Darrell Rankin
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Darrell T. Rankin (born February 14, 1957) is a Canadian peace activist and communist politician. He was briefly leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Ontario (CPC-O) in 1995, and has been the leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Manitoba (CPC-M) since 1996.
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[edit] Early life and career
Rankin was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, and became involved in radical left politics through an early opposition to the Vietnam War. His grandparents were active in the Communist Party of Canada, which he himself joined in 1978. Rankin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree.[1]
He lived in Ottawa, Ontario from 1983 to 1995, and was a leading figure in the Canadian Peace Alliance and the Ottawa Disarmament Coalition.[2] A newspaper report from 1986 lists him as an articling lawyer, although it is not clear if he continued in this profession.[3] He participated in protests against the Gulf War in 1991.[4]
In 1992, a majority of delegates at the Communist Party's national convention voted to abandon Marxism-Leninism and pursue a social democratic alternative. Rankin was a part of the minority group led by Miguel Figueroa that opposed this change, and continued to support traditional communist principles. The party split, and the minority group won the rights to the Communist Party name through an out-of-court settlement.
[edit] CPC-O leader
Rankin was appointed leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Ontario in April 1995, and led the party in the 1995 provincial election. The national party had fallen to only five hundred members in this period, and the Ontario party ran a low-profile campaign with only five candidates and an $8,000 budget.[5] Rankin challenged New Democratic Party Premier Bob Rae in York South, focusing on issues including health, education, social programs and full employment. A newspaper report lists him as thirty-eight years old during the campaign.[6]
In June 1995, Rankin contributed a paper entitled "Observations on the setbacks to Socialism" to the Communist Party discussion journal The Spark! (which is not to be confused with the Trotskyist group of the same name). The article examined recent events in Eastern Europe, including the fall of the Soviet Union.[7]
[edit] CPC-M leader
Rankin moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba later in 1995. The Communist Party of Canada - Manitoba had been without effective leadership for several years, and Rankin was chosen as the party's provincial organizer before the year was over. He organized a seventy-fifth anniversary banquet for the party in early 1996, and was elected CPC-M leader later in the year.[8] The party was re-registered with Elections Manitoba in 1999. Rankin has led the party in the 1999 and 2003 elections.[9]
In January 2004, Rankin was challenged for the CPC-M leadership by Paul Sidon. He received 79% of delegate support, against 21% for Sidon.
Rankin is a founding member of Peace Alliance Winnipeg and a member of the No War Coalition (Manitoba). He helped organize protests against the 1999 Kosovo Conflict, the 2001 NATO invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[10] He also writes occasional articles for People's Voice, the newspaper of the Communist Party.[11]
Rankin has campaigned for public office several times, although he has never come close to being elected. As of March 2006, he is the leader of Communist Party of Canada's Peace and Disarmament Coalition.[12] He is not related to Naomi Rankin, the leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Alberta.[13]
[edit] Table of offices held
| Preceded by vacant (*) |
Leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Manitoba 1996— |
Succeeded by current leader |
| Preceded by (*) |
Leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Ontario 1995 |
Succeeded by (*) |
- The CPC-M had been without a leader since at least 1990, and possibly longer.
- It is not clear if the CPC-O had a recognized leader between 1992 and 1998, apart from Rankin's short tenure in 1995. Hassan Husseini was chosen as leader in 1998.
[edit] Electoral Record
| 2006 federal election : Winnipeg North edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| New Democratic Party | (x)Judy Wasylycia-Leis | 15,582 | 57.18 | $52,916.99 | ||
| Liberal | Parmjeet Gill | 5,752 | 21.11 | $64,979.49 | ||
| Conservative | Garreth McDonald | 4,810 | 17.65 | |||
| Green | David Carey | 779 | 2.86 | $397.50 | ||
| Christian Heritage | Eric Truijen | 207 | 0.76 | |||
| Communist | Darrell Rankin | 123 | 0.45 | $295.28 | ||
| Total valid votes | 27,253 | 100.00 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 137 | |||||
| Turnout | 27,390 | 50.91 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 53,805 | |||||
| 2004 federal election : Winnipeg North edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| New Democratic Party | (x)Judy Wasylycia-Leis | 12,507 | 48.16 | $34,948.23 | ||
| Liberal | (x)Rey Pagtakhan | 9,491 | 36.55 | $61,961.93 | ||
| Conservative | Kris Stevenson | 3,186 | 12.27 | $9,148.61 | ||
| Green | Alon Weinberg | 531 | 2.04 | $2,287.45 | ||
| Christian Heritage | Eric Truijen | 141 | 0.54 | $1,000.00 | ||
| Communist | Darrell Rankin | 111 | 0.43 | $654.58 | ||
| Total valid votes | 25,967 | 100.00 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 128 | |||||
| Turnout | 26,095 | 47.13 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 55,372 | |||||
| 2003 Manitoba provincial election : Point Douglas edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| New Democratic Party | (x)George Hickes | 2,877 | 74.86 | $10,189.54 | ||
