schism In 1963, the party split into two factions. "Social Credit Action" was established by Neil Carmichael, a stamp and coin dealer, who was chosen the group's leader, Carmichael's membership in the Ontario Social Credit Party had not been renewed after he made anti-Semitic statements. Other founders of the splinter group were James Audy, an accountant, who became party president, and David Hartman of Toronto. The group was formed when the official party refused to actively campaign in the 1963 provincial election. Audy had been the federal Social Credit Party's candidate in Spadina riding in the previous election. Carmichael, 45, a five-time federal Socred candidate, had been the focus of controversy earlier that year when he was a federal Social Credit candidate in St. Paul's. He asserted at a public meeting that there was a Jewish conspiracy in which the Rothschilds were plotting to acquire all of Canada's mines through non-Jewish third party operatives, and that the family was part of an international Jewish conspiracy to take over all of Canada's businesses. Carmichael was cautioned by the Social Credit Party of Ontario that he was "skating on thin ice" and would not be permitted to stand as a candidate again. His promise that a Social Credit government would pay each Canadian $5,000 worth of goods and services was derided by the Ontario party as "irresponsible". David Lewis of the New Democratic Party accused Social Credit of "harbouring anti-Semites" and stated that "Carmichael is only a symptom. The disease goes much deeper." Carmichael denied he was anti-Semitic saying "I am not anti-Semitic.... I have many Jewish friends.... Many of my customers are Jewish." At a subsequent meeting, he said that his comments were "indiscreet", that had he known he was going to be quoted he would have "cloaked them in nice phrases", and accused the Jews of persecuting him for his remarks, blaming a reporter with a Jewish-sounding name for quoting him. In the same meeting Carmichael declared that Adolf Hitler's economic system was "a very good and sound system of money" and that the Nazis "had it all figured out so that there was no unemployment." Carmichael's Social Credit membership was not renewed prior to his formation of Social Credit Action. Social Credit Action supported Réal Caouette when he took his Ralliement des creditistes out of the Social Credit Party of Canada in September 1963, while the official party remained