Canadian public-sector unions increasingly adopt anti-capitalist agendas, warns columnist

The article warns that a small, well-organized anti-capitalist current is embedding socialist rhetoric within Canada’s public-sector labour movement, echoing the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America in the United States. It points to Avi Lewis’s NDP leadership win, backed by CUPE Ontario, multiple CUPE locals, a PSAC local and the Peel Regional Labour Council, as evidence of growing union support for radical platforms.

Historical examples include a 2016 CUPW president’s call for a “democratically controlled economy” and a 2020 CUPW statement praising Bolivia’s socialist movement. Recent ties to the DSA are highlighted by a 2017 joint article and a 2026 keynote by Gustavo Gordillo at CUPE Ontario’s Presidents’ Conference. The author argues that the Rand Formula allows a minority of union leaders to channel dues into political activism, potentially undermining individual freedoms and private enterprise.