The resurgence of socialism in the United States, mainly through the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), should serve as a warning to Canadians. Ideas once associated with Soviet socialism and later cultivated in Western activist movements and university campuses, are increasingly finding their way into mainstream campaigns and electoral victories in the United States.
This ideological movement does not end at our border. A small, highly organized group of anti-capitalist activists has gained influence within parts of Canada’s public-sector labour movement. They may not be operating directly through the DSA, but the playbook is similar: using the resources and the political power of labour unions to advance an anti-capitalist agenda.
This should concern Canadians as history has shown us what unchecked socialist power can lead to — repression, economic ruin and the loss of individual freedom. These consequences stem from the concentration of economic and political power at the expense of private enterprise and individual choice. Socialism views capitalism as a driver of inequality and moral evil, favouring greater government intervention. It uses the language of class solidarity, anti-oppression, social justice, equity and collective action — language increasingly reflected in the principles of social unionism within parts of Canada’s public-sector labour movement .
For socialists, this means that unions are no longer simply about bargaining collective agreements; they are vehicles for fighting capitalism and driving broader political and social change. Social unionism reflects this expanded role, positioning unions as vehicles for activism beyond the workplace.
The growing relationship between Canada’s public-sector labour movement and anti-capitalism is illustrated by Avi Lewis. Lewis decisively won the NDP leadership in March on a more radical, socialist platform than previous NDP party leaders, advocating for publicly owned grocery stores, public phone and internet utilities, and a state-run housing developer.
Lewis’s socialist agenda found a powerful ally in parts of Canada’s public-sector labour movement. Before winning the NDP leadership, he secured endorsements from CUPE Ontario , multiple CUPE locals , a PSAC local and the Peel Regional Labour Council (PRLC), which includes members of CUPE, ETFO, OSSTF and United Steelworkers.
Everywhere you look now, socialism appears to be embedded in union policy. CUPE Ontario’s drafted Action Plan from May, for example, advocates for greater government intervention, organizing political campaigns, pursuing “climate justice,” participating in international solidarity campaigns, and organizing political activism beyond the workplace.
It’s also not completely new. In 2016, the CUPW President openly advocated for socialism, declaring that capitalism could not solve society’s crises and called for a “democratically controlled economy.” Later, in 2020, CUPW congratulated Bolivians for “restoring the Movement for Socialism.”
These developments go beyond routine labour support for the NDP or negotiating better contracts. Organized labour activists are taking advantage of their political influence and resources to advance anti-capitalist candidates and policies.
In 2021, CUPE Ontario even adopted leadership oath committing its executives and elected members to “anti-racist, anti-oppression, working-class and social unionism principles.” Language that aligns closely with the anti-capitalist principles commonly associated with socialism.
Those connections extend beyond Canada’s borders. In 2017, CUPE Ontario collaborated with the DSA on an article for The Socialist Project and, then in February 2026, CUPE Ontario welcomed Gustavo Gordillo , co-chair of the New York City chapter of the DSA, as a keynote speaker at its Presidents’ Conference. Gordillo, a key architect of Zohran Mamdani’s socialist campaign, has attracted attention for advocating that land be redistributed from “from landowners to the landless” and for suggesting that no one “should have the constitutional right to double-digit returns on their investments.”
CUPE has praised Cuba as a “socialist society where people’s needs are prioritized” and called its socialist economic system an “inspiring” alternative to neoliberalism and sent delegations to Cuba to deepen ties with workers and supporters of the Cuban Revolution.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers also appears to have a soft spot for Cuba. It’s a member of the Canadian Network on Cuba which openly promotes the Cuban Revolution and its socialist principles.
Unions don’t exactly hide their political activism, but many members don’t realize how their mandatory union dues are being spent. The Rand Formula gives unions broad control over dues that can fund political campaigns, outside organizations and causes beyond collective bargaining. This gives a small activist minority of some union leaders and members the means to advance political and socialist ideas in the name of broader membership, often without member knowledge.
History offers a warning. The Soviet Union , Maoist China and Pol Pot’s Cambodia all demonstrated the devastating consequences of socialist regimes: repression, economic devastation, loss of individual freedoms and the deaths of millions. Their histories expose the dangers of concentrated power, weakened private enterprise and centralized control.
Capitalism is not perfect, but it has lifted billions from poverty, increased longevity, driven innovation and created unprecedented prosperity. Canadians should be wary when public-sector unions use workers’ resources and trusted institutions to promote anti-capitalist and socialist ideologies.
It’s time for Canadians to ask whether public sector unions are using member dues to fight for Canadian workers or advance an agenda that undermines our freedoms. Once an ideology becomes embedded in the institutions we fund, change becomes much harder. The time to remove these ideologies from our unions is now.
National Post
Lauren Frenkel is a health care provider and union member.