| Liberal | Mary Lou Bourgeois | 547 | 14.23 | $7,991.06 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Wyatt McIntyre | 337 | 8.77 | $10.68 | ||
| Communist | Darrell Rankin | 82 | 2.13 | $376.06 | ||
| Total valid votes | 3,843 | 100.00 | ||||
| Rejected and declined ballots | 55 | |||||
| Turnout | 3,898 | 40.24 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 9,687 | |||||
| 2000 federal election : Winnipeg North Centre edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| New Democratic Party | (x)Judy Wasylycia-Leis | 14,356 | 58.39 | $54,041.14 | ||
| Liberal | Mary Richard | 6,755 | 27.47 | $48,194.97 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Myron Troniak | 2,950 | 12.00 | $4,320.59 | ||
| Communist | Darrell Rankin | 525 | 2.14 | $263.77 | ||
| Total valid votes | 24,586 | 100.00 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 481 | |||||
| Turnout | 25,067 | 51.95 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 48,254 | |||||
| 1999 Manitoba provincial election : Burrows edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/- | Expenditures | |
| New Democratic Party | (x)Doug Martindale | 5,151 | 66.34 | $21,056.00 | ||
| Liberal | Mike Babinsky | 1,849 | 23.81 | $24,553.70 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Cheryl Clark | 724 | 9.32 | $11,879.28 | ||
| Communist | Darrell Rankin | 41 | 0.53 | $0.00 | ||
| Total valid votes | 7,765 | 100.00 | ||||
| Rejected and declined ballots | 55 | |||||
| Turnout | 7,820 | 65.63 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 11,916 | |||||
| 1997 federal election : Winnipeg Centre edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| New Democratic Party | Pat Martin | 10,979 | 40.89 | $48,662 | ||
| Liberal | (x)David Walker | 9,895 | 36.86 | $47,283 | ||
| Reform | Reginald A. Smith | 3,095 | 11.53 | $3,175 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Campbell Alexander | 2,442 | 9.10 | $6,171 | ||
| Independent | Greg Krawchuk | 148 | 0.55 | $163 | ||
| Marxist-Leninist | Glenn Michalchuk | 136 | 0.51 | $11 | ||
| Ind. (Communist) | Darrell Rankin | 108 | 0.40 | $1,913 | ||
| Ind. (Ind. Libertarian) | Didz Zuzens | 44 | 0.16 | $0 | ||
| Total valid votes | 26,847 | 100.00 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 374 | |||||
| Turnout | 27,221 | 57.00 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 47,753 | |||||
| 1995 Ontario provincial election : York South edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| New Democratic Party | (x)Bob Rae | 10,442 | 41.24 | $39,100.07 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Larry Edwards | 7,726 | 30.51 | $28,482.21 | ||
| Liberal | Hagood Hardy | 6,025 | 23.79 | $42,578.22 | ||
| Family Coalition | Don Pennell | 305 | 1.20 | $4,210.68 | ||
| Green | David James Cooper | 219 | 0.86 | $1,046.57 | ||
| Natural Law | Bob Hyman | 176 | 0.70 | $0.00 | ||
| Independent | Kevin Clarke | 170 | 0.67 | $1,164.66 | ||
| Libertarian | Roma Kelembet | 153 | 0.60 | $819.58 | ||
| Communist | Darrell Rankin | 105 | 0.41 | $59.00 | ||
| Total valid votes | 25,321 | 100.00 | ||||
| Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 388 | |||||
| Turnout | 25,709 | 69.13 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 37,192 | |||||
| 1993 federal election : Calgary Southwest edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| Reform | Preston Manning | 41,630 | 61.22 | $59,445 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | (x)Bobbie Sparrow | 12,642 | 18.59 | $61,978 | ||
| Liberal | Bill Richards | 11,087 | 17.36 | $60,511 | ||
| New Democratic Party | Catherine Rose | 1,099 | 1.62 | $4,791 | ||
| National | Lea Russell | 910 | 1.34 | $2,580 | ||
| Green | Sol Candel | 301 | 0.44 | $6,216 | ||
| Natural Law | Ida Bugmann | 249 | 0.37 | $0 | ||
| Independent | Miel S.R. Gabriel | 57 | 0.08 | $218 | ||
| N/A (Communist) | Darrell Rankin | 28 | 0.04 | $1,422 | ||
| Total valid votes | 68,003 | 100.00 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 137 | |||||
| Turnout | 68,140 | 70.81 | ||||
| Electors on lists | 96,213 | |||||
All electoral information is taken from Elections Canada, Elections Ontario and Elections Manitoba. Provincial election expenditures in Manitoba refer to individual candidate expenses. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Election 2000 entry: Darrell Rankin, Globe and Mail, online report.
- ^ "Handful hold low-key protests", Toronto Star, 11 February 1989, A11.
- ^ Abby Deveney and Jacquie Miller, "First rooms open in new courthouse", Ottawa Citizen, 18 August 1996, C2.
- ^ "Protesters condemn ground attack", Ottawa Citizen, 25 February 1991, C1.
- ^ John Gray, "Liberal numbers don't add up in attack on NDP expenditure", Globe and Mail, 16 May 1995, A6.
- ^ Nicolaas Van Rijn, "Meet the people who want your vote", Toronto Star, 5 June 1995, A12.
- ^ Darrell Rankin, "Observations on the setbacks to Socialism", The Spark! No. 6, 1995.
- ^ Holli Moncrieff, "Volunteers needed for Earth Day events", Winnipeg Free Press, 3 April 1996, p. 1.
- ^ "Communist party plans to field five in election", Winnipeg Free Press, 22 March 1999, A8.
- ^ Kevin Rollason, "No bombs in Kosovo, activists say", Winnipeg Free Press, 23 March 1999, A3; Kevin Rollason, "War in Afghanistan draws critics", Winnipeg Free Press, 24 March 2002, A4; Alexandra Paul, "Threats to Iraq all about oil,say protesters", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 January 2003, A5.
- ^ For instance, Darrell Rankin, ""No!" to Privatized Health Care", 16-31 January 2006 (Volume 14, No. 2).
- ^ Darrell Rankin, "Humanity needs a strong peace movement", Political Affairs Magazine, 18 March 2006.
- ^ Brian Laghi, "Moscow not on the North Saskatchewan", Edmonton Journal, 15 January 1995, B2.
