Breakthrough
At the Ontario CCF's tenth annual convention in Toronto, the first leadership election was held. Two candidates came forward: Toronto lawyer, and Ontario CCF vice-president Ted Jolliffe, and union activist and former Ontario CCF Youth Movement organizer Murray Cotterill. On 4 April 1942, Jolliffe won the election, but the voting results were not publicly announced. The newly created Leader position's role was as political leader, while internal CCF affairs and administration would remain the president's domain.
The party achieved a major breakthrough under Jolliffe, in the 1943 Ontario general election, forming the Official Opposition with 32 percent of the vote and 34 seats. The CCF was just four seats short of George Drew's Progressive Conservatives ("Tories"), who formed a minority government that was the beginning of what became a 42-year political dynasty.
Read more about this topic: Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section)