Commonwealth History

The Commonwealth is the official newspaper of the Saskatchewan NDP

General background

Before the Canadian icon Tommy Douglas,before Saskatchewan Premier Hon. T.C. Douglas, before the Reverend T.C. Douglas, there was Tommy Douglas the printer. Typsetting and printing press operation was young Tommy's first vocation, and while he later followed a different path in life, he remained keenly aware of the power of the press. So, it stands to reason that when the opportunity arose, Tommy Douglas established a newspaper for his political movement.

The New Era, forerunner of The Commonwealth, was published in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, as a CCF (Co-operative Commonwealth Federation) federal riding newspaper. The paper was supported by Tommy Douglas, CCF member of parliament for the riding, managed and edited by Fred C. Williams.

The New Era print plant was purchased by the Saskatchewan CCF and moved to Regina from Weyburn sometime in November or December of 1937. This is documented by correspondence between T.C. Douglas and the owner of the Weyburn print press at that time. The CCF launched their new official party newspaper in January of 1938, still under the banner New Era. The name was changed to avoid name conflicts with an existing Ukrainian newspaper and a published book, both carrying the same name. The Saskatchewan Commonwealth was published on April 13th, 1938.

Eight years later, April 10, 1946, the name was shortened to The Commonwealth and has remained so since that time.

In 1952 publication operations for the Alberta CCF Peoples Weekly newspaper was absorbed into The Commonwealth operations in Regina. The Manitoba Commonwealth newspaper may also have been moved into the Saskatchewan operation at or near this time. Field editors were maintained for a period in Alberta and Manitoba.

1938 Commonwealth

First issue with The Commonwealth for a banner.

The Commonwealth published between 1938 and 1990 was a fully-fledged newspaper; the product of an editor, a paid news writing staff, press operators and artwork/layout/typesetters. It was published as an alternative to the commercial press news and editorial offerings.

In the 1980's the staff compliment was reduced to two, and with the loss of the party-owned printing press in the late 1980's, typsetting and printing was contracted externally. In 1989 The Commonwealth changed format from a tabloid-sized newspaper to small magazine, and all members received a subscription as part of their membership in the Saskatchewan NDP.

1946 Commonwealth

Historic 1946 win by the Saskatchewan CCF

The change in printed format was accompanied by a change in the kind of material published. The short-story 'news' content was reduced and a magazine style article and feature format was adopted.

In 1996 the editor-in-chief position was rolled into the duties of the NDP provincial secretary. The publication schedule reduced gradually over the decade from 12 issues per year, to ten, to seven in 1999, and four issues in 2000, and three in 2002. Starting in late 1999, production costs were lowered by performing general prodution and most press preparation work in-house.

For the 2001 volume year, editorship duties were largely assumed by a single production staffer, coinciding with the completion of two years of content, style and production improvments. The changes were designed to ease readability, broaden news coverage, rationalize and reduce costs, and move toward a commercial quality magazine capable of generating more paid advertising interest.

In 2003 a second staffer was added, The Commonwealth moved to five issues per year, and the magazine acquired a glossy cover. In 2004 The Commonwealth won an award for excellence in writing from the Canadian Association of Labour Media (CALM).

Also In 2004 The Commonwealth formalized the full-time position of editor. In 2005 The Commonwealth changed to tabloid format to reduce costs, by way of reduced production-time, and lower print cost. The new format brought The Commonwealth in line with typical weekly newspaper specifications.

Editors

  • Fred C. Williams 1936-1951
  • Frank Wood 1938
  • W. Roy Bell 1939-1940
  • Frank G. Hanson 1951-1973
  • Myron Johnson 1973-1974
  • Angus Ricker 1974-1978
  • Skip Hambling 1978-1980
  • Ron Thompson 1981-1988
  • Merril Dean 1988-1989
  • Jim Warren 1989-1991
  • Les Quennell 1991-1996
  • Victoria Jean 1996-1999
  • Mark Suggitt 2000-2004
  • Jenn Ruddy 2004-2005
  • Fraser Needham 2005-

Volume information

No copies prior to 1937 exist in Sask NDP archives, however the earliest issue we do possess is imprinted with Volume #2 and the masthead reads 'New Era.' There is one known 1936 edition of New Era at the library archives of the University of Saskatchewan. (Note: In September 2001 a photocopy of vol #1, issue 3, March 1936, was received courtesy U of Sask library archives).

Volume #3 of the Commonwealth begins in August of 1938. This mid-year volume number change is a mystery. Generally, publication volumes match year. The change may have coincided with an incorporation date or publication frequency change. Other correspondence found in the archives reveal a non-regular publishing schedule which the Post Office took issue with, that may also have led to notching up the volume year to accommodate publication regulations, which at that time were apparently fairly strictly controlled.