Rankin is a founding member of Peace Alliance Winnipeg and a member of the No War Coalition (Manitoba). He helped organize protests against the 1999 Kosovo Conflict, the 2001 NATO invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He wrote an article for the "People's Voice", the newspaper of the Communist Party, supporting Slobodan Milošević's policies in Kosovo in order to protect Serbians from Albanians in the region whom Rankin labelled as "Fascists." He continued to write occasional articles for "People's Voice". In November 2007, he organized a party at Winnipeg's Ukrainian Labour Temple to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Russian Revolution.