Independent Party: End of The Road
Some members of the Waffle remained New Democrats but Laxer, Watkins and the bulk of members quit the NDP in 1972 and continued the Waffle under the official name, the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada, but still commonly referred to as the Waffle. The group existed until the 1974 federal election when it unsuccessfully ran candidates for Parliament in the federal election. Laxer ran in the York West electoral district in Toronto — placing fourth in a field of seven with 673 votes and only 1.26 percent of the popular vote. In the aftermath of its electoral failure, the group went into a deep crisis. A left-wing group, based at York University, argued that during the election, the campaign for "Independence and socialism" had been reduced to the narrow nationalism of just a campaign for "independence." At an acrimonious meeting, this group won the most votes, but several key figures — including Laxer — walked out.
Read more about this topic: The Waffle
Famous quotes containing the words independent and/or road:
“All the rights secured to the citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing, and a mere bubble, except guaranteed to them by an independent and virtuous Judiciary.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“But, where the road runs near the stream,
Oft through the trees they catch a glance
Of passing troops in the sun’s beam—
Pennon, and plume, and flashing lance!
Forth to the world those soldiers fare,
To life, to cities, and to war!”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)