LABOUR UNIONS AND THE CANADIAN POLITICAL PROCESS

Abstract

This study examines the political activities of organised labour in Canada. It is a study in comparative politics and examines Canadian experience in relation to that of the United States and Britain. In particular, this study examines the reasons for the C.L.C.'s support of the New Democratic Party. It considers the development of labour’s political activities as represented By the labour congresses. An assessment is made of the party system, since it shapes the nature of labour’s approach to polities, and shows that the actions of the C.L.C. result from the particular nature of the determinants of the Canadian system. It is suggested that the character of the Canadian party system has been especially influenced by the operation of parliamentary institutions, but may change due to the pressures of such large national interests as organised labour.