Sam Walsh (politician)

{{Infobox officeholder

| native_name =

| name = Sam Walsh

| image =

| order = General Secretary of the Communist Party of Quebec

| term_start = 1965

| term_end = 1989

| predecessor = Office established

| successor = Marianne Roy

| birth_name = Saul Jerome Wolofsky

| birth_date = {{birth date|1916|08|31}}

| birth_place = Montreal, Quebec

| death_date = {{death date and age|2008|03|18|1916|08|31}}

| death_cause =

| death_place =

| nationality = Canadian

| awards =

| father = Hirsch Wolofsky

| spouse =

| alma_mater = McGill University

| occupation = Politician

| party = Communist Party of Quebec

| otherparty = Communist Party of Canada
Labor-Progressive Party
Communist Party of Ontario

| allegiance = Canada

| branch = Canadian Army

| serviceyears =

| rank = Second Lieutenant

| unit =

| commands =

| battles = World War 2

}}

Samuel Walsh (August 31, 1916 – March 18, 2008), was leader of the Communist Party of Quebec for 28 years, from 1962 to 1990, and was a leader in the Communist Party of Canada and Labor-Progressive Party since the 1940s.

Early life and education

Walsh was born in Montreal as Saul Jerome Wolofsky. His father was Hirsch Wolofsky, publisher of the Keneder Adler (Canadian Eagle), Canada's first Yiddish newspaper.

At the age of 17, Wolofsky took part in a student strike against an increase in high school tuition fees. He became a Communist with the encouragement of his older brother, Moishe, a union organizer. His father asked them to change their names to avoid embarrassing the family and so Moishe became Bill Walsh and Saul became Sam Walsh.

Walsh enrolled in biology at McGill University and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1938. He moved to Toronto.

Career

Walsh ran for public office at least 30 times in his career, and was elected twice as a school trustee in Toronto in the late 1940s.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19810328&id=aUIwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xqQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2970,3181719 |title=Chasing votes on the political fringe |newspaper=The Montreal Gazette |last=Bauch |first=Hubert |date=March 28, 1991 |page=25 |accessdate=September 17, 2016}}"He never gave up: A communist for life despite reverses; 'You never know when political circumstances will be ripe for change,' he argued" by Alan Hustak, The (Montreal) Gazette, April 20, 2008

When the Communist Party was banned in 1940, Walsh went underground and evaded arrest under the wartime Defence of Canada Regulations. Once the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, the USSR became Canada's ally and Communists were able to organize the new Labor-Progressive Party as a legal front.

Walsh enlisted in the Canadian Army during World War II, becoming a second lieutenant instructing soldiers how to operate military vehicles."SAM WALSH, 91: POLITICIAN; For 28 years, he valiantly ran for the Communists" by M.J. Stone, Globe and Mail, May 23, 2008 He was denied further promotion because of his political affiliations. According to his niece, "His commanding officer told him, 'Sam, I'd like to promote you, but I understand you're pink.'" Walsh replied “I'm not pink, I'm flaming red.”

Walsh became a permanent party organizer for the Labor-Progressive Party following Fred Rose's election victory in 1943.

In 1948, Walsh was elected to the Toronto Board of Education by acclamation and was re-elected in 1949 before being defeated in 1950.

Walsh ran in the 1958 federal election in Spadina and then in a by-election in Trinity, both Toronto ridings, but was unsuccessful.

He returned to Montreal in the 1960s becoming leader of the Communist Party of Quebec in 1962. In 1972, he denounced Trotskyist support for Quebec independence resulting in a number of defections from the party.

Electoral record

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1988|Saint-Denis (electoral district)|Saint-Denis}}

{{Canadian election result/top|QC|1985|Laurier (provincial electoral district)|Laurier|percent=yes}}

{{Canadian election result/source|source=Source: [http://www2.electionsquebec.qc.ca/corpo/francais/elections-generales-provincial.asp?bsq=Dorion§ion=resultats_gen&even=%271985%27&mode=%27n3%27#resul Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec].}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1984|Saint-Denis (electoral district)|Saint Denis}}

{{CANelec|CA|Rhinoceros (historical)|Ben Rhino 97 Michel Benoit|1,588}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1980|Saint-Denis (electoral district)|Saint-Denis}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1979|Saint-Denis (electoral district)|Saint-Denis}}

{{CANelec|CA|Rhinoceros (historical)|Rodrigue Chocolat Tremblay|1,056}}

{{Canadian election result/top|QC|1976|Maisonneuve (provincial electoral district)|Maisonneuve}}

{{CANelec|QC|Parti des travailleurs du Québec|Jeannine Warren|32}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1974|Saint-Denis (electoral district)|Saint-Denis}}

{{Canadian election result/top|QC|1966|percent=yes|Saint-Louis (provincial electoral district)|Saint-Louis}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1962|percent=yes|change=yes|Hochelaga (electoral district)|Hochelaga}}

{{CANelec/top|ON|1959|York South (Ontario provincial electoral district)|York South|percent=yes|change=yes}}

{{CANelec|ON|Independent Conservative|C.J. Garfunkel|1,228|3.99|–}}

{{CANelec/top|CA|December 15, 1958|trinity (electoral district)|Trinity|percent=yes|change=yes|by=yes|reason=Death of Edward R. Lockyer}}

{{CANelec/top|CA|1958|Spadina (electoral district)|Spadina|percent=yes|change=yes}}

{{CANelec/top|ON|1945|St._Patrick_(provincial_electoral_district)|St. Patrick|percent=yes|change=yes}}

References

Category:Quebec political party leaders

Category:Candidates in Quebec provincial elections

Category:1916 births

Category:2008 deaths

Category:Communist Party of Quebec politicians

Category:Labor-Progressive Party candidates in the 1958 Canadian federal election

Category:Communist Party of Canada candidates in the 1962 Canadian federal election

Category:Jewish Canadian politicians

Category:McGill University Faculty of Science alumni

Category:Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament

Category:Quebec candidates for Member of Parliament

Category:Candidates in the 1988 Canadian federal election

Category:Candidates in the 1984 Canadian federal election

Category:Candidates in the 1980 Canadian federal election

Category:Candidates in the 1979 Canadian federal election

Category:Candidates in the 1974 Canadian federal election