The Dominion Labor Party was the Manitoba section of the Canadian Labor Party. Established in 1918 by labour and radical leaders like William Ivens and Fred Dixon (who served as the first president of the party), it was an outgrowth of the Winnipeg Labour Representation Committee and the Social Democratic Party. Ivens helped establish a branch in Brandon in the same year. Although a labour party, the membership of the Bandon branch included academics, clergymen, non-unionized workers and even some professionals. The party’s political beliefs included public ownership of railways and utilities like electricity, reform of the political process, the abolition of child labour and equal pay for men and women. The party ran candidates in municipal and provincial elections in both cities in the period 1918-1920. Following the General Strike however, labour candidates from several parties fared poorly in both municipal and provincial elections. The radical members of the Dominion Labor Party soon joined others like JS Woodsworth in the Independent Labour Party, which they hoped would not come under the control of the Trades and Labour Council. The latter party enjoyed some success at both the provincial and federal level, Woodsworth serving as the Member of Parliament for Winnipeg North Centre in Parliament. The ILP eventually became a part of the Canadian Commonwealth Federation.
