Communist Party of Canada (Marxist–Leninist) candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election


The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) fielded 71 candidates in the 2006 federal election. Some of these candidates have their own biography pages. Information about others may be found here.

[Ontario]

[Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot]: Jamilé Ghaddar

Ghaddar was born in Lebanon and raised in Montreal and Hamilton. She is a linguistics graduate from McMaster University in Hamilton, and was twenty-two years old at the time of the 2006 election. She helped create "Students 4 Steel" in 2004 to build support for the city's steel industry among the McMaster student community. She is also a leading member of the McMaster Socialist Movement, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights and Citizens Against Racism and Military Aggression
Ghaddar's first name is sometimes spelled as "Jamila".
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
2003 [Ontario general election|2003 provincial]Hamilton WestInd. 3036/6Judy Marsales, Liberal
2004 federalHamilton CentreMarxist-Leninist910.217/7David Christopherson, New Democratic Party
2006 federalAncaster—Dundas—Flamborough—AldershotMarxist-Leninist1126/6David Sweet, Conservative

Beaches—East York">Beaches—East York (federal electoral district)">Beaches—East York: Roger Carter

Carter was born on June 9, 1941, in Winnipeg, Manitoba and died on May 29, 2023, in Toronto. He joined the CPC-ML in 1975, and campaigned for the party five times since then. He was a postal worker, and a Canadian Union of Postal Workers shop steward.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1980 federalYork—ScarboroughMarxist-Leninist756/6Paul J. Cosgrove, Liberal
1993 federalDon Valley EastMarxist-Leninist908/9David Collenette, Liberal
2000 federalWillowdaleMarxist-Leninist1455/5Jim Peterson, Liberal
2004 federalBeaches—East YorkMarxist-Leninist468/8Maria Minna, Liberal
2006 federalBeaches—East YorkMarxist-Leninist910.186/6Maria Minna, Liberal

Bramalea—Gore—Malton">Bramalea—Gore—Malton (federal electoral district)">Bramalea—Gore—Malton: Francesco (Frank) Chilelli

Chilelli joined the Marxist-Leninist Party in 1996, when he was a graduate student at the University of Toronto. His thesis, published in 1998, examined liberal and communist concepts of distributive justice. He was thirty-eight years old in 2006, and was listed as a philosophy teacher for the Peel District School Board. He is a founder of the Bramalea-Gore-Malton Citizens Committee, and a past volunteer with the CARE Connection. Chilelli has called for Canadian soldiers to be brought home from Afghanistan.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1997 federalDavenportMarxist-Leninist2506/8Charles Caccia, Liberal
2000 federalEglinton—LawrenceMarxist-Leninist1640.406/7Joe Volpe, Liberal
2003 provincialBramalea—Gore—Malton—SpringdaleInd. 8685/6Kuldip Kular, Liberal
2004 federalBramalea—Gore—MaltonMarxist-Leninist2375/5Gurbax Malhi, Liberal
2006 federalBramalea—Gore—MaltonMarxist-Leninist2335/5Gurbax Malhi, Liberal

Etobicoke Centre">Etobicoke Centre (federal electoral district)">Etobicoke Centre: France Tremblay

France Tremblay ran for the Marxist-Leninist Party six times, including five federal candidacies and one provincial candidacy in Quebec. In 1993, she described herself as "a party worker involved in the development of mass media." She was also a secretary and homemaker.
In August 2009, the CPC-ML added the name of France Tremblay to its party memorial in Ottawa.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1988 federalLangelierN/A 4020.765/6Gilles Loiselle, Progressive Conservative
1989 Quebec provincialRosemontMarxist-Leninist790.289/10Guy Rivard, Liberal
1993 federalScarborough CentreMarxist-Leninist380.099/10John Cannis, Liberal
2000 federalScarborough EastMarxist-Leninist1130.286/6John McKay, Liberal
2004 federalEtobicoke CentreMarxist-Leninist1120.215/5Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal
2006 federalEtobicoke CentreMarxist-Leninist1170.216/6Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal

