgamated city of Gatineau which merged five former municipalities, including Masson-Angers, Buckingham, Hull, Aylmer and Gatineau, into a single entity...
, Carlin moved to Cobalt
Cobalt, Ontario
Cobalt is a town in the district of Timiskaming, province of Ontario, Canada, with a population of 1,223 In 2001 Cobalt was named "Ontario's Most Historic Town" by a panel of judges on the TV Ontario program Studio 2, and in 2002 the area was designated a National Historic Site.-History:Silver was...
in 1916 to work in the silver mines. He joined the Western Federation of Miners
Western Federation of Miners
The Western Federation of Miners was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into sharp conflicts – and often pitched battles...
as a union representative, and was involved in the 1919 Cobalt Miners' Strike. He later began working at Teck Hughes in Kirkland Lake, but was fired in 1940 along with 36 other miners. He remained active as a union organizer, coordinating a major Labour Day demonstration against Teck Hughes in 1941.
He subsequently moved to Sudbury, where he became president of Mine Mill Local 598, and won election to the Legislative Assembly in the 1943 election
Ontario general election, 1943
The Ontario general election of 1943 was held on August 4, 1943, to elect the 90 Members of the 21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
and was re-elected in the 1945 election
Ontario general election, 1945
The Ontario general election of 1945 was held on June 4, 1945, to elect the 90 members of the 22nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
.
Following the 1945 election, the leadership of the CCF launched a purge of suspected Communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
within the party and its supporters in the trade union movement attempted to eliminate suspected Communist influence in the union movement targeting, in particular, Mine Mill. National CCF
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
secretary David Lewis
David Lewis (politician)
David Lewis, CC was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950, and one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party in 1961...
and Charles Millard
Charles Millard
Charles Hibbert Millard was a Canadian trade union activist and politician.-Early life:He was born in St...
of the Canadian Congress of Labour
Canadian Congress of Labour
The Canadian Congress of Labour was founded in 1940 and merged with Trades and Labour Congress of Canada to form the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956.-Founding:...
decided to root the communists out of organized labour's decision-making bodies. Their first target was the CCF riding association in Sudbury, and its affiliated Mine Mill Local 598, even though the local was not under Communist control: out of 11,000 dues-paying members, very few were communists (less than 100). Over the next twenty years, a fierce battle was waged to take over Local 598 by Millard's United Steel Workers of America. Steel won.
Carlin was loyal to his union, Local 598, putting him in conflict with CCF establishment in both Toronto and Ottawa.
Charles Millard, Ontario CCF leader Ted Jolliffe
Ted Jolliffe
Edward Bigelow "Ted" Jolliffe, QC was a Canadian social democratic politician and lawyer from Ontario. He was the first leader of the Ontario section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and leader of the Official Opposition in the Ontario Legislature during the 1940s and 1950s...
, and David Lewis did not directly accuse Carlin of being a communist. Instead, they attacked him for not dealing with the perceived problem of communists in the Sudbury Mine Mill local. Local 598 was built by both Communists and CCFers, with the CCFers firmly in control of the executive. Carlin's first loyalty was to the men and women who helped build Local 598, regardless of their political affiliation. This is what got him in trouble with Lewis and Jolliffe. So Lewis and Jolliffe made the case to expel him from the Ontario CCF caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
at a special meeting of the CCF executive and the legislative caucus in Toronto on April 13, 1948. In essence, Carlin became a casualty of Steel's plans to raid Mine, Mill. The CCF lost the seat in the 1948 Ontario election
Ontario general election, 1948
The Ontario general election of 1948 was held on June 7, 1948, to elect the 90 members of the 23rd Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, placing fourth to Welland Gemmell
Welland Gemmell
Welland Stewart Gemmell was a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Sudbury in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1948 until his death in 1954....
of the Progressive Conservatives. Carlin, running as an independent, finished a very close second. It wasn't until the CCF changed its name to the 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...
(NDP) and the Mine Mill/Steelworkers war was over in 1967, that another social democratic candidate — Elie Martel
Elie Martel
Elie Walter Martel is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1987, as a member of the New Democratic Party .-Personal life:...
in Sudbury East
Sudbury East
Sudbury East was a provincial electoral riding in the Canadian province of Ontario, that was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1999. It served the easternmost portion of the former city of Sudbury, the eastern portion of the Regional Municipality of Sudbury, and...
— was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from the city.
Carlin then stood as a Farmer-Labour
Labour candidates and parties in Canada
There have been various groups in Canada that have nominated candidates under the label Labour Party or Independent Labour Party or other variations from the 1870s until the 1960s...
candidate in the 1949 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1949
The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...
in the federal riding of Sudbury
Sudbury (electoral district)
Sudbury is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949.Its population in 2001 was 89,443. The district is one of two serving the city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario....
, losing to 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...
candidate Léoda Gauthier
Léoda Gauthier
Léoda Gauthier was a Canadian Liberal Party Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1958.Born in Copper Cliff, Ontario, Gauthier represented three different ridings over the course of his career as the city of Sudbury grew in size and importance to warrant one, and then two, ridings of its own.In 1945,...
but placing ahead of Willard Evoy, the CCF candidate.
He subsequently returned to labour organizing in Sudbury, becoming a bargaining agent for the Steelworkers Local 6500 from 1962 until his retirement.