Oshawa, Ontario

Politics

The dominant presence of General Motors (and its autoworkers) meant that Oshawa was well-known as a bastion of unionist, left-wing support during the decades following the Second World War. By the end of the 1990s, the city's changing economy and unchanging social attitudes led many voters towards the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and the Canadian Alliance, a conservative party at the federal level. Conservative candidates have won recent provincial and federal elections, whereas in previous decades the city provided a safe New Democratic Party seat in both the federal and provincial legislatures. Oshawa was a base for one of the NDP's most popular federal leaders, Ed Broadbent, who represented the city in Ottawa and in the 1980s led his party to its greatest electoral successes.

Related Topics:
General Motors - Left-wing - Second World War - Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario - Canadian Alliance - New Democratic Party - Ed Broadbent - Ottawa

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The city has played an important role in Canada's labour history, including the 1937 strike against General Motors and the considerable financial support provided by the city's autoworkers to the NDP and its predecessors.

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In local politics, tension has been building within the city over the construction of a new sports arena. Other issues within the city include:

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