Join us on September 16, 2026, from 7 to 9 pm EDT for a virtual conversation.
Registration Information Will Be Available Soon.
Purpose of the webinar on municipal democratic socialism – The election of Zohran Mamdani, a self-identified democratic socialist, has shone a light on municipal socialism, its history in the U.S., and its agenda of building cities “where everyone can afford to live and to dream”. As we face local elections across Canada, this webinar is both timely and appropriate.
Our goals in hosting this webinar are :
- To better understand the history of municipal socialism in North America and elsewhere
- To identify the lessons we can learn from this history
- To discuss the agendas and strategies employed by municipal socialists (grass roots organizing, local democracy, addressing inequalities, creating affordable public services, and meeting local needs related to affordable housing, food production, and transit
- To explore if municipal democratic socialism is a promising and desirable approach for Canadian cities
The Panelists – The webinar will consist of 3 or 4 panelists and a moderator. Three speakers are already confirmed.
Dr. Shelton Stromquist, a retired professor of labour studies and municipal socialism scholar who will speak about lessons from the past. His book, Claiming the City: A Global History of Workers’ Fight for Municipal Socialism, examines where municipal socialism flourished in America and Europe.
Armine Yalnizyan, Economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers, has agreed to discuss “the possible”. Armine’s focus will include the care economy, public investment, community building and the differing policy choices we face.
Dr. Kofi N Hope, Co-founder of Monumental and Urbanist in Residence at the U of T School of Cities, will address the issue of restoring trust in our public institutions as essential for progressive change and will challenge the left to match socialist messaging with concrete action.
We are seeking a fourth panelist to be confirmed shortly.
Who ‘we’ are – We started out as the Marvyn Novick Legacy group, and later the Social Commons group. We are a volunteer group consisting of Joey Edwardh, Laurel Rothman, Brigitte Kitchen, Susan McGrath, Peter Clutterbuck, David Thornley and Christa Freiler. With occasional and minimal funding support, we released an anthology with commentaries of Marvyn Novick’s writings; organized two memorial lectures (one on decent incomes vs. a basic income program; the other on the social commons); organized a policy symposium on the social commons; developed and maintained a website on the social commons (see https://socialcommons.ca/).
Our working definition of municipal democratic socialism icludes:
At its core, municipal socialism is rooted in shaping cities and communities to take control of the things that shape the day to day living circumstances of all its residents. This includes local renewable energy grids, public sanitation systems, safe, secure and affordable homes, access to healthy food, good public transportation, a system of public parks and cultural centres, services for children, families and seniors, and more.
It is also a lever for strengthening the role of worker and consumer co-ops, credit unions, non-profit enterprises, and a mix of community economic development initiatives (community wealth building)
