Hazen Argue - Definition and Overview

He was first elected to Parliament in 1945 representing the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. With the party's decimation in the Diefenbaker sweep of 1958, Argue became house leader and was elected national leader of the CCF in 1960. Despite Argue's opposition a number of leading figures in the CCF, attempting to develop a strategy to rebuild the party, came to advocate relaunching the party on the model of the British Labour Party by creating a formal alliance between the party and the Canadian Labour Congress. In 1961, after a transitional period using the name New Party (under the label of which Walter Pitman won a stunning by-election victory in Peterborough), the party was relaunched as the New Democratic Party of Canada. Argue ran for the leadership but was defeated by long-time Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas at the first NDP leadership convention.

Hurt by this rejection, Argue crossed the floor six months later to join the Liberal Party. He was re-elected as a Liberal MP in 1962 but defeated in 1963 due to the concerted efforts of his former party. In 1966, Argue was appointed to the Senate as a Liberal. He served as a member of Pierre Trudeau's Cabinet from 1980-1982 due to the Liberal Party's failure to elect any MPs west of Winnipeg.

Senator Argue faced disgrace in 1988 when criminal charges of fraud were filed against him but he died before the case came to court.

Argue is the only former leader of the CCF or NDP whose portrait is not on the walls of NDP headquarters.