Erin Weir declares himself a member of the CCF - a party that no longer exists

Kicked out of the New Democrat caucus over harassment allegations, Saskatchewan MP Erin Weir said today that he's switching his official political affiliation to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation a party that has been defunct since 1961.

NDPLeaderJagmeetSingh expelled Weir from caucus earlier this month after stating that an investigation had substantiated harassment allegations against him.

Power Panel on Saskatchewan MP Erin Weir's move to join the CCF

6 years ago

Duration 7:06

The former NDP MP says he's switching his political affiliation to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.

Singh said thatWeirwas given the boot after he refusedtotake responsibility for his actions and lashed out through the mediaat the person who issued the complaint. Weir himself said he was punished for speaking out publicly about the case.

While Weir has said he still wants to rejoin the NDPcaucus, he told CBCNews that declaring himself a member of the CCF is a way to stay close to his social democraticvalues.

"Being designated a member of theCo-operative Commonwealth Federation is a way of expressing commitment to social democracy while I remain outside of the NDP caucus," Weir said.

Certainly theCCFmerged into theNDPin 1961, so perhaps it can happen again.- Saskatchewan MP Erin Weir

The CCF was the NDP'spredecessor. Founded in Alberta in the 1930sto represent labour groups and farmers, the party was dissolved in 1961 when it joined forceswith theCanadian Labour Congressto form the New Democratic Party.

Weir said those priorities are still relevant today.

"As a Saskatchewan MP, I'm trying to reflect the tradition that my family and many other Saskatchewan people were part of," Weir said.

The CCFis not a registered federal party, according to the Parliament of Canada website. For the purposes of MPsdeclaring their affiliation, it doesn't need to be under Commons rules.

"I'm certainly not proposing to organize a new political party or anything like that. It's really just a way of identifying myself and the values that I aspire to represent in Parliament," Weir said.

Division gives rise to new parties

This is the second time this week that a member of Parliament has announced a switch in party affiliation.

Seven MPswho recentlysplit from the Bloc Qubcoisin protest over the leadership ofMartine Ouelletannounced Wednesday the creation of a new party, Quebec Debout, and said it would prioritize defending Quebec's interests in Ottawa over the Bloc's program of promoting separatism.

The MPswillregister the new party's name with the chief electoral officer next week before launching consultations across Quebec to learn how their constituents want to be represented in Ottawa,and how people will choose between them and their former party.