Nickel Belt">Nickel Belt (federal electoral district)">Nickel Belt: Stephen Rutchinski

Rutchinski was raised in Capreol, Ontario, and was 53 years old during the 2004 election. He is a perennial candidate for the CPC-ML, which he joined in 1973. Formerly a steelworker, shipping supervisor and truck driver, Rutchinski works at the University of Toronto. He is also a shop steward with United Steelworkers of America Local 1998. He was a member of Toronto's Civil Rights and Privacy Committee during the 1990s, and opposed provisions for biometric identification in the provincial government's Social Assistance Reform Act of 1997.
He has stood for federal and provincial office seven times. He appeared on the ballot as a non-affiliated candidate in 1980 and as an independent candidate in 1999, in both cases because the CPC-ML was not a registered party.
Rutchinski wrote a piece entitled "Crisis in the Party-Run Parliament Reveals the Necessity for Change" for the CPC-ML's newspaper late 2005, calling for a "new democratic process" to replace Canada's "crisis-ridden party-run Parliamentary democracy".
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1980 federalOshawaMarxist-Leninist296/6Ed Broadbent, New Democratic Party
1988 federalToronto Centre—RosedaleNon-affiliated 1414/5Sheila Copps, Liberal
1993 federalRosedaleMarxist-Leninist619/10Bill Graham, Liberal
1997 federalToronto Centre—RosedaleMarxist-Leninist1660.368/9Bill Graham, Liberal
1999 provincialBeaches—East YorkIndependent 1647/7Frances Lankin, New Democratic Party
2000 federalBeaches—East YorkMarxist-Leninist5310/10Maria Minna, Liberal
2004 federalNickel BeltMarxist-Leninist517/7Raymond Bonin, Liberal
2006 federalNickel BeltMarxist-Leninist427/7Raymond Bonin, Liberal

Oshawa">Oshawa (federal electoral district)">Oshawa: David Gershuny

Gershuny is a shipper and heavy vehicle operator, and is a perennial candidate for the Marxist-Leninist Party. During the 1993 election, he announced that his party would bring forward voter recall as part of an electoral reform package.
His brother, Lorne Gershuny, has also been a candidate of the CPC-ML.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1993 federalSt. Paul'sMarxist-Leninist750.1510/12Barry Campbell, Liberal
1999 provincialBeaches—East YorkIndependent 4865/8Joseph Cordiano, Liberal
2000 federalOshawaMarxist-Leninist976/6Ivan Grose, Liberal
2004 federalMississauga—Brampton SouthMarxist-Leninist1855/5Navdeep Bains, Liberal
2006 federalOshawaMarxist-Leninist915/5Colin Carrie, Conservative

St. Catharines">St. Catharines (federal electoral district)">St. Catharines: Elaine Couto

Elaine Couto is a perennial candidate. She received 101 votes in 2006, placing sixth against Conservative candidate Rick Dykstra.

Sudbury">Sudbury (federal electoral district)">Sudbury: David Starbuck

David A. Starbuck is a math teacher at Cambrian College, and a frequent candidate of the CPC-ML. He has been the Communication Officer of Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 655, served on the Sudbury District and Labour Council, and been active in groups such as the Sudbury Coalition for Social Justice and the Sudbury Anti-War Mobilization. Starbuck has campaigned for part-time workers at Ontario community colleges to win the right of collective bargaining.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1972 federalRosedaleN/A 950.265/5Donald S. Macdonald, Liberal
1974 federalMississaugaMarxist-Leninist1130.135/5Tony Abbott, Liberal
1979 federalNickel BeltMarxist-Leninist1030.254/4John Rodriguez, New Democratic Party
1980 federalNickel BeltMarxist-Leninist890.214/4Judy Erola, Liberal
2004 federalSudburyMarxist-Leninist1000.235/5Diane Marleau, Liberal
2006 federalSudburyMarxist-Leninist770.166/8Diane Marleau, Liberal

Toronto—Danforth">Toronto—Danforth (federal electoral district)">Toronto—Danforth: Marcell Rodden

