Ernest Winch: Publications
As one of the founders of the socialist movement in British Columbia and Canada, and as a renowned labour leader, provincial politician and human rights activist, Ernest Winch has attracted much attention through the years from both academic historians and contemporary social activists.
The three publications addressed on this page speak to diverse aspects of Winch’s life and legacy.
Ben Isitt’s University of Victoria Master’s thesis, and W.D. Young’s 1976 article appearing in the journal BC Studies, both address Winch’s central role in shaping the history of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, predecessor to the contemporary New Democratic Party. Winch’s colleague Dorothy Steeves wrote the definitive biography of Winch in 1960; our History of Madness in Canada team member Angelina Heer offers selected quotations and commentary drawn from passages of this important book – with special reference to Winch’s role in advancing the rights of psychiatric patients and prisoners, and founding the New Vista Society and home.
To access the selections, reproductions, and other materials related to these three publications, please click on the below-listed title links:
Ben Isitt. The Search for Solidarity: The Industrial and Political Roots of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in British Columbia, 1913-1928. MA Thesis. Department of History, University of Victoria, 2001.
Dorothy G. Steeves. The Compassionate Rebel: Ernest Winch and the Growth of Socialism in Western Canada. Vancouver: Boag Foundation / Evergreen Press Ltd., 1960. Book Review in The Western Socialist 28, 2 (1961): 12-15. Book Chapter Synopses (Selected) Compiled by Angelina Heer, Simon Fraser University, 2010.
W.D. Young. “Ideology, personality and the origin of the CCF in British Columbia.” BC Studies 32 (Winter, 1976-77): 139-162.
For more details on the life and times of Ernest E. Winch:
Wikipedia article about Ernest Winch
Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon biography of Winch