Young Communist League of Canada
| Young Communist League | |
|---|---|
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| Founded | 1923/2007 |
| Headquarters | 290 Danforth Ave., Toronto, Canada |
| International affiliation | Current member of WFDY; Former member of the YCI |
| Website | |
The Young Communist League of Canada (YCL-LJC) is a Canadian Marxist-Leninist youth organization founded in 1922. The organization claims to be politically and ideologically united but organizationally independent from the Communist Party of Canada. Although the YCL has no status in the CPC's constitution, the YCL and CPC also share overlapping membership. The organization is of interest to students of left history for its role in the On-to-Ottawa Trek, the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion and other youth and student struggles. It continues to be active today.
According to their website,
The Young Communist League of Canada was founded at a convention in Toronto in 1923 as the youth wing of the Communist Party of Canada. Since that time, the level and form of YCL action have varied.
Founded in 1923 as the Young Workers League (YWL) due to the War Measures Act proscription of Communist and other radical organizations in Canada, the lifting of the Act in late 1923 saw the name change to its current form. Leslie Morris was the League's first General Secretary (serving from 1923 to 1924.) The League soon became a member of the Young Communist International (YCI), an international association of similar bodies from around the world. Notably, the YCI included the USSR's Komsomol which served as the model for all other member organizations.
According to early organizer Dave Kashtan, the YCL "served as an educational organization for young workers and students, educating young people 'in the spirit of socialism'." Some of the League's earliest organized efforts took place in major cities such as Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver, finding notable success among the youth of immigrant communities. The interest of young people in the YCL reflected the times. The recent success of the October Revolution (which established the USSR) and the Western response to it had great impact on some Canadian workers. Although Canada's economy was in a boom, some youth could still remember the post-war unemployment and misery which abounded immediately after the First World War.
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Wikipedia