Michel Dugré

Michel Dugré is a veteran Canadian political activist. A member of the Revolutionary Workers League in the 1970s and 1980s, he later joined the successor Communist League and served on its Central Committee. Since 1979, he has been a candidate in seven federal, two provincial, and three municipal elections.

Dugré is a garment presser and has worked as a meat packer.[1] He has also written for the Communist League and affiliated groups. In 1987, the journal New International published Dugré's essay, "Land, labor, and the Canadian socialist revolution," which reviewed the history of Canadian farming policy and the potential for a farmer-labour political alliance.[2]

Dugré was one of the Communist League's leading proponents for a "oui" vote in the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty. He said that a vote for Quebec sovereignty would reflect "the long-standing and legitimate aspirations of the French-speaking majority in [Quebec] for equality and justice" and "[make] it possible to unite working people across Canada against the capitalist rulers' attacks on our unions, our social services, and our rights."[3]

When Dugré ran for mayor of Montreal in the 1998 Montreal municipal election, he called for the creation of a workers and farmers government and said that he would introduce a thirty-hour work week for municipal employees without a cut in pay.[4] In the 2006 Toronto election, he pledged to stop deportations and legalize all immigrants and indicated that he supported the Six Nations in Grand River land dispute.[5]

Electoral record

References

  1. ^ Irwin Block, "Pettigrew expected to cruise to win: Federal minister, first elected in a by-election, is running again in longtime Liberal territory," Montreal Gazette, 23 May 1997, p. 1; History of Federal Ridings since 1867: ROSEMONT--LA PETITE-PATRIE (2008/10/14), Parliament of Canada, accessed 2 September 2011.
  2. ^ Michel Dugré, "Land labor, and the Canadian revolution," New International, Number 6, 1987, pp. 159-247.
  3. ^ Michel Prairie, "Communist League calls for 'Yes' vote as part of struggle", The Militant, Vol. 59, no. 37, 9 October 1995.
  4. ^ "Communist Candidate In The Race For Mayor In Montreal", The Militant, 13 July 1998. This article is a translation of an article of the same title that appeared in the 21 June 1998 edition of La Presse.
  5. ^ "Toronto Council," Toronto Star, 9 November 2006, p. 2.