The party was founded by Paul MacEwan, who had been an NDP member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for ten years, 1970 to 1980.
Previously, New Democrats Jeremy Akerman and Buddy MacEachern had led the NDP and served as MLAs for these constituencies.
After the 1984 election, MacEwan felt that the Labour Party could not continue, as it had raised insufficient funds to meet its minimum financial requirements.
The Halifax-based NDP, led by Alexa McDonough throughout this period, emphasized established party policy and expected MLAs to subscribe to this first before formulating their opinions on issues.
There is no mention found advocating any constitutional change for Cape Breton Island in the advertising run by the Labour Party in the 1984 election.