Ontario CCF/NDP leadership elections

The Ontario New Democratic Party elects its leaders by secret ballot of the party members and/or their delegates at leadership elections, as did its predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section). The party leader can be challenged for the leadership at the party's biennial convention. The Ontario New Democratic Party is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada.

From 1934 until 1942, the president of the Ontario CCF acted as the party's spokesperson and leader during election campaigns. John Mitchell, a Hamilton alderman, was CCF president from 1934 until 1941. Samuel Lawrence, former Ontario CCF MPP for Hamilton East was elected party president in 1941 and recommended that the party elect a leader in 1942.[1][2]

Ontario CCF leadership convention, 1942

(Held on April 3, 1942, at the Hotel Carls-Rite in Toronto)[1]

• Ted Jolliffe
• Murray Cotterill

Fifteen other individuals were nominated but declined to stand including Ontario CCF President and former Hamilton East MPP Samuel Lawrence; Allan Schroeder of St. Catharines; York West Member of Parliament Joseph W. Noseworthy; Canadian United Steelworkers of America executive director Charles Millard, lawyer Andrew Brewin; former Member of Parliament Agnes MacPhail; Toronto alderman William Dennison, CCF National Secretary David Lewis; University of Toronto professor and Toronto school trustee George Grube; teacher Everett Orlan Hall of London, Ontario; Alderman and former party president John Mitchell of Hamilton; B.E. Leavens of Toronto; Lou Isaacs; William Grant of Peterborough, and Margaret Sedgewick of Toronto.[1][2]

(Note: The vote totals were not announced. 150 delegates participated in total.[1])

Ontario CCF leadership challenge, 1946

(Held November 23, 1946)

• Ted Jolliffe
• Lewis Duncan

Ontario CCF leadership convention, 1953

(Held at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall on College Street, in Toronto, on November 21, 1953.)[3]

First Ballot

Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Fred Young	154	43.2
Donald C. MacDonald	127	35.6
Andrew Brewin	75	21.0
Total	356	100

Second Ballot

Candidate	Votes	Percentage	+/-
Donald C. MacDonald	181	50.8	+15.2
Fred Young	175	49.2	+6.0
Total	356	100

Former MPPs Agnes Macphail, Eamon Park, Charles Millard, and William Dennison were nominated as was sitting MPP and CCF house leader Bill Grummett but all declined.[4]

(Note: These totals are taken from an interview with Donald C. MacDonald several years after the convention. They do not appear to have been announced at the convention itself.)

Ontario NDP leadership convention, 1961

(Held on October 8, 1961, at the Sheraton-Brock Hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario)[5]

• MACDONALD, Donald C. acclaimed

Ontario NDP leadership challenge, 1968

(Held on November 17, 1968, at Bingeman Park in Kitchener, Ontario.)[6]

Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Donald C. MacDonald	859	69.9
Jim Renwick	370	30.1
Total	1,229	100

Ontario NDP leadership convention, 1970

(Held at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto on October 4, 1970.)[7]

Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Stephen Lewis	1,188	64.1
Walter Pitman	642	34.7
Douglas Campbell	21	1.1
Total	1,851	100

Ontario NDP leadership challenge, 1972

(Held on December 10, 1972, at the Four Seasons Sheraton Hotel in Toronto, Ontario.)[8]

Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Stephen Lewis	752	85.8
Douglas Campbell	124	14.1
Total	876	100

An additional 137 ballots were spoiled. If the spoiled votes are factored in then Lewis received 74.2% support overall

Ontario NDP leadership convention, 1978

(Held on February 5, 1978, at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto.)[9]

First Ballot

Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Michael Cassidy	675	37.6
Ian Deans	623	34.7
Michael Breaugh	499	27.8
Total	1,797	100

Breaugh eliminated, goes to Cassidy

Second Ballot

Candidate	Votes	Percentage	+/-
Michael Cassidy	980	54.8	+17.2
Ian Deans	809	45.2	+10.6
Total	1,789	100

Ontario NDP leadership convention, 1982

(Held at the Harbour Castle Convention Centre in Toronto on February 7, 1982.)[10]

Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Bob Rae	1,356	64.6
Richard Johnston	512	24.4
Jim Foulds	232	11.0
Total	2,100	100

Ontario NDP leadership challenge, 1986

(Held on June 22, 1986, at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.)

Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Bob Rae	776	95.3
Ian Orenstein	38	4.7
Total	814	100

Ontario NDP leadership convention, 1996

(Held on June 22, 1996, at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.)

After the first ballot, Silipo was eliminated and he endorsed Hampton. After the 2nd ballot, Kormos was eliminated but he endorsed no one and released his delegates. There were eighty spoiled ballots on the final count, mostly from disgruntled supporters of Kormos.

Ballot results

Delegate support by ballot

Candidate	1st ballot		2nd ballot		3rd ballot
Name	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%
Howard Hampton	649	33.7	806	43.4	971	55.0
Frances Lankin	611	31.7	691	36.3	793	45.0
Peter Kormos	434	22.5	402	21.1
Tony Silipo	232	12.0
Total	1,926	100.0	1,899	100.0	1,764	100.0

Ontario NDP leadership election, 2009

(Held on March 7, 2009, at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario)

First Ballot

Candidate	Weighted Votes	Percentage
Andrea Horwath	4,625.29	37.1
Peter Tabuns	3,437.93	27.6
Gilles Bisson	2,954.23	23.7
Michael Prue	1,438.44	11.5
Total	12,455.89	100

Prue eliminated, endorses Bisson

Second Ballot

Candidate	Weighted Votes	Percentage	+/-
Andrea Horwath	5,259.06	43.6	+6.5
Peter Tabuns	3,819.82	31.7	+4.1
Gilles Bisson	2,988.12	24.8	+1.1
Total	12,067	100.0

Bisson eliminated, endorses Horwath

Third Ballot

Candidate	Weighted Votes	Percentage	+/-
Andrea Horwath	6,732.34	60.4	+16.8
Peter Tabuns	4,420.66	39.6	+7.9
Total	11,152.9	100.0

Starting with the 2009 leadership election, the Ontario NDP instituted a modified one member one vote system in which the vote is calculated so that ballots cast by labour delegates have 25% weight in the total result, while votes cast by party members have a weight of 75% in the overall result.

References

1. "C.C.F. Names Jolliffe As Leader for Ontario: Provincial Platform Includes Planks for Agriculture and Labor". Globe and Mail. 4 April 1942.
2. "Rhodes Scholar, Lawyer, is Ontario CCF Leader". Toronto Daily Star. 4 April 1942.
3. "Dangerous McCarthy Minority Threat to Peace - Coldwell". Toronto Daily Star. 21 November 1953.
4. "Coldwell Raps Betrayal of Canada Secrets by US". Toronto Daily Star. 21 November 1953.
5. "Provincial NDP To Be Born This Weekend". Globe and Mail. 7 October 1961.
6. "Quits NDP executive: Scott fails to bag support for head hunt". Globe and Mail. 23 November 1968.
7. "Lewis to lead NDP in fight against U.S. influence". Toronto Daily Star. 5 October 1970.
8. "Restyled Waffle delays review of policies by NDP convention". Globe and Mail. 9 December 1972.
9. "Lewis steps down with tears after three-minute ovation". Globe and Mail. 6 February 1978.
10. "Rae promises health-care battle". Toronto Star. 8 February 1982.