A special anniversary program
published by the CPC in May 1996
to mark the 75th anniversary of its formation in 1921

Part Three
THE POST-WAR YEARS

No sooner had the Second World War ended, did the notorious "Cold War" begin, inflicting dire pressures and sacrifices on individual Communists and the Party as a whole. Anti-Communism and McCarthyite "witch hunts" were used to isolate and drive out Communists and other left-wing and progressive activists from the organized labour and democratic movements of the people. The CPC suffered incredible setbacks throughout the many years during which anti-communist hysteria and repression held sway.

Despite these tremendous pressures, and despite divisions which arose inside the Party during this period, the Party continued its activities on many fronts, under the capable leadership of Tim Buck (general secretary from 1929-64), Leslie Morris (1964-66), and William Kashtan (1966-88).

One of the most critical tasks to which the CPC devoted its attention was the struggle for peace and nuclear disarmament. From the earliest days of the "nuclear age", and the campaign to prevent the placement of nuclear weapons on Canadian soil, through the campaign against the Cruise missile and against Reagan's "Star Wars", the CPC has stood -- sometimes almost alone -- for an independent Canadian foreign policy based on peace and disarmament, including Canada's withdrawal from NATO and NORAD.

The Party has also consistently fought in defense of Canadian sovereignty, against the economic, political and military subordination of Canada to the whims of U.S. imperialism. It has opposed the sell-out of Canadian natural resources to U.S. and other transnational corporations, and has actively campaigned against continentalist policies, including the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and, most recently, the NAFTA sell-out.

The Communist Party has also championed the national rights of the people of Quebec. Very early in its development, the CPC came to understand that Quebec constitutes a nation within Canada and, as such, must enjoy the fundamental right of self- determination, up to and including separation, if the people of Quebec so decide.

Our Party was also the first political party to Canada to actively oppose the centuries-long oppression of Canada's First Nations, and has campaigned to a just resolution of all outstanding land claims, and the granting of self-government to the First Nations.

For many years, our Party has fought for the realisation of a new, democratic constitution for Canada which recognizes the fundamental national rights of Quebec and the inherent rights of the First Nations. We continue to call for a democratically-elected Constituent Assembly to construct a new constitutional framework, based on an equal, democratic and voluntary partnership of all of Canada's founding nations.

The CPC has also been a party of unwavering internationalism. Basing itself on the famous watchwords of the Communist Manifesto: "Workers of our lands, unite!", the Communist Party has been in the forefront of countless anti-imperialist campaigns.