Maude Barlow and Ben Swankey in 1998.
Straight.com reports today, “Ben Swankey (has) died at the age of 98. The colourful historian and outspoken labour activist spent many years as the head of the Old Age Pensioners Association, often appearing in the media to advance seniors’ rights. …In a 2008 profile, Globe and Mail writer Tom Hawthorn reported that Swankey worked as a road builder, bartender, roofing inspector, insurance salesman, labour journalist, and labour organizer. He was also a Communist for many years.”
In 1998, the Council of Canadians presented Swankey, a long-time member of the organization, with the Ken Wardroper’s Founders Award at our annual general meeting in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
In the promotion for his autobiography What’s New, it was highlighted that, “In this unique and extraordinary memoir, Ben Swankey sums up a lifetime of labour and socialist activism. He begins with a remarkable evocation of his Saskatchewan childhood in the farming community of Herbert. While still a teenager, Swankey hitchhiked and rode the rails to Vancouver, where he came in contact with the unemployed movement and made a lifelong commitment to socialism. This decision brought him into the Young Communist League and the Communist Party as an organizer in the massive protests that shook Alberta during the Depression, particularly the Edmonton Hunger March in 1932. He mobilized support for the On to Ottawa Trek, worked with Crow’s Nest miners and ultimately was interned during the Second World War for his political beliefs. What’s New gives unique first person accounts of these remarkable periods in Canadian history. After service in the Canadian artillery following his release from internment, Swankey became leader of the Labour-Progressive Party in Alberta before moving to Burnaby, BC with his family, in 1957. Here he began an entirely new career as a labour writer and policy analyst. His long, close friendship with Harry Rankin, BC’s crusading labour lawyer and long-time city councillor, gave him an unparalleled perspective on the labour and political life of the province. Swankey remained active into his 80s, working with the Council of Canadians and BC seniors’ organizations to defend and expand our Medicare system. This is the life story of a unique Canadian.”
The Council of Canadians extends its condolences to Ben’s family and friends.
