Dan Azoulay delineates the central themes and determining factors of the development of the CCF/NDP during the 1950s and early 1960s. The party had to contend with not only a booming postwar economy and a very popular premier but also a Cold War-induced phobia toward the Left and serious intraparty divisions.

Despite this the party slowly recovered, led by a core of dedicated activists and employing an array of strategies, including the much-publicized transformation of the CCF into the NDP in the early 1960s.