Canada: “Are you a communist?” campaign is a hit

The forces of Marxism in Canada are on a mission to organize the millions of people in Canada who say communism—not just socialism—is the best economic system. We have to thank the right-wing Fraser Institute for alerting us to this in their recent survey.

[Originally published at marxist.ca]

And this mission is no secret. It couldn’t be more public! From coast to coast, from Vancouver to Halifax, members of the Canadian section of the IMT are boldly calling for all those who consider themselves communists to get organized!

All over the country, comrades have been painting their cities red, putting up posters and stickers with the words, “Are You a Communist? Then get organized!” And you know this is not just boasting: the right wing has also taken notice. In Edmonton someone posted a complaint along the lines of “these posters are everywhere in my neighbourhood!” Our posters have even had a small cultural impact, with people have making parodies like “Are you gay? If so, that’s ok.”

The response has been huge. Having seen our posters with Karl Marx urging them to get organized, thousands of people have wrote into our website, asking to join. And more than 150 people have joined since the beginning of September. We’ve received hundreds messages like “capitalism is a doomed economic system”, and “we need to kill these god**** people. You take an inch, they take a mile—then you realize they can’t even see you from their ivory tower.”

This massive success extends across Canada. We’ve always been proud to have built an organization in both English Canada and Québec. And in Québec the response has been immense. Over 60 people have joined since September, in cities from Montréal to Gatineau to Trois-Rivières and Québec City. For the first time ever, we now have over 200 members in Québec!

This stretches all the way to the west coast. In British Columbia, with its towering cost-of-living pushing ordinary people into abject misery, more than 20 people have joined since the start of September. This is impressive considering that we only have a couple of dozen people in the province to begin with. We’ve gone from 4 branches to 9 in the province!

Then there’s Alberta, the so-called “Texas of Canada”—a land of pickup trucks and rodeo, where people have always voted conservative—and always will. We’re happy to tell you this is false. Just as Alberta isn’t immune to the housing crisis, it isn’t immune to the radicalization brought on by the crisis of capitalism. In Alberta we’ve grown by 50% since August, going from 6 branches to 10. In Calgary, the heartland of Canadian conservatism whose most well-known export is the infamous Ted Cruz, we’ve doubled in size!

Mass layers of people are realizing what the communists in the IMT have known for years: the system is sick / Image: Fightback

Communists can also be found on dozens campuses across the country, holding mass recruitment events under titles like “Join the Communists!”. At McGill University, the comrades held a very successful mass recruitment event. Over 60 people attended and the comrades recruited 10 people on the spot! Scenes like this can be found on campuses across the country. At the University of British Columbia we had one branch in August. Thanks to comrades’ diligent work, now we have three! Our posters are so famous on the UBC campus that people have even been using parodies of them for the student union elections.

Contingents of communists have also been spotted at demonstrations across the country, like that of the Common Front in Québec and the counter-protests against anti-trans laws across the country.

The influence of communism is also spreading to cities near you! Comrades in Kingston, Sherbrooke, Québec City, Mississauga and Hamilton have all set up brand new branches, and cells of communists are popping up across the country in towns from Fort Saskatchewan in the west to Charlottetown in the east!

But it turns out communism’s fame goes further than the millions of radical youth. The right-wing has even been doing their part to help us grow by sharing photos of our material.

The massive response to the “Are You A Communist?” campaign in Canada is just a symptom of the disaster that is capitalism today. Mass layers of people are realizing what the communists in the IMT have known for years: the system is sick. Society is disintegrating in front of our eyes, and people are desperate for a way out. So far we have only scratched the surface of radicalization.

This is driving millions to communist conclusions. “Only communism and socialism can save this world,” as one person wrote into our website. And this is just the beginning of a process of mass radicalization that will end up in revolution—both in Canada and the world.

But though revolution is inevitable, victory is not. History shows that to win the working class needs a mass communist party, one that can give it guidance at the moment of truth. This party must be prepared in advance. That’s why a communist is not just someone who would like to live in a communist society. A communist is a determined fighter, preparing a communist party for the titanic struggles to come. This is what the IMT is building, and that’s why comrades across Canada are working day and night, calling all who consider themselves communists to get organized! So if you’re a communist, join us. With your help, we can change the world.