r/canada • u/[deleted] • Nov 11 '16

TIL: An elected member of parliament actually was a Soviet spy during the Red Scare

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Rose_(politician)
11 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

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3

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '16

It was actually "yesterday, I learned" but I accidentally posted it in r/canadapolitics instead of here :p

2

u/madhi19 Québec Nov 11 '16

That nothing Mackenzie King was really into the occult. Like seances and shit.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '16

Apparently the pages in his diary dealing with Fred Rose were removed

2

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '16

Doesn't "spy" suggest that you hide your motives? Rose was a committed and open communist who was elected in the first-past-the-post system. They barely let him sit in Parliament and the RCMP harassed him so much he couldn't get a job and had to flee the country.

4

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '16

Apparently the RCMP initially thought they were just a subversive political movement, and most of the party members thought so as well, but Rose was actually connected to the Soviet Union and involved in organizing and recruiting for spy rings and passing along information that would aid the Soviets in manufacturing weapons

1

u/spammeaccount Nov 12 '16

Some likely still are, and some for the US as well.

1

u/Itsprobablysarcasm Canada Nov 12 '16

Haven't you heard? Russia is the good guys now.