# Sam Walsh (politician)

Samuel Walsh (August 31, 1916 – March 18, 2008), was leader of the Communist Party of Quebec for 28 years, from 1962 to 1990, and was a leader in the Communist Party of Canada and Labor-Progressive Party since the 1940s.

## Early life and education

Walsh was born in Montreal as Saul Jerome Wolofsky. His father was Hirsch Wolofsky, publisher of the Keneder Adler (Canadian Eagle), Canada's first Yiddish newspaper.
At the age of 17, Wolofsky took part in a student strike against an increase in high school tuition fees. He became a Communist with the encouragement of his older brother, Moishe, a union organizer. His father asked them to change their names to avoid embarrassing the family and so Moishe became Bill Walsh and Saul became Sam Walsh.
Walsh enrolled in biology at McGill University and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1938. He moved to Toronto.

## Career

Walsh ran for public office at least 30 times in his career, and was elected twice as a school trustee in Toronto in the late 1940s.
When the Communist Party was banned in 1940, Walsh went underground and evaded arrest under the wartime Defence of Canada Regulations. Once the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, the USSR became Canada's ally and Communists were able to organize the new Labor-Progressive Party as a legal front.
Walsh enlisted in the Canadian Army during World War II, becoming a second lieutenant instructing soldiers how to operate military vehicles. He was denied further promotion because of his political affiliations. According to his niece, "His commanding officer told him, 'Sam, I'd like to promote you, but I understand you're pink.'" Walsh replied “I'm not pink, I'm flaming red.”
Walsh became a permanent party organizer for the Labor-Progressive Party following Fred Rose's election victory in 1943.
In 1948, Walsh was elected to the Toronto Board of Education by acclamation and was re-elected in 1949 before being defeated in 1950.
Walsh ran in the 1958 federal election in Spadina and then in a by-election in Trinity, both Toronto ridings, but was unsuccessful.
He returned to Montreal in the 1960s becoming leader of the Communist Party of Quebec in 1962. In 1972, he denounced Trotskyist support for Quebec independence resulting in a number of defections from the party.

