Grade 12: The CCF in Saskatchewan

A Study in Continuity and Change

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) came together as a party in the 1930s in western Canada, in response to the economic devastation suffered in the region during the Great Depression.  

The CCF believed that radical change was required to improve conditions for ordinary, hard-working people.  From the time of its inception until it formed a government, the CCF's goal was to explain how it would manage things differently then the governing parties of the time.

During the 1944 Saskatchewan provincial election campaign, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation campaigned for change, sharing its vision at political rallies, in public speeches, through radio broadcasts, and in printed publications like pamphlets and flyers.

What problems had the CCF identified in Saskatchewan, Canada, and the world at this time?

What solutions had the CCF proposed to solve those problems?

How much and what kind of change (ie. political, economic, technological, environmental, philosophical, population)  was proposed by the CCF to bring about those solutions?

A study of primary source documentary evidence from the time can reveal answers to these important questions. Keep the questions in mind as you review the sources available below, which include speeches, manifestos, brochures, and other publications  that were created and distributed by the CCF Saskatchewan Section  to share its vision of change with the people of that province.