To make revolution and put an end to capitalism, the proletariat must have a clear strategic orientation, a clear plan. It must determine what the nature of the struggle is, who are its main enemies, and who are its friends that can be rallied to its cause.
The revolution in Canada will be a proletarian socialist revolution. Its objective is to overthrow the Canadian bourgeoisie, establish the dictatorship of the proletariat and build socialism.
Three important enemies oppose the struggle of our people: the Canadian bourgeoisie and the two superpowers. The Canadian bourgeoisie is our main enemy. It is the ruling class of our country. It is the Canadian bourgeoisie that holds state power and is principally responsible for the suffering of our people. While attacking the entire bourgeoisie, we must direct the main blow against the leading and dominant core of the class; the monopoly bourgeoisie.
But we cannot succeed in making socialist revolution unless we also target the two important secondary enemies; the two superpowers, particularly US imperialism. Their interference in Canada’s economic, political, military and cultural affairs, their threat to Canada’s independence today and the growing danger their war preparations pose for us, represent obstacles to the socialist revolution.
It is the working class that is the most revolutionary class in our society and the principal and leading force of the Canadian revolution. Within the ranks of the working class, it is the industrial proletariat that is the most resolute and consistent fighter.
But the working class needs a strong revolutionary united front to make the socialist revolution in Canada. To defeat the powerful enemies we face, the proletariat must win every possible ally to its cause. Only by isolating our enemies to the maximum and winning over all those who are exploited and oppressed by capital to the banner of socialism can the working class succeed in overthrowing the bourgeoisie.
The united front gathers together all the forces of the revolution and of progress, narrowing the target to the chief pillars of reaction. If we take into account the different contradictions in Canada – the principal contradiction and the most important secondary contradictions – we can formulate the nature of both the targets of the revolutionary united front and its forces. The objective of the united front is socialism. Its targets are our most important enemies: our principal enemy, the Canadian bourgeoisie, and the two superpowers, especially US imperialism.
The united front is based on the alliance between the working class and its two main strategic allies – the rest of the working people and the oppressed nationalities.
The masses of women and youth of the working class suffer oppression under capitalism. They are powerful forces in the revolutionary struggle.
To win the masses of working people to the united front, our Party takes up and defends their just demands. We mobilize the lower strata of the petty bourgeoisie – the small farmers, small fishermen, small shopkeepers and the employees in the struggle against the bourgeoisie and the capitalist crisis.
We criticize the backward ideas of small commodity production and petty bourgeois mentality, educate these working people in the need for socialist revolution and bring them under the leadership of the proletariat.
To win the oppressed nationalities to our cause, our Party will carry forward the fight against all forms of national oppression. It opposes the chauvinism of the Canadian monopoly bourgeoisie. Criticizing narrow nationalism we are showing the oppressed nationalities that their liberation lies in socialism.
In this way, the basic alliance of the united front will be consolidated in the fire of revolutionary struggle. And the growing unity will make our enemies tremble.
In addition to this basic alliance, there are still more forces that can be won to the united front.
Elements from the middle and upper strata of the petty bourgeoisie, as well, can be convinced to join the side of the working class. The Canadian proletariat will spare no effort to win over every possible force, to recruit every possible ally, even those that waver. We shall neutralize those that cannot be won over and leave our enemies totally isolated.
In this manner, we can unite more than 90% of the Canadian people and prepare for the seizure of power.
The Canadian proletariat also receives direct support from the revolutionary struggles of the international proletariat and the oppressed peoples of the world. For these struggles shake the world imperialist system and weaken our enemies.
To sum up, under the leadership of the proletariat we must build the broadest possible united front for socialist revolution, based upon the alliance with the rest of the working people and the oppressed nationalities, to oppose the Canadian bourgeoisie, our principal enemy, and the two superpowers, especially US imperialism.
To establish socialism the working class must be prepared to wage armed struggle. While the proletariat uses all forms of struggle – strikes, demonstrations and even participation in bourgeois elections – in the end it will be armed struggle that plays the decisive role.
History shows that no reactionary ruling class has ever stepped down voluntarily to abandon its power and riches to the masses. To put an end to capitalism, the working class must take up arms to smash the bourgeois state machine. It is not through elections, by getting some pro-worker candidates in parliament, that the working people can put an end to exploitation and set up a system that defends their interests. The bourgeois state and its institutions exist precisely to make sure the working class cannot come to power.
It is not the working class that desires violence. It is the capitalists who long ago fired the first shot. Their system is based on the violent oppression of the working people. The capitalists’ hands are stained with the blood of countless workers. They will go to any lengths to defend their privileges and stay on top.
The workers are fully justified in using revolutionary violence against the reactionary violence of this handful of parasites. It is the only language they understand. The rebels of 1837 did not hesitate to take up arms to fight the yoke of British colonial domination. So, too, we must wage the armed struggle to free ourselves from the capitalists and put an end to their violent system.
To lead the revolution to victory, the proletariat will need its own armed forces. Under the leadership of the Party, at the appropriate moment, the working class will build up its own independent workers’ revolutionary armed forces to deal with the reactionary repressive forces, defend the revolution and ensure the triumph of socialism.
This type of armed struggle has nothing in common with the terrorism of a small isolated group. Terrorists are cut off from the masses and their actions only bring down more repression upon the people.
The working class will take power through a mass uprising. It will be an insurrection with hundreds of thousands of revolutionary workers in the forefront, supported by the vast majority of the working people.
For it is only the party that can lead the armed struggle and the united front. Only with a determined leadership of the struggle can the proletariat overthrow the ruling class and establish its dictatorship. This is the task of our Party.
Armed with these three mighty weapons, and with a clear understanding of who are its friends and who are its enemies, the Canadian working class will certainly triumph.