Social Democrats of the North: Frank Calder, Living in Two Worlds

Early Canadian social democrats routinely ignored the issues facing Indigenous communities, despite regularly claiming concern with poverty and social justice. Frank Calder fought to change this when he was elected as an MLA for the British Columbia CCF in 1949. As the first status Indigenous person to be elected at either the federal or provincial level in Canada, Calder used his position to advocate for a modern, comprehensive land claims policy to facilitate the negotiation and clai...