Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

Political party prominent in western Canada in the 1930s and '40s. It was founded in Calgary, Alta., in 1932 by a federation of farm, labour, and socialist parties to transform the capitalist system into a “cooperative commonwealth” by democratic means. It called for the socialization of banks and public ownership of transportation, communication, and natural resources. It won the general election in Saskatchewan in 1944 and took over the provincial government. It won further Saskatchewan elections but declined elsewhere. In 1961 it merged with the New Democratic Party.