Canada's lebour party, the New Demooratic Party, has now, secording to the latest Gallup poll, the suppart of 26% of the electorate = equal tc that of the officisl capitalist opposition party, the Progreseive Conservative Party. But it ie continuing to leave the important arena of mmicipel politica to the a. preactitionera of the Iiberal—Tory shell game,
In the centre of its strength in the country, Toronto, it » faild to present « alate in the recent elections and it presentat only a partial one in Vancouver, British Columbia, where 1t has been the official opposition for deondes,
The Toronto branch of the Leegue for Socialist Aotion boldly stepped into the gap there by running ite orgeniaer, irthur Young, for the Board of Control. The Young Socialiat Forum, Canada's most widely rend publisation of the student left, entered its editor John Riddell, in the Board of Education Contest in one of the sentral wards, Both candidates were backed by the Workers Vanguard, which is edited by Ross Dowson, the executive secretary of the League for Socialist Action.
In Vancouver, Jean rania, another editor of the Young focialiat Forun, wes endorsed by the youth mafazine and the League for Socialist iction as a ¢andidate for mayor,
In the Toronto contest, arthur Young polled some 10,900 votes, this compares with 88,036 votes cast for the highest of the four candidates who won.
Hie campaign atressed the danger of the erowing escelation of the 0.5, war of aggression, and pointed to the huge expenditures upon it ap a major cause of the apirealling cost of living,
"The more then 236 million a doy spent on the war represents money which could have been invested to produce cera, homes, appliances, schools, food, Because it is not, there are ahortages of these items in tha face of increased demande, Their prices shoot up," stated the campaion leaflet. Young called upon civic politicians to use their weichty office to oppose the murderous and inflationary war, ond to aid the shoppers' fight aceinst price gouring.
Some of the warmeat response came to Young's attack on the city's housing record, aa he scored the civic administration for its fnilure te build more than a token number of low-cost housing mits, and to his demand that the growing tax burden be placed on the wealthy corporations, not on the small homeowner, His programme alao celled for the removal of -11 TTC fares, and the establishment of a medicare and insurance plan. It attacked the numerous appointed a boards which exercise powerful control over the lives of all * Torontoniana without being responsible to then, and demanded that the boards be reconstituted to reflect the populer will.
In Vancouver, the campaign waged by 21-year-old Jean Rends aroused widespresd interest. Her two opponents were both millioneras,
Columiat Eud Hlaie of tha Yanoouver daily Province commented: “It is odd, perhaps, that ahe is a better speaker than either Mayor Hathie or ilderman Tom Campbell, But. it is what ashe says, not how she saya it, that they ere more likely to remember."
The programme aivooated by Jean Randa called for the withdrawal
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of imerican troops from Vietnam in order to win the var there, the was quick to point out over the radio CJOR that Vietnan ia a olvic issue because of the danger of the 0.3. goverment implementing Eieenhower's threat to use atomic weapons, and thereby unleash a nuclear holocaust, While Rathie and Campbell endorsed the use of injunotions against the trade-union movement and agree with the jailing of four local trade unionists for ignoring them, Randa came out strongly for the trade unions to atrike when, how, and as they see fit. She stood for the immédiate release of the four imprisoned unicniste. fends demanded the expropriation of sll privately owned lend now being used to gouge the public of millions of dollars every yeer. Low cost subsidized housing and changes in property tex in favour of the workers were other major planks in her programme, In urging a vote for the three youthful candidates, the L meus for Socialist Action declared in a leaflet, of which 60,000 ecples ware distibuted:"{ clear identification of tha olty administration with the antiewar movement in Canada could lead to the end of Canadian collusion in this dirty war and atrengthen the forces in the 0.5, urging the withdreaval of U.S. troops from Vietnam.