Communist Party candidates, 1979 Canadian federal election
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The Communist Party of Canada fielded several candidates in the 1979 federal election, none of whom were elected. Information about these candidates may be found on this page.
[edit] Ontario
[edit] John Bizzell (Broadview—Greenwood)
Bizzell was raised in South Africa, and was a vocal opponent of that country's apartheid government during the 1960s. He was imprisoned in 1964, and was tortured by Capt. T.J. Swanepoel while in jail.[1] He later moved to Canada, where earned a Master's Degree from the University of Toronto and worked as an architect.[2] In 1986, he called for Canada to impose mandatory sanctions against South Africa and to support the then-outlawed African National Congress.[3]
Bizzell was the election coordinator for the Communist Party in Toronto during the late 1970s and early 1980s.[4] He was the party's national campaign manager in the 1984 federal election, and its central organizer in 1988.[5] His wife, Maggie Bizzell, was also a Communist Party candidate. Bizzell was endorsed by the Movement for Municipal Reform in 1976, when running for a municipal seat in Toronto.[6]
He returned to South Africa after the end of apartheid, and in 2002 issued a book entitled Blueprints in Black and White - The Built Environment Professions in South Africa - An Outline History. In 2005, African National Congress members on the Durban Municipal Council proposed renaming Kloof Memorial Park in his honour.[7]
| Election | Division | Party | Votes | % | Place | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 federal | Broadview—Greenwood | N/A (Communist) | 167 | 5/6 | Jim Fleming, Liberal | |
| 1974 municipal | Toronto Council, Ward Seven | n/a | 389 | 6/11 | John Sewell and Janet Howard | |
| 1976 municipal | Toronto Council, Ward Eight | n/a | 771 | 5/6 | Fred Beavis and Tom Clifford | |
| 1979 federal | Broadview—Greenwood | Communist | 145 | 0.44 | 5/7 | Bob Rae, New Democratic Party |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ John Bizzell, "'Beast' a modern day war criminal" [letter], Toronto Star, 4 July 1986, A18.
- ^ "The People Say", Toronto Star, 20 April 1968, p. 11; "Broadview-Greenwood", Toronto Star, 19 May 1979, A12.
- ^ John Bizzell, "South African sanctions" [letter], Globe and Mail, 12 July 1986, A7.
- ^ Julia Turner, "Board shields young Catholics from 'exposure' to Communists", Globe and Mail, 26 January 1980, P11.
- ^ "Communists open campaign", Globe and Mail, 13 July 1984, P5; "Communist Party of Canada holds convention" [News Release], Canada NewsWire, 18 May 1988, 09:30 report.
- ^ "Reformers endorse 29 for election", Toronto Star, 22 November 1976, C1.
- ^ Philani Makhanya, "DA lashes out at ANC over renaming", The Mercury, 24 March 2005, p. 2.
- ^ The 1974 results are taken from the Toronto Star newspaper, 3 December 1974, E11 (148 out of 150 polls reporting). The 1976 results are taken from the Toronto Star, 7 December 1976, A11.
