the larger organization. In spite of this, the CLP never became a coherent national party. Most provincial labour parties remained focused on their own local concerns, and the national party organization was comparatively weak (though it was usually successful in preventing vote-splitting among its affiliated groups). The national CLP was also weakened by controversies concerning the role of Communists within the party. Relationship with Communists In its earliest years, the Communist Party of Canada supported a united front against the capitalist class. Its provincial organizations joined the CLP in various stages between 1922 and 1924, and the leaders of the Communist Party believed that they would eventually be able to shift CLP policy to reflect their own policies. By the late 1920s, Communist groups had come to dominate the CLP in some regions of the country. (It may be noted that the Communist Party seems to have accepted the CLP's ban on electoral competition between affiliated groups, even to the point of endorsing some rightist labour candidates in whom they had little confidence.) The Communist presence did not always provoke internal dissension (several Communist delegates were greeted with cheers at CLP conventions), but it did prevent some moderate social democrats from joining. In 1927, social democrats in the Ontario CLP withdrew from the organization to create their own Independent Labour Party. In the same year, J. S. Woodsworth accused the CLP of being controlled by Communist interests, and called for a new national alliance of Independent Labour Parties to take its place. The CLP's alliance with the Communist Party ended in 1928-29, following a shift in Comintern policy away from the "united front" strategy. The provincial Communist parties either left the CLP during this period, or were expelled. In most parts of the country, the resulting loss in membership was enough to bring about the effective demise of the CLP. The one exception to this rule appears to have been in Alberta. Alberta Despite the break with Communists, in Alberta, the CLP showed significant successes in the late 1920s and 1930s. Lionel Gibbs was a long-time activist both in the Alberta Legislature and on Edmonton's city council for many years. The CLP elected a near-majority to Edmonton's city council in 1929 and held power on Edmonton city council in 1934 and 1935. It federated with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in 1935, but the Social Credit wave took the wind