In November, I spoke at a CCPA Manitoba event in Winnipeg, recognizing the contributions of labour, social justice and democratic advocate Errol Black and honouring the work of the National Farmers Union, Manitoba Chapter.
Like Errol, I became active in my union, the broader labour movement, politics and the CCPA, because I know that fighting for a better world is our only option.
The problem
That money flows upward, and misery downward.
Profits rise, public services erode, and workers fall behind.
Families face unaffordable housing, crumbling health care, long waits for services, and stagnant wages.
Indigenous communities still wait for clean water and decent housing.
Progressive governments find limits on their democratically endorsed goals, with the threat of capital fight.
Frustration grows—and right-wing populists like Donald Trump or Pierre Poilievre channel that anger, blaming immigrants, diversity, and taxes instead of the economic rules that enrich the few.
The dominance of views that “private is better than public,” that “taxes are theft,” and that deficits are intolerable, limit our politics. They push even progressive leaders to the centre. Yet this ideology is failing most people—and that failure creates opportunity.
Many grow weary of fighting.
Environmentalists watch governments ignore climate warnings while wildfires rage.
Workers, burdened by debt, insecurity, and multiple jobs, have less time to organize.
Social isolation and online polarization make reaching people harder.
Labour laws weakened over decades constrain workers, as corporations threaten to move jobs offshore.
Conservative populists court workers while undermining their rights—knowing that without strong movements, progress falters.
Farmers once formed the cradle of Canadian socialism. Their solidarity reminds us that solutions are collective, not individual.
Inequality is now impossible to ignore. Billionaires hoard wealth, manipulate media, and shape politics to protect themselves—even as they burn the planet.
Movements from Occupy to climate strikes to post-pandemic labour uprisings have reignited resistance. Post pandemic, essential workers—grocery clerks, healthcare staff, postal and port workers—saw their “hero pay” cut, but many fought back and won. Their resistance is inspiring.
As federal politics drift right with conservative solutions, space opens for a renewed left rooted in justice, solidarity, and democratic ownership.
The way forward
First, we must speak the truth: neoliberalism has failed. Privatization, austerity, and corporate self-regulation are failures. Let’s think big—about what people truly need.
The CCPA’s Alternative Federal Budget shows what’s possible when the public good drives policy: a resilient, self-sufficient Canada built on equality and sustainability. Bold taxation, industrial strategy, gender equity, and climate action aren’t radical—they’re necessary.
We need both movements and elected progressives. Politicians work inside institutions; movements create the pressure and public will that make progressive change possible. We can’t outsource politics to leaders—movements must organize, educate, and mobilize.
Organizing starts with listening. Meet people where they are, even those who disagree. Build trust through shared goals and practical victories. Avoid divisions and pettiness; unity and strategy win.
Housing activism shows the model. Here in Canada, CCPA Senior Researcher Ricardo Tranjan reframed housing as class politics, and activists like Chiara Padovani and the York South-Weston Tenant Union turned that analysis into action. Through their collective action, including multiple rent strikes, they negotiated collective agreements with corporate landlords, winning rent reductions and apartment repairs.
This community solidarity is how the left rebuilds: by meeting material needs and demanding collective rights. This is how workers’ movements began, long before that had legal recognition.
Rebuilding the left means organizing inside and outside institutions, linking research with action, and grounding politics in the community. It means joy, art, humour, and kindness—because movements thrive on hope as much as struggle.
We stand in the home of the Winnipeg General Strike, where workers once demanded dignity and eventually won. That spirit still lives.
We only lose if we quit. Let’s keep our sense of humour, our humility, and our solidarity. Let’s focus on the goal—and go forward together.
