The International Socialists (IS) is a Canadian revolutionary socialist organization affiliated with the International Socialist Tendency. The group publishes Socialist Worker and, according to its website, has branches and members in cities across Canada. Its statement of principles describes it as anti-capitalist, internationalist and supportive of workers' power, climate justice, and the self-determination of Indigenous peoples and Quebec.
History
Origins The IS emerged from debates on the Canadian left in the aftermath of the Waffle, a left-nationalist tendency in and around the New Democratic Party. Historian David Blocker describes the Waffle as a movement that formed around the "Manifesto for an Independent Socialist Canada" and challenged the NDP leadership from 1969 to 1973. A contemporary article in Canadian Revolution described an internal struggle in the Ontario Waffle in 1974, including a York University-based group whose members moved toward the politics of the International Socialists in Britain and the United States.
Robert J. Alexander dates the organization from 1975, when it was founded as the Independent Socialists. A history written by Abbie Bakan and Philip Murton says the group was established in February 1975 and adopted the name International Socialists in 1976. The group began publishing Workers' Action, which later became Socialist Worker.
Splits and internal debates In January 1996, Weekly Worker reported a major split in the Canadian International Socialists and published an edited version of an open resignation letter signed by Sue Ferguson, David McNally, Alan Sears and Deborah Simmons. In the letter, the signatories criticized the IS leadership's political perspectives and organizational methods. David Camfield, who had been a member of the IS, later said in a 2025 interview that the minority that left in 1996 formed the New Socialist Group.
In March 2013, Abbie Bakan, Ian Beeching, Brian Donnelly, Jay Gannon, Paul Kellogg, John Riddell and Suzanne Weiss published a statement resigning from IS Canada. The statement criticized the British Socialist Workers Party's handling of an allegation of serious sexual violence and said delegates to the IS Canada convention had rejected a resolution calling for a public letter of concern.
Recent activity The organization continues to publish Socialist Worker online and as a newspaper. Its website listed the 2026 Marxism conference, "Resistance and revolution in an age of chaos", as a Toronto and online event held from 19 to 20 June 2026 and organized by International Socialists Canada and Marx21US. As of July 2026, the site also listed public meetings in Vancouver and Toronto organized by IS branches or by IS Canada and Marx21US.
Political positions The IS identifies with revolutionary socialism and the International Socialist Tendency. Its "Where We Stand" statement argues that capitalism cannot be reformed into socialism, that workers' collective action is central to socialist change, and that a revolutionary socialist party is needed. The same statement describes Canada as an imperialist country rather than a colony of the United States, and says the organization supports the right of Indigenous peoples and Quebec to self-determination, including independence.
The organization also identifies with the state capitalism tradition associated with the International Socialist Tendency. In its statement of principles, it says the Russian Revolution was defeated by a Stalinist counter-revolution which produced a form of state capitalist exploitation, and that similar systems arose in Eastern Europe and China.
The IS has generally argued for voting for the New Democratic Party while criticizing the party's social-democratic politics. For example, a 2014 Socialist Worker article argued that socialists should vote NDP because of the party's connection to the labour movement, while another article during the 2018 Ontario campaign called for voting NDP while continuing social-movement mobilization outside parliament.
Publications The group's main publication is Socialist Worker. The International Socialist Tendency's directory describes Socialist Worker as the Canadian group's monthly newspaper. The group's own site includes an archive of back issues and describes the publication as monthly.
See also International Socialist Tendency The Waffle
References
External links
Origins of the International Socialists – Socialist History Project International Socialists web archive – University of Toronto Libraries, Canadian Political Parties and Political Interest Groups collection