[citation needed] Rankin was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, and became involved in radical left politics through an early opposition to the Vietnam War.

[5] In 1992, a majority of delegates at the Communist Party's national convention voted to abandon Marxism-Leninism and pursue a social democratic alternative.

Rankin was a part of the minority group led by Miguel Figueroa that opposed the change, and continued to support traditional communist principles.

[6] Rankin challenged New Democratic Party Premier Bob Rae in York South, and focused on issues such as health, education, social programs and full employment.

[7] In June 1995, Rankin contributed an article entitled "Observations on the Setbacks to Socialism" to the Communist Party discussion journal The Spark!

He wrote an article for the People's Voice, the newspaper of the Communist Party, supporting Slobodan Milošević's policies in Kosovo in order to protect Serbians from Albanians in the region whom Rankin labelled as "Fascists".

[12] In November 2007, he organized a party at Winnipeg's Ukrainian Labour Temple to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Russian Revolution.