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James Shaver Woodsworth

Winnipeg, Canada

James Shaver Woodsworth

James Shaver Charleston Woodsworth (July 29, 1874 – March 21, 1942) was a Canadian Methodist minister, politician, and labour activist. He was a pioneer of the Canadian Social Gospel, a Christian religious movement with social democratic values and links to organized labour. A long-time leader and p

ublicist in the movement, Woodsworth served as a member of Parliament (MP) for Winnipeg Centre and Winnipeg North Centre from 1921 until his death in 1942. In 1932, he helped to found the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), a socialist political party which was the predecessor to the New Democratic Party (NDP). While studying at Oxford, he became interested in social welfare, and upon his return to Canada as a minister of the Methodist Church he preached the Social Gospel to the poor and the working classes of Manitoba. As the superintendent of the All People's Mission in Winnipeg and the secretary of the Canadian Welfare League, he focused on investigating social conditions, worked with immigrants, and campaigned for social welfare. Woodsworth's focus on social issues and inequality led him to become active in the political labour movement in Canada. He led the protest campaign following...

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