William Kashtan (27 June 1909 – 17 June 1992) was the general secretary of the Communist Party of Canada for 23 years beginning in January 1965, several months following the death of Leslie Morris, until his retirement in 1988. The delay in his assuming of the position was due to the opposition of Tim Buck to his appointment.
Life and career
Kashtan was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1909. In 1927, at the age of 18, he joined the Young Communist League. Two years later, he moved to southern Ontario to organize for the YCL there and then became the League's general secretary in 1930. In 1936, he helped found the Canadian Youth Congress which, at its peak, had over 400,000 members.
He visited Spain early in the Spanish Civil War and on his return helped organize the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion.
After World War II he served as Toronto organizer of the Labor-Progressive Party, as the Communist Party was known from 1943 to 1959, and served subsequently as industrial director, labour secretary and central organizer.</blockquote>