Canada's national police force secretly monitored military veterans across the country in the years following the Second World War, searching for suspected communists within the Royal Canadian Legion, newly declassified documents reveal.Confidential RCMP records from 1946 and 1947 show the Mounties investigated Legion branches nationwide, compiled names of suspected communist sympathizers and monitored the political activities of veterans.According to documents reported by Blacklock's Reporter, the surveillance operation eventually identified 33 suspected communists within the veterans' organization, which had approximately 300,000 members belonging to 2,400 branches at the time.The investigation was driven by concerns that members of the Labour Progressive Party, widely regarded as a communist front organization, were attempting to gain influence within the Legion.“The menace of Communist infiltration and disruption was brought to the attention of the Dominion President,” stated a confidential 1946 report submitted to the RCMP Commissioner.The report indicated Legion officials intended to continue removing openly communist members who became involved in political disputes within the organization.“The future policy in dealing with Communists will remain pretty much as in the past, that is, confined mainly to taking strenuous measures to oust any avowed Communists who might happen to precipitate political conflict within the ranks of the membership,” the document stated.Blacklock's Reporter said RCMP headquarters subsequently instructed detachments across Canada to identify Legion members suspected of communist sympathies.Investigators examined branches in Vancouver, Edmonton, Brandon, Winnipeg, Toronto, London, Brockville, Pembroke, Montreal, Quebec City and Glace Bay.Some detachments reported suspected communist activity, while others found no evidence of infiltration.In Saskatoon, Mounties questioned how suspected communists had been permitted to join the Legion despite membership requirements involving an oath of allegiance.“The question was raised as to just how a certain number of Communists had been permitted to become members of the local branch of the Legion, particularly in view of the Oath Of Allegiance which is commonly required of membership,” stated an RCMP report.Investigators discovered that membership procedures were not always strictly followed..Some recruits were allowed to sign applications and pay their dues before participating in a formal initiation ceremony at a later date.In Sudbury, Ontario, police concluded communist organizers had little chance of gaining influence.“The Legion here is made up of die-hard vets who staunchly defend Empire traditions on every occasion,” stated the local RCMP report.“There is little opportunity for the Labour Progressive Party to gain a foothold.”In Fort William, now part of Thunder Bay, an RCMP constable acknowledged he was personally monitoring membership applications from inside the organization.“I personally am a member of this Branch and have been watching applications for membership very closely,” the officer reported to headquarters.An investigation in northern Alberta produced similar findings.“Discreet enquiries have failed to reveal that Communism has made any inroads into the Notikewin Branch of the Canadian Legion,” reported the Peace River RCMP detachment.The surveillance extended to the Legion's 1946 national convention in Quebec City, where police monitored delegates for evidence of left-wing political activity.RCMP records indicated several Quebec delegates were already known to police for their involvement in left-wing organizations.“Certain persons who attended the Canadian Legion Convention held in Québec City on and from May 19, 1946 were discreetly interviewed with a view of determining the extent of left-wing activities that transpired,” stated a police memorandum.Investigators also reported that some delegates from Alberta and British Columbia appeared particularly knowledgeable about socialist political ideas.Several were described as being “very well versed on the subject of socialization.”However, police noted that convention records did not identify who introduced motions, seconded proposals or participated in various debates.The Legion itself made no specific reference to communist subversion during the convention..The RCMP investigation unfolded during a period of growing concern about Soviet espionage in Canada.In 1946, a Royal Commission on Soviet Espionage investigated allegations that Canadian officials and others had supplied classified information to Soviet intelligence.The commission identified 17 individuals linked to Soviet espionage activities, including Fred Rose, the Labour Progressive MP for the Montreal riding of Cartier.Rose, a former national secretary of the Young Communist League in Montreal, was subsequently convicted under the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to six years in prison.Another Labour Progressive politician, former Saskatchewan MP Dorise Nielsen, had also been under RCMP surveillance.Nielsen, who represented North Battleford, lost her seat in the 1945 federal election and later moved to communist China.The newly released records provide a glimpse into the extent of domestic political surveillance conducted by the RCMP during the early Cold War.They also show that even Canada's largest veterans' organization, whose members had served during two world wars, was not exempt from police scrutiny over suspected communist affiliation
