Walter Pitman
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Walter Pitman OC OOnt |
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|---|---|
| Ontario MPP | |
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In office 1967–1971 |
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| Preceded by | Keith Brown |
| Succeeded by | John Turner |
| Constituency | Peterborough |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Peterborough |
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In office 1960–1962 |
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| Preceded by | Gordon Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Fred Stenson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 18, 1929 Toronto, Ontario |
| Political party | New Democrat |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto |
| Profession | Teacher |
Walter George Pitman OC OOnt (born May 18, 1929) is an educator and former politician in Ontario, Canada.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1952 and a Master of Arts in 1954 from the University of Toronto.
His victory in a federal by-election held in Peterborough, Ontario in 1960 as a candidate for the New Party was a significant catalyst in the movement to refound the social democratic Cooperative Commonwealth Federation as the "New Democratic Party" (NDP).
Pitman was a high school teacher when he was nominated by Peterborough's New Party Club to be their candidate in a 1960 by-election. The by-election was called at a time when the CCF, which had been almost wiped out in the 1958 federal election, was embroiled in a debate about merging with the Canadian Labour Congress in order to create a new, labour-based, social democratic political party. The call for a yet unnamed "new party" led to the creation of New Party Clubs across the country. The by-election in Peterborough became a test for the arguments of New Party advocates that a political party with the support of organized labour would lead to breakthroughs for the left in Canada.
The CCF had never won election in Peterborough. As a New Party candidate, however, Pitman won over 13,000 votes, beating his nearest opponent by nearly 3,000 votes. Pitman not only won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons but his electoral performance dwarfed the 1,800 votes the CCF had received in the riding in the 1957 and 1958 elections.
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