It was founded in June 1931 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by British Columbian politician Phyllis Corriveau.

As the fractured groups of the left coalesced to form the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), the SPC did not make great headway.

The first two issues criticized the CCF and the Communist Party of Canada for allegedly compromising with capitalism.

During the war, the Communist Party was outlawed, but the SPC continued to hold anti-war demonstrations and rallies.

It seeks to achieve this by distributing socialist material around the world and raising class consciousness.