Ernest Winch

Ernest Edward (Ernie) Winch (March 22, 1879 – January 11, 1957) was a socialist British Columbia politician, trade unionist and organizer.[1] He served as a BC Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLA in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly from 1933 until his death in 1957.[2]

Ernest Edward (Ernie) Winch
Winch in 1933
MLA for Burnaby
In office
1933–1957
Personal details
Born(1879-03-22)March 22, 1879
Harlow, England
DiedJanuary 11, 1957(1957-01-11) (aged 77)
Vancouver, British Columbia
Political partyCo-operative Commonwealth Federation
SpouseLinda Winch (née Hendy)
ChildrenHarold, Eileen, Charlie, Grace, Alan, and Eric

Biography

Born in England, Winch's father was a master bricklayer. The younger Winch apprenticed in the trade. In 1899 he went to Australia briefly and returned again in 1903 but again went back to England. In 1909, he came to Canada with his young family.[3]

Winch began studying socialism in 1910 and joined the Social Democratic Party of Canada the following year, becoming its provincial secretary by 1913.[3] In July 1918, he became president of the Vancouver Trade and Labour Council,[3] and endorsed the Vancouver General Strike of 1918 and the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919.[2] He also opposed conscription during the First World War.[3]

A supporter of the One Big Union movement, Winch played an instrumental role in organizing the BC Logger Workers Industrial Union.[4][5]

He was an active member of various left-wing parties including the Socialist Party of Canada and the Independent Labour Party. He helped to re-establish the Socialist Party of Canada (British Columbia) in 1932, which then affiliated with the new Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.[3] In the 1933 provincial election, Winch, his son Harold Winch, and five others were elected to the BC legislature as the first CCF MLAs.

However, in 1936, the left/right divide within the CCF came into the open with the conflict between Winch and party house leader Robert Connell, that sparked an exodus after Connell was expelled.[6][3] In 1938, Harold Winch was named leader.[2]

In the 1940s, Winch was founder of the New Vista Society of Burnaby, whose mission was to provide housing for single women convalescing from mental illness.[7] He also was a founder of the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals.

Ernie Winch died on January 11, 1957. A Burnaby park is named after him.[8]

Further reading

References
  1. Gordon, Stanley (2008-02-14). "Ernest Edward Winch". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  2. Ernest Winch biography, accessed January 13, 2008
  3. Campbell, J. Peter (1999). "Ernest Edward Winch: The Administrator of Class Struggle". Canadian Marxists and the Search for a Third Way. McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 31–72. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  4. Haq, Gordon (1989). "British Columbia Loggers and the Lumber Workers Industrial Union, 1919-1922". Labour/Le Travail. 23: 67–90. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  5. Steeves, Dorothy G. (1960). The Compassionate Rebel: Ernest E. Winch and His Times. Boag Foundation. pp. 46–49. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  6. Young, Walter D. (1976). "Ideology, Personality and the Origin of the CCF in British Columbia". BC Studies. 32: 139–62. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  7. "Our Story". New Vista Healthcare & Housing. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  8. "Ernie Winch". Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2023-10-22.


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