With the federal election campaign now in full gear, the four parties currently represented in parliament all but monopolise the media’s attention. Less known, but perhaps equally as important, are those political organisations commonly referred to as “fringe parties”.
These parties typically present only a handful of candidates and seldom receive more than two or three-hundred votes in a single constituency, as they represent the interests of only a small portion of the electorate. Their platforms range from animal rights to western independence.
In what is perhaps surprising news to some, there are two registered communist parties in Canada. Both parties refer to themselves as the Communist Party of Canada, and both claim to follow a Marxist-Leninist platform. In order to avoid confusion between the two, one is registered as the Communist Party of Canada (CPC) and the second is registered as the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada (MLPC). These two parties are competing for the communist vote in two Montreal-area ridings.
The riding of Laurier-Sainte-Marie, Bloc Quebecois leader
Gilles Duceppe’s constituency, is what some may consider as ideal for fringe candidates. Encompassing Montreal’s hip Plateau district, the Centre-Sud neighbourhood, the Quartier Latin and the UQAM campus, its residents include students, artists and political activists. The Marijuana Party has been very successful in Laurier in the past, and no less than nine candidates are registered here for the current election-more than any other riding in the province.
It was therefore to be expected that both communist parties would present candidates in Laurier. Evelyn Ruiz is the candidate for the CPC, and Ginette Boutet is running for the MLPC. Ruiz was unfortunately not available to be interviewed, but Boutet was available to discuss her party’s platform and her personal campaign.
Ginette Boutet is a permanent member of staff at the Marxist-Leninist Party’s national headquarters on Amherst Street, at the heart of the riding of Laurier. Now an austere woman approaching her senior years, she joined the party following the 1976 general strike.
It is with a sober yet sincere tone that Boutet speaks of her party’s ideology. “Essentially, we advocate radical change,” she claims. “We aim to put an end to man’s exploitation of man.” Often referring to the MLPC slogan, she affirms that it is up to the working class to provoke this change by “investing itself with sovereign power.”
Contrary to most political parties, the MLPC does not seek to win votes or recruit new members. “We don’t actively campaign, nor do we seek out new people,” said Boutet. The party doesn’t hang electoral signs, and it only uses the free publicity time given by the CBC. “Our first goal is to promote our ideology.”
Ginette Boutet attaches much importance to ideology. She claims that historical divergences have kept the two communist parties apart. The Sino-Soviet rift has opposed China and the Soviet Union and has divided communists worldwide. However, the party no longer supports foreign implementations of communism, rather opting for a “we-are-our-own-models” approach.
Relations between the CPC and MLPC have however, not always been sour and they have even co-operated in the past. “Co-operation is important. During some elections, we have reached agreements not to run candidates against each other,” Boutet explained.
When asked what the party does to target young voters, Boutet replies that the party actively participates in demonstrations and rallies in which students and youth are implicated. This allows young activists to get acquainted with the party and its ideology.
The MLPC, although the younger of the two communist parties, has been more politically active. For the current election it has presented 69 candidates against only 21 for the CPC. It is also more popular among young voters and has a younger membership, as can be attested by the number of candidates in their twenties. Despite all this, the party’s support has stagnated: no candidate has ever received more than 260 votes in a single riding.
Concerning the Marxist-Leninist movement’s future, however, Boutet remains philosophic. She still believes that Karl Marx’s prediction of a working-class uprising will materialise. “We are in the same historical period [as Marx’s],” she said. “Communism is still relevant in our day and age: the rich continue to get richer, and the poor continue to get poorer.” In the meantime, though, the MLPC will continue to present candidates, be politically active and find means to make its voice heard.
For more information on the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada, visit www.cpuml.ca and http://www.mlpc.ca.
For more information on the Communist Party of Canada, visit http://www.communist-party.ca.
