The SDP's official platform, as put forth in their newspaper Canadian Forward: As a means of preparing the minds of the working class for the inauguration of the Co-operative commonwealth, the Social-Democratic Party of Canada will support any measure that will tend to better conditions under capitalism, such as: (1) Reduction of hours of labor.
(4) The Initiative, Referendum, and right of Recall.It was perceived as being a radical leftist group by the federal government, especially during the World War I.
The Canadian Director of Public Safety identified them as the publisher of the largest amount of anti-war propaganda during the war.
Isaac Bainbridge, the editor of the Canadian Forward and Dominion Secretary of the SDP, was imprisoned on numerous occasions for the "seditious material."
However, its newspaper Canadian Forward was outlawed permanently, which persecution helped to contribute to the party's downfall.