## Electoral record

1988 Canadian federal election: Saint-Denis :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Liberal | Marcel Prud'homme | 19,928 |
| Progressive Conservative | Madeleine Provost | 12,843 |
| New Democratic | Jaime Llambias-Wolff | 6,151 |
| Rhinoceros | Chérubin Guy Roy | 1,166 |
| Green | René E. Pratte | 1,107 |
| Independent | Panagiotis Macrisopoulos | 341 |
| Social Credit | Doris Lacroix | 269 |
| Communist | Sam Walsh | 204 |
| Commonwealth of Canada | Nancy Duchaine | 191 |
1985 Quebec general election: Laurier :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Christos Sirros | 16,004 | 65.80 |
| | Parti Québécois | Ivano Vellano | 5,966 | 24.47 |
| | New Democratic | Ioannis Kourtesis | 830 | 3.41 |
| | Parti indépendantiste | Christian Biron | 425 | 1.74 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Irene Makris | 393 | 1.61 |
| | Humanist | Gustavo Jara | 232 | 0.95 |
| | Independent | Christopher Mcall | 174 | 0.71 |
| | Communist | Sam Walsh | 172 | 0.71 |
| | Commonwealth of Canada | Benoit Chalifoux | 146 | 0.60 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 24,382 | 97.86 |
| Rejected and declined votes | Rejected and declined votes | Rejected and declined votes | 533 | 2.14 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,915 | 68.86 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 36,128 |
| Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec. |||||||
1984 Canadian federal election: Saint Denis :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Liberal | Marcel Prud'homme | 18,750 |
| Progressive Conservative | Peter Georgakakos | 12,122 |
| New Democratic | Scott McKay | 4,581 |
| Rhinoceros | Ben Rhino 97 Michel Benoit | 1,588 |
| Parti nationaliste | Clovis Gaudet | 981 |
| Independent | Claude Lamoureux | 297 |
| Communist | Sam Walsh | 266 |
| Commonwealth of Canada | Serge Buchet | 125 |
1980 Canadian federal election: Saint-Denis :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Liberal | Marcel Prud'homme | 28,383 |
| New Democratic | Raymond Beaudoin | 3,485 |
| Progressive Conservative | David M. Bernstein | 2,312 |
| Rhinoceros | Serge Rose | 1,232 |
| Social Credit | Richer Francœur | 743 |
| Marxist–Leninist | Panagiotis Macrysopoulos | 182 |
| Communist | Sam Walsh | 165 |
| Union populaire | Gilles Maillé | 161 |
1979 Canadian federal election: Saint-Denis :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Liberal | Marcel Prud'homme | 30,552 |
| Progressive Conservative | David Bernstein | 3,380 |
| Social Credit | Richer M. Francœur | 3,177 |
| New Democratic | Richard Marcille | 2,412 |
| Rhinoceros | Rodrigue Chocolat Tremblay | 1,056 |
| Marxist–Leninist | Panagiotis Macrisopoulos | 238 |
| Union populaire | Diane Martin Lelièvre | 226 |
| Communist | Sam Walsh | 187 |
1976 Quebec general election: Maisonneuve :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Parti Québécois | Robert Burns | 15,390 |
| | Liberal | Gilles Houle | 6,316 |
| | Union Nationale | Arthur Goyette | 2,040 |
| | Ralliement créditiste | Michel Parret | 652 |
| | Parti national populaire | Jean-Guy Forget | 220 |
| | Socialist Democracy | Louis Cauchy | 58 |
| | Communist | Sam Walsh | 33 |
| | Parti des travailleurs du Québec | Jeannine Warren | 32 |
| | Independent | André Frappier | 22 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 15,330 |
1974 Canadian federal election: Saint-Denis :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Liberal | Marcel Prud'homme | 15,310 |
| Progressive Conservative | David M. Bernstein | 4,897 |
| New Democratic | Jean-Guy Albert | 1,963 |
| Social Credit | Tony Chatoyan | 1,630 |
| Marxist–Leninist | Polyvios Tsakanikas | 208 |
| Communist | Samuel J. Walsh | 162 |
1966 Quebec general election: Saint-Louis :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Harry Blank | 8,960 | 58.45 |
| | Union Nationale | Nathan Shore | 4,044 | 26.38 |
| | RIN | Guy Viel | 1,646 | 10.74 |
| | Ralliement national | Lucien Plante | 453 | 2.95 |
| | Communist | Sam Walsh | 227 | 1.48 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 15,330 |
vte1962 Canadian federal election: Hochelaga :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Raymond Eudes | 13,220 | 50.45 | -2.21 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Yvon Groulx | 7,784 | 29.70 | -10.78 |
| | New Democratic | Noël Langlois | 2,475 | 9.44 | +5.37 |
| | Social Credit | Robert Leblanc | 2,379 | 9.08 | |
| | Communist | Sam Walsh | 347 | 1.32 | -1.46 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 26,205 |
1959 Ontario general election: York South :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Donald C. MacDonald | 14,446 | 46.95 | +2.52 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Alice Bickerton | 9,133 | 29.68 | -9.57 |
| | Liberal | Fred McDermott | 5,508 | 17.90 | +4.81 |
| | Independent Conservative | C.J. Garfunkel | 1,228 | 3.99 | – |
| | Labor–Progressive | Sam Walsh | 454 | 1.48 | -1.75 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 30,769 |
Canadian federal by-election, December 15, 1958: Trinity Death of Edward R. Lockyer :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Paul Hellyer | 5,175 | 43.89 | +7.39 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Joe Lesniak | 4,404 | 37.35 | -8.20 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | John Elchuk | 1,724 | 14.62 | +0.47 |
| | Labor–Progressive | Sam Walsh | 488 | 4.14 | +0.34 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 11,791 |
1958 Canadian federal election: Spadina :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Charles E. Rea | 14,616 | 50.16 | +7.06 |
| | Liberal | Philip Givens | 10,596 | 36.37 | -3.19 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Jack Kedzierzykowski | 3,040 | 10.43 | -2.20 |
| | Labor–Progressive | Sam Walsh | 652 | 2.24 | -0.54 |
| | Social Credit | Dorothy Cureatz | 233 | 0.80 | -1.13 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 29,137 |
1945 Ontario general election: St. Patrick :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Kelso Roberts | 7,243 | 50.49 | +5.99 |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | John Osler | 2,854 | 19.90 | -7.69 |
| | Liberal | J.M. Gould | 2,846 | 19.90 | -8.01 |
| | Labor–Progressive | Sam Walsh | 1,401 | 9.77 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 14,344 |