Coady's ideas about collectivism and co-operation represented the first real challenge to the conservatism of Nova Scotia’s political culture.

Moses Coady was a Catholic priest, a scholar at St. Francis Xavier University and, most importantly, he was an organizer who was best known for leading the Antigonish Movement: a co-operative movement focused on adult education, microfinance, and rural development.

The Antigonish Movement, based at St. FX, sparked a co-operative movement wave across the Maritimes, establishing credit unions, schools, and co-ops throughout the region during the early 20th century. The co-operative and collectivist institutions he developed helped to blunt the impacts of the Great Depression on the working class. Coady's collectivist ideals and co-operative organizing through the Antigonish Movement challenged the conservative political culture of Nova Scotia and laid the foundations for the CCF's and NDP's later influence in Atlantic Canada.

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane
Producer – Clement Nocos
Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

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Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in theLabor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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