News & Updates

Year End Update for Our Union Friends

Dear friends in labour,

I sincerely hope that you and your family, and colleagues have had a wonderful year. The staff and Board of Directors of the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation send their best regards to you and your sisters and brothers.

It’s a pleasure to bring you and your union up to speed on all of our activities and projects we have in the works this year and next. It is my hope that you share this information with your executive board at your next meeting.

As you know, over the last two years we have been working to revitalize the charity that Tommy Douglas himself founded in 1971 so that we can educate people about the merits of Social Democracy and unionization in Canada. This charity is also now the home of Jack Layton’s Legacy - I know Jack would be proud of our mission, and your union’s participation.

Tommy Douglas and Jack Layton believed strongly that social good must come from a collaborative relationship with Labour Unions to educate the public at large. Evidence of this goes all the way back to Tommy’s efforts in bringing the CLC and CCF together in the formation of the NDP, and Jack’s tenacity in the house of commons in loyal defense of unions.

Here’s what our “Partner” union leaders have to say about our strategy to promote social democracy:

“The United Steelworkers union was proud to be the first union sponsor of the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation Union Partner Program. The foundation has an important role in shaping and growing progressive values and our shared hope for a better, more equitable future.” Marty Warren, National Director, USW Canada

"UFCW Canada is a proud sponsor of the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation Union Partner Program. The Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation is a force for social change, research, and education to help strengthen our movement and our union allies.” Paul Meinema, President, UFCW Canada

“The Foundation is playing an essential role in the promotion of social democracy in Canada and educating Canada’s activists with the latest thinking based on those social democratic values. As part of the labour movement, we’re proud of our support for the Douglas Coldwell Layton foundation.” Jeffier Carr, President, PIPSC

“Ontario’s Professional Employees are proud to partner with Douglas Coldwell Layton for two key reasons. The research they perform and the education they offer. Good ideas don’t become thoughtful policy without the nourishment of collective opinion, expert input, and careful analysis. Young progressives don’t flourish without the nourishment that comes from learning from the leaders of our social democratic past or without exposure to provocative, progressive policy ideas. DCL provides all of that and more.” Dave Bulmer, President & CEO, AMAPCEO

I am delighted to report our restoration efforts have been a success thanks to the support of labour unions who have stepped up to help. Thank you!

Thanks to this support we have been able to build a solid and stable annual programme of work in the promotion of Social Democracy;

Established Seven Annual Events in Six major cities across Canada
Developed major research projects on issues related to healthcare and the economy
Curating a monthly Podcast on Social Democracy in Action
Produced Online Community Leadership Training Modules
Provided Scholarships and Awards to hundreds of Students
Published new books and reports to reinforce our ideas and success
Founded a Women’s Leadership Centre to inspire a new generation

You can see more about our initiatives this year in our 2023 Year End Report here.

Friends, although we’ve been successful in the restoration of Tommy’s charity, there is so much more work to be done. We have only just scratched the surface of what is possible.