Occupy Together movement points way to NDP / Greens merger

Canadian progressives divided again

When the right wing in Canada was split into a Reform camp and a PC core, the Western upstarts split the reactionary vote and allowed Jean Chretien a majority government. The combining of the two entities was the first step in a long path that has led to Stephen Harper's new majority government. Though he was helped by the collapse of Liberal party leadership (neither Dion nor Ignatieff was electable as PM), the split of the progressive vote (NDP, Green Party of Canada) was also a factor in the PC majority. Now it is time for the left of center parties to unite!

In its thirty year existence, the CCF's membership ranged from 20,000 up to 40,000 except for a brief spurt to 90,000 in 1944, the height of the Second World War, and was generally under 30,000 after that. Tommy Douglas got us going, and Ed Broadbent and Pierre Trudeau got the people a new constitution and an amazing Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a document admired around the world and an example of a 21st Century style document appearing in the late 20th Century. Trudeau was a European social democrat in French Canadian, rather Liberal attire ...

When the CCF joined with the Canadian Labour Congress to form the New Democratic Party of Canada in 1961, it was the work of many citizens over three decades that allowed us to unite in the form of the NDP.

So let's say J.S. Woodsworth, M.J. Coldwell, Tommy Douglas, David Lewis, Ed Broadbent, and Jack Layton are Canadians in a tradition that would support the Occupy Together folks, and unions today are able to unite in a bigger voice through this vehicle.

People may ridicule the Occupy Together movement and United for #globalchange as a ragtag group of disgruntled youth and old hippie wanna-be's, but our urban occupations are part of activities going on in over 900 cities in more than eighty countries. I would also like to add that there are already more than thirty thousand of us in Canada, and if we can unite the NDP and the Green Party, then we'll be about two million strong, and getting more focused by the day.

Green Democratic Party of Canada call for logo designers

With the United for Global Change movement gathering momentum and set to demonstrate in over 850 cities and 70 plus countries this Saturday, October 15th, the timing for a Green Party / NDP merger in Canada could not be better.

If we are to unite the progressive elements in Canada into one social democratic, environmentally conscious political party, what will be our logo? Think Green Democratic Party of Canada, GDP Canada, GDPC, Green Democrats and other versions of the name that would work in media and on swag.

For now, please post any links to sketches or finished designs in the Comments section if you want to get a head start, otherwise Bookmark this page in your Favorites, as we hope to set up an email address for logos soon. Strictly pro bono, no fees, no royalties, as we do not want a merged NDP / Green Party of Canada to have unnecessary expenses.






This is a great opportunity for any young designer in the world to view and learn NDP and Green Party graphics, logos and symbols, and come up with seamless, iconic imagery that melds the two traditions, creating new branding exemplifying social justice and ecological awareness.


Need inspiration? Google or Bing "green party of canada logo" and "ndp canada logo" and click Images from the top bar choices. Open two browser windows so you can click back and forth between the two pages of images.

Create something that builds on these crucial Canadian pillars. Orange and green, anyone?

PCs extreme anti-pot law a challenge to NDP's leadership

Newly-named Bill S-10 an expensive, draconian nightmare

The Penalties for Organized Drug Crime Act would guarantee minimum six-month mandatory sentences for anyone who grows more than five pot plants, with maximum sentencing now 14 years rather than the current 7 years. Traffickers of small amounts of marijuana will still be limited to 5 years in prison.




This anachronistic and ridiculously expensive legislation must be stopped in its tracks, and if the larger bill must go through, then the former Bill S-10 (now called Penalties for Organized Drug Crime Act) must be held back until the marijuana sections are revised or removed. Growing pot is not like making a batch of meth or speed, so why treat it that way?

It is time for the NDP to join the Green Party of Canada and other progressive Canadian forces, and call for complete legalization of cannabis. This way the government can regulate production and tax distribution, so pot growing will help us balance our budget, rather than sink further into the red, as harper's PCs are proposing we do.


Fight Canada's proposed extreme anti-marijuana laws