Entryism in Theory, in Practice, and in Crisis: The Trotskyist Experience in New Brunswick, 1969-1973

By Patrick Webber
Left History 2009

Since the emergence of a distinct Trotskyist faction within the Communist movement by the mid-1930s, the policy of entryism has been a favourite tactic among Trotskyists, particularly in the West. Entryism would be a major factor in the creation of the New Brunswick Waffle in 1970, the provincial wing of the Waffle
movement that had emerged in the New Democratic Party (NDP) the previous year.

Conflicting interpretations over the implementation of entryist theory, however, would also help split and destroy the NB Waffle by the end of 1971 and inflict lethal damage on the nascent Trotskyist movement in New Brunswick. The ultimate impact of the crisis in entryism provoked by the Trotskyist experience in
New Brunswick in 1970-71 was to raise major doubts about the theory and practice of entryism among Canadian Trotskyists, culminating in the fracturing of the League for Socialist Action (LSA), Canada’s pre-eminent Trotskyist organization.

The events that surrounded the NB Waffle therefore proved to be a turning point in the history of Trotskyist strategy in Canada.

Read more HERE (pdf).