Rodden is a political activist in Toronto, Ontario, and student in at the University of Toronto. He is the former general co-ordinator of Young Left, a revolutionary youth group in Toronto founded by former youth members of the Communist Party of Canada who left the party over organizational and political disagreements. Rodden himself was never a member of the Communist Party of Canada, and describes his politics as neo-Maoist. He is active with Anti-Racist Action in Toronto, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, and the Canadian Friends of Soviet People, an organization which supports the re-establishment of the former Soviet Union and publishes the magazine Northstar Compass. Rodden was a delegate at the Second World Congress of Friends of Soviet People, which was held in Canada.
In 2005, he helped coordinate a campaign by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty to allow Ontario Works recipients to receive an extra $250 per month in dietary funding from the provincial government. The province tightened its regulations for use of the fund later in the year by changing the legislation. He was portrayed by actor Dave Healey during the 2006 federal election in an improvisational comedy show called "Mock the Vote".
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
2004 federalToronto—DanforthMarxist-Leninist840.186/6Jack Layton, New Democratic Party
2006 federalToronto—DanforthMarxist-Leninist1725/5Jack Layton, New Democratic Party

Trinity—Spadina">Trinity—Spadina (federal electoral district)">Trinity—Spadina: S. Nicholas C. (Nick) Lin

Lin is a worker in the healthcare sector, and a frequent candidate for public office. He has been a member of the Communist Youth Union of Canada, the Toronto Student Project and the Youth Organizing Movement, as well as the Student Christian Movement of Canada. Lin has emphasized youth and education issues in his campaigns. He was 31 years old at the time of the 2003 provincial election.
He has campaigned as an independent candidate in two provincial elections, as the CPC-ML is not registered at the provincial level.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1999 provincialYork WestInd. 1946/7Mario Sergio, Liberal
2000 federalTrinity—SpadinaMarxist-Leninist1027/9Tony Ianno, Liberal
2003 provincialTrinity—SpadinaInd. 2560.636/6Rosario Marchese, New Democratic Party
2004 federalTrinity—SpadinaMarxist-Leninist1026/8Tony Ianno, Liberal
2006 federalTrinity—SpadinaMarxist-Leninist138

[British Columbia]

[Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon]: Dorothy Jean O'Donnell

O'Donnell was a lawyer and a perennial candidate for the CPC-ML who died on February 10, 2021. She also campaigned provincially in British Columbia, as a candidate of the People's Front. She wrote a party editorial for the National Post newspaper in 2004, criticizing Canada's election financing laws and denouncing military actions taken by the United States of America in Iraq and by Israel against the Palestinian people. In the same year, she testified before the British Columbia Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform.
O'Donnell graduated from law school in 1990, was called to the bar in 1991, and completed a Master's Degree in 1995 reviewing the history of the foster care system. She was primarily active in family law.
ElectionDivisionPartyVotes%PlaceWinner
1979 federalBroadview—GreenwoodMarxist-Leninist570.177/7Bob Rae, New Democratic Party
1980 federalBroadview—GreenwoodMarxist-Leninist530.177/9Bob Rae, New Democratic Party
1986 provincialVancouver-Little MountainPeople's Front1287/8Grace McCarthy and Doug Mowat, Social Credit
1988 federalVancouver CentreN/A 589/9Kim Campbell, Progressive Conservative
1993 federalVancouver QuadraMarxist-Leninist8012/13Ted McWhinney, Liberal
1997 federalRichmondMarxist-Leninist908/8Raymond Chan, Liberal
2000 federalOkanagan—CoquihallaMarxist-Leninist999/10Stockwell Day, Canadian Alliance
2001 provincialYale—LillooetPeople's Front1366/6David Chutter, Liberal
2004 federalChilliwack—Fraser CanyonMarxist-Leninist957/7Chuck Strahl, Conservative
2005 provincialYale—LillooetPeople's Front1125/5Harry Lali, New Democratic Party
2006 federalChilliwack—Fraser CanyonMarxist-Leninist1146/6Chuck Strahl, Conservative