| |
|
In 1907, a moderate faction of the SPC split off to form the Social Democratic Party of British Columbia which, in 1911, became the Social Democratic Party of Canada and the two parties were bitter rivals for several years.
As a result of the Russian Revolution and the Winnipeg General Strike a number of its supporters became attracted to Bolshevism and the ideas of Lenin and Trotsky. Those who rejected Leninism moved towards an evolutionary or gradualist socialist position and in 1920, a split occured when many of the party's membership left to join the Federated Labour Party of Canada, a party formed by the British Columbia Federation of Labour and other joined Labour and Independent Labour Parties that were forming throughout the country. (see Labour Party)
From 1903 to 1912 the Socialist Party elected a number of MLAs to the British Columbia Legislative Assembly in the early part of the twentieth century. Their apex was in 1912 when they elected 17 candidates and won 11% of the popular vote. The pressures of having such a large caucus (up from two the previous election) caused fissures in the party and they were wiped out in the next election and never elected another MLA in B.C.
In 1921 most of the Marxist members were lost to the formation of the Workers Party which was the legal wing of the new Communist Party of Canada and in 1925 the Socialist Party formally disbanded with many of its members joining the Independent Labour Party.
See also: List of political parties in Canada