Radical Ambition: The New Left in Toronto by Peter Graham with Ian McKay (review)

In the past decade, there has been a noticeable (though limited) increase in left (and right) political sentiment in Canada and around the world: protest movements, challenging inequality and injustice, are gaining momentum; support for collective responses to global crises is increasing; and critiques of capitalism and its inherent injustices are on the rise. For some, this may appear a new phenomenon, caused by ubiquitous neoliberal economic policies, the collapse of alternative political regimes, and the rise of fascist leaders and movements around the world. And, yet, it is incredibly valuable to view current political iterations within a larger historical context to understand similarities and differences but also to find inspiration and learn important lessons.

Fortunately, a growing scholarship provides insight into these concerns. In particular, as memories of the 1960s fade, a new generation of academics and activists look to the past to understand a period of upheaval and resistance that, in many ways, transformed the modern world. Moreover, although the Canadian experience has received significantly less attention than the United States or elsewhere, new research continues to complicate and challenge assumptions and interpretations of a period generally shrouded in myth and celebration. The 2019 monograph Radical Ambition by Peter Graham (with Ian McKay), for example, offers an incredibly detailed examination of the new left in Toronto from 1958 to 1985. Although the argument is not always fully articulated and gets somewhat lost in the particulars, Graham (and McKay) nevertheless demonstrates the nuance and complexity of sixties social movements, questions the conclusions of previous scholars regarding the evolution and limitations of the new left, and highlights some of the important contributions of activists to the city and beyond. As a result, Radical Ambition helps elucidate the power and influence of a moment and movement that transformed the country and the world and provides significant inspiration for those still working to transform their communities.

Based upon Graham's dissertation—with undefined assistance from leading left historian McKay—Radical Ambition examines the origins, evolution, and decline of the new left in Toronto. It attempts to articulate two (interconnected?) arguments: first, that the new left "asked new questions and proposed new solutions with respect to race, class, gender, and colonialism, taking approaches that prioritized individual emancipation, national liberation, prefigurative democracy, and grassroots community politics" (p. 13); and second, that the Toronto new left operated "on at least six scales"—transnational, continental, national, regional, local, and personal (p. 18). The narrative, which presents detailed and complex stories of individuals and organizations, is arranged in rough chronological order, beginning with the emergence of the new left in the late 1950s and ending with the decline of the movement by the mid-1980s; however, instead of clearly setting out the structure in an introduction, the first chapter explains the Toronto context and briefly presents the unique characteristics of the new left, before Chapter 2 highlights the early origins of the new left in the Cold War period and the growing peace movements. Chapter 3 challenges the traditional narrative of the Canadian new left—locating it in the Student Union for Peace Action—and highlights instead the numerous locations of new left agitation by the 1960s. The following chapters explore specific issues of concern to new leftists: education; Black Power and feminism; city politics and urban reform; the cultural revolution; and subaltern identities related to race, gender, and sexual orientation. Moreover, Chapters 6 and 10 examine the response of existing left groups and parties, as well as emerging countermovements, to the new left and demonstrate the influence of activists on Canadian politics despite resistance. Finally, Chapter 11 considers the slow collapse of the new left while emphasizing its continued relevance in Toronto and more broadly.

The greatest strength of Radical Ambition is, without a doubt, the incredible detail offered about groups and individuals associated with the new left in Toronto. Graham (and McKay?) undertook extensive and creative research to support or challenge traditional interpretations of the...