Socialist Action (Canada)

According to a history published by Socialist Action federal secretary Barry Weisleder, SA/LAS was founded in 1994 by a small group that had split from, or been expelled by, Socialist Challenge and Gauche Socialiste.^[2] Weisleder wrote that the organization was founded after disputes over democratic centralism, party-building and the orientation of the revolutionary left in Canada.^[2]

The same account says that Socialist Action Canada was supported by Socialist Action in the United States and that the Canadian group continued to write for and circulate the monthly Socialist Action newspaper.^[2] Socialist Action's own program describes the group as a cross-country revolutionary socialist organization in political solidarity with Trotskyist currents internationally, while also stating that it seeks the formation of a Revolutionary Workers' International.^[3]

Socialist Action describes itself as anti-capitalist, revolutionary socialist and democratic-centralist.^[3][4] Its program calls for political work in trade unions, social movements and the NDP, and says that the organization supports Quebec and Indigenous self-determination.^[3] It also argues for a revolutionary workers' party and for social ownership of the economy under workers' control.^[3]

Because most detailed descriptions of Socialist Action's program are published by the organization itself, they are best treated as self-descriptions rather than independent assessments of its influence.

Socialist Action identifies with the Trotskyist tradition of the reunified Fourth International. In a history published on the Socialist Action Canada website, Barry Weisleder wrote that Socialist Action Canada was founded in 1994 after a split from Socialist Challenge and Gauche Socialiste, and that it appealed to the Fourth International's 1995 World Congress after the split.^[2] According to Weisleder, the Fourth International designated Socialist Action Canada as "a group of partisans of the F.I." invited to participate in its meetings and activities, but only with the agreement of Gauche Socialiste, which he said was not granted.^[2]

The Fourth International's own website lists Gauche Socialiste as its section in Quebec and includes Gauche Socialiste, rather than Socialist Action Canada, in its list of organizations in Canada.^[5][6] A 2017 statement by Socialist Action (United States) states that "[o]ur Socialist Action Canada comrades were expelled" from the Fourth International.^[7]

Socialist Action has also identified with opposition currents inside or around the Fourth International. In 2017, an article published by Socialist Action Canada described the organization as supporting the Platform for a Revolutionary International, a current critical of the Fourth International leadership.^[8] In a 2022 political resolution, Socialist Action said it sought to build a "Revolutionary Workers' International", maintain ties with supporters of the Tendency for a Revolutionary International and continue its close relationship with Socialist Action (United States).^[9] In 2025, the Fourth International decided to "break off relations" with the US Socialist Action and, by extension, the Tendency for a Revolutionary International.^[10]

Socialist Action has long oriented toward activity inside the New Democratic Party and the NDP Socialist Caucus. Its website lists the NDP Socialist Caucus among Socialist Action's initiatives, and Weisleder has also been identified in media reports as chair of the Socialist Caucus.^[11][12]

At the federal NDP convention in Vancouver in June 2011, the Socialist Caucus opposed efforts to remove references to socialism from the party's constitution.^[13] The National Post reported that the caucus also submitted resolutions on issues including nationalization, Canadian foreign policy and Israel and Palestine.^[14]

In September 2011, Weisleder won the Ontario NDP nomination in Thornhill for the 2011 Ontario general election, but the party rescinded the nomination within 48 hours.^[12] The National Post reported that the decision followed attention to Weisleder's views on Israel and Palestine.^[15]

In 2025, the NDP Socialist Caucus nominated author and activist Yves Engler for the 2026 New Democratic Party leadership election.^[16] In December 2025, Engler was rejected by the NDP's leadership vetting process. The Canadian Press reported that the party cited allegations including harassment and intimidation; Engler denied wrongdoing and criticized the decision.^[17]

After the leadership race, Socialist Action and the NDP Socialist Caucus promoted the creation of a broader Socialist Movement associated with Engler's "Capitalism Can't Be Fixed" campaign. In May 2026, Weisleder wrote that a Toronto and online conference had launched the new Socialist Movement and that some participants envisioned it eventually becoming a political party, though he also said the conference had made "no firm decisions" on its structure.^[18]

Socialist Action publishes articles, pamphlets and event notices through its website, and maintains a literature page that includes pamphlets on labour, feminism, Indigenous struggles, eco-socialism and socialist strategy.^[19] Its website also advertises education conferences, public meetings and campaign events.^[1]