John Steele (Canadian politician)

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For other people named John Steele, see John Steele (disambiguation).


John Brian Steele (born 1940) is a political activist in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Communist League's central committee until 2000, and has campaigned for office many times at the municipal and provincial levels.

The Communist League grew out of the Revolutionary Workers League, which was initially a Trotskyist organization, but subsequently turned its support to Fidel Castro's Cuba. Steele has often referenced Cuba as an example of a successful communist nation in the modern world, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Steele is a retired meat packer, and a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers trade union. He is a regular contributor to The Militant, the Communist League's periodical.

Steele first ran for political office in a April 1, 1993 by-election for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Running in the downtown Toronto riding of St. George—St. David, he finished last in a field of nine candidates with 57 votes. He ran in Fort York in the 1995 provincial election and received 129 votes. He was identified as the Ontario Communist League leader on the latter occasion, although this was merely a nominal title. Steele also ran for office in the 2003 provincial election.

Steele has campaigned for Mayor of Toronto on two occasions, and was profiled by the Toronto Star newspaper on August 3, 2000 in the middle of his second run. Steele, who was 59 years old at the time, argued that the capitalist system was drifting toward fascism and world war. His campaign focused on national and international issues, and on at least one occasion, he was forced to fend off accusations of anti-Semitism (the charges do not appear to have been substantiated). His campaign was run from Pathfinder Bookstore on Bloor Street West.

In the 2006 federal election Steele is a candidate in the Toronto riding of Eglinton—Lawrence.

[edit] Electoral record

2006 federal election : Eglinton—Lawrence edit
Party Candidate Votes % +/- Expenditures
     Liberal (x)Joe Volpe 26,044 52.89 -7.35 $66,769.49
     Conservative Peter Coy 14,897 30.25 +5.20 $59,382.34
     New Democratic Party Maurganne Mooney 5,660 11.49 +1.11 $7,721.94
     Green Patrick Metzger 2,520 5.12 +1.03 $1,338.44
     N/A (Communist League) John Steele 123 0.25 $368.80
Total valid votes 49,244 100.00
Total rejected ballots 245
Turnout 49,489 67.61 +3.84
Electors on the lists 73,201

(Note: Steele's first mayoral run is not listed.)