Rodney Young
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Vancouver Centre
In office
1948–1949
Preceded byIan Alistair Mackenzie
Succeeded byRalph Campney
Personal details
Born(1910-03-21)March 21, 1910
Liverpool, England
DiedJanuary 1, 1978(1978-01-01) (aged 67)
Political partyCCF

Rodney Young (March 21, 1910 − January 1, 1978) was a lawyer and Canadian Member of Parliament.

Young was born in Liverpool and emigrated to Canada in 1926 at the age of 16 setting in Vancouver. He was a socialist activist during the Great Depression and did political work in the unemployment relief camps that were set up during the Great Depression in Canada.[1]

Young was a member of the Socialist Party of Canada's British Columbia section and was one of the party's two candidates in the dual member constituency of Vancouver Centre for the 1933 provincial election garnering 64 votes.[2]

In 1934, the Socialist Party in BC joined the fledgling Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and Young joined the youth wing of the fledgling democratic socialist political party.[1]

He joined the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals during World War II, serving in the Canadian Army from 1940 until 1946.[1]

Following demobilization, he enrolled in the University of British Columbia's law school. While still a law student in 1948, he contested a by-election in Vancouver Centre on behalf of the CCF and was elected to the House of Commons of Canada. He only served for a year before being defeated in his attempt to retain his seat in the 1949 federal election.[1] His attempt to regain the seat in the 1953 resulted in a third-place finish.[3]

Young was a socialist and on the left-wing of the CCF. His involvement with Marxist activists resulted in his expulsion from the British Columbia wing of the CCF by the party's executive in 1954 in what was called the "Rod Young Affair".[1][4]

Electoral record

1953 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalRalph Campney8,25940.83-1.73
Social CreditLeslie R. Peterson4,94624.45–
Co-operative CommonwealthRodney Young4,51622.33-4.05
Progressive ConservativeWendell Willard Wright1,7498.65-16.02
Labor–ProgressiveErnest Lawrie7563.74-0.20
Total valid votes 20,226100.0  
Liberal hold Swing -13.09
1949 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalRalph Campney10,29942.56+8.90
Co-operative CommonwealthRodney Young6,38226.37-17.22
Progressive ConservativeHenry Herbert Stevens5,97024.67+1.93
Labor–ProgressiveMaurice Rush9523.93–
IndependentHarold Meade Young5952.46–
Total valid votes 24,198100.0  
Liberal gain from Co-operative Commonwealth Swing +13.06
Canadian federal by-election, 8 June 1948
On Ian Mackenzie being called to the Senate, 19 January 1948
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Co-operative CommonwealthRodney Young9,51843.60+16.27
LiberalRalph Campney7,34833.66+3.90
Progressive ConservativeHilliard Lyle Jestley4,96522.74-3.73
Total valid votes 21,831100.0  
Co-operative Commonwealth gain from Liberal Swing +6.18

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Rodney Young, 1910-1978: A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers" (PDF). Library of the University of British Columbia, Special Collections Division. April 1979. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  2. ↑ Electoral History of British Columbia 1871-1986, Elections BC
  3. ↑ History of Federal Ridings - Vancouver Centre, Parliament of Canada website. Retrieved on 2007-09-17
  4. ↑ "Socialist Education League Organized". Workers Vanguard. December 1955. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
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