Editing Donald C. MacDonald (section)

===Leading the party===
MacDonald took over the party in the middle of the [[Cold War]] and at the height of [[McCarthyism]], when [[socialism]] was viewed with suspicion.<ref name="secular"/> The CCF had almost won power in Ontario ten years earlier, winning 34 seats in the [[1943 Ontario general election|1943 provincial election]], but by the time MacDonald became leader it held only two seats in the legislature. MacDonald was himself without a seat until the [[1955 Ontario general election|1955 provincial election]], when he defeated [[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario|Progressive Conservative]] incumbent [[William George Beech|William Beech]] by 1,426 votes in [[York South (Ontario provincial electoral district)|York South]].<ref name="secular"/>  His victory increased the CCF's legislative standing to three seats, and MacDonald quickly became known as one of the most vocal members of the legislature.  He fought for issues such as [[prison reform]] and [[universal public healthcare]], and emphasised pragmatism over doctrinaire [[socialism]] as he tried to appeal to voters as a moderate reformer. Some [[Toronto]] newspapers described him as the ''de facto'' opposition leader against [[Leslie Frost]]'s Progressive Conservative government.<ref name="secular"/> His pursuit of the [[Northern Ontario Natural Gas]] scandal led to the resignation of three members of Frost's cabinet.<ref name="secular"/>

MacDonald slowly rebuilt the party during his tenure as leader, and provided it with a benevolent public face. The CCF grew to five seats in the [[1959 Ontario general election|1959 provincial election]]. Following the founding of the federal [[New Democratic Party]] in 1961, he was acclaimed as the first leader of the Ontario NDP in October 1961.<ref name="secular"/>  The new party won seven seats in the [[1963 Ontario general election|1963 election]], and MacDonald later expressed disappointment that a larger breakthrough did not occur.<ref name="secular"/>

As the province's population became more urban and as social issues came to the forefront of political discussion, the NDP had a major breakthrough in the [[1967 Ontario general election|1967 election]] rising from seven seats to 20.<ref name="secular"/> This new success led to increasing pressure for new leadership, as the party was seen as a potential victor and many activists felt a younger leader was needed to catch the mood of the times. [[Jim Renwick (Canadian politician)|Jim Renwick]] challenged MacDonald for the party leadership in 1968, but lost.<ref name="secular"/> In 1970, [[Stephen Lewis]] was able to marshall support among the Steelworkers union with which his family had strong links.<ref name="secular"/> (His father, [[David Lewis (Canadian politician)|David Lewis]], had represented the [[United Steelworkers|steelworkers]] as a labour lawyer for many years.)  MacDonald decided not to seek re-election as leader in order to avoid a divisive fight. At the [[leadership convention]] that fall, Stephen Lewis defeated [[Walter Pitman]] and succeeded MacDonald as Ontario NDP leader.<ref name="secular"/>