Mel Doig
Leader of the Communist Party of Canada (Ontario)
Preceded byWilliam Stewart
Succeeded byGordon Massie
Personal details
Born
Melbourne A. Doig

1912 (1912)
British Columbia, Canada
DiedOctober 25, 1998(1998-10-25) (aged 85–86)
Political partyCommunist Party of Canada
Other political
affiliations
Labor-Progressive Party
Alma materMcGill University
OccupationPolitician

Melbourne A. Doig (b. 1912 - d. 25 October 1998) was a longtime Communist politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as leader of the Communist Party of Canada - Ontario in the 1981 provincial election, and was a prominent member of the federal party.

Doig was raised in a working-class community of Montreal, Quebec, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the McGill University in 1932. He also joined the Communist Party of Canada in the 1930s. Doig campaigned as a candidate of the Labor-Progressive Party in Welland in the 1949 federal election, and subsequently in a 1950 federal by-election in the same riding. He described himself as an organizer, and finished fourth on both occasions.

Doig served on the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada in the early 1980s. An article in The Globe and Mail lists him as having been 68 years old in 1980.

The same article cites Doig as making the following comments in the 1980 federal election: "We are struggling to bring about a socialist society based on the interests of the majority of people who fight the exploitation of a minority. While we do see the possibility of achieving this end through the parliamentary process, we do not rule out the possibility of armed struggle if necessary . . . nor are we fighting for a socialist state and government that can be voted out of office through the ballot box."

Doig campaigned in St. Catharines in the 1979 and 1984 federal elections, and in the Toronto riding of St. Paul's for the 1980 federal election. He described himself as a journalist in 1979 and 1980, and as a secretary in 1984. Doig never came close to winning election.

During the 1981 provincial campaign, Doig called for a "new majority" of Members of Provincial Parliament who would end the foreign control of provincial industries. His party's platform called for the nationalization of natural resources, and government takeovers of plants that were in financial jeopardy. The Communist Party did not run a full slate of candidates, and Doig argued that some members of the New Democratic Party (NDP) could become part of the "new majority" in the legislature. He received 162 votes in Dovercourt, finishing last against NDP candidate Tony Lupusella.

Electoral record

1984 Canadian federal election: St. Catharines
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeJoe Reid26,62149.7+11.8
New DemocraticGerry Michaud16,39730.6+4.2
LiberalLinus Hand9,89018.5-16.5
GreenTom Ferguson3650.7
Social CreditGlen Hodgins1080.2
CommunistMel Doig930.20.0
Commonwealth of CanadaLancelot Mottley560.1
Total valid votes 53,530100.0
1981 Ontario general election: Dovercourt
Party Candidate Votes%
New DemocraticTony Lupusella5,30937.4
LiberalGil Gillespie5,08835.8
Progressive ConservativeJoe Burgana3,38623.8
IndependentVince Comero2581.8
CommunistMel Doig1641.2
Total valid votes 14,205100.0
1980 Canadian federal election: St. Paul's
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalJohn Roberts17,90545.3+4.0
Progressive ConservativeRon Atkey15,64339.5-4.6
New DemocraticJames Lockyer5,30113.4+0.1
RhinocerosLiza Armour3110.8+0.5
LibertarianDan A. Kornitzer1620.4-0.3
IndependentRobert Smith1080.3
CommunistMel Doig760.20.0
IndependentNaomi Jolliffe370.1
Marxist–LeninistKeith Ramdeen220.10.0
Total valid votes 39,565100.0
1979 Canadian federal election: St. Catharines
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeJoe Reid23,44446.3+12.6
LiberalWilliam Andres14,99029.6-16.7
New DemocraticPeter J. Elliott11,89723.5+4.7
LibertarianKenneth F. MacKay1860.4
CommunistMelbourne Doig1110.20.0
Marxist–LeninistVictoria A. Wiwcharyk400.1-0.1
Total valid votes 50,668100.0
Canadian federal by-election, 16 October 1950: Welland
Death of Humphrey Mitchell
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalWilliam Hector McMillan19,55348.7+1.4
Progressive ConservativeSam Hughes13,03132.4+6.0
Co-operative CommonwealthMelvin L. Swart5,97214.9-8.0
Labor–ProgressiveMelbourne A. Doig1,6164.0+0.6
Total valid votes 40,172100.0
1949 Canadian federal election: Welland
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalHumphrey Mitchell23,73447.3+3.7
Progressive ConservativeSam Hughes13,25926.4-6.3
Co-operative CommonwealthArmour McCrae11,49322.9+6.4
Labor–ProgressiveMelbourne A. Doig1,7113.4
Total valid votes 50,197100.0

Notes

  1. ^ John Fraser, "Commitment to a cause, not votes, prompts these candidates to run", The Globe and Mail, 25 January 1980.
  2. ^ Stan Oziewicz, "Communists call for 'new majority' to break hold of U.S. companies", The Globe and Mail, 27 February 1981.
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