Background
Penner was born and raised in a German speaking "Russian" Mennonite family in Russia and emigrated to Winnipeg in 1904.
socialist politician Communist alderman
Penner was born and raised in a German speaking "Russian" Mennonite family in Russia and emigrated to Winnipeg in 1904.
In 1921, he participated in the founding of the Communist Party of Canada and was the party"s western organiser. He was also a Labour candidate for the Canadian House of Commons in Winnipeg North winning 565 votes. In 1933, he was elected to Winnipeg"s city council as an alderman, a position he held until 1960 becoming the longest serving elected Communist alderman in North America.
When he retired, fellow Communist Joseph Zuken succeeded him on City Council and was to serve until the 1980s.
Penner was very popular among his constituents in the city"s impoverished north end and attracted support from across party lines. He was an early advocate of a minimum wage and unemployment insurance and used his political position to campaign for these reforms.
Another son, Norman Penner, was a professor at York University. During World World War II, Penner was interned from June 1940 until July 1942 under the Defence of Canada Regulations for his Communist Party activity.
In addition to his service in municipal politics, Jacob Penner also sought federal or provincial office on four occasions:
Winnipeg, 1927 (provincial), 2015 votes on the first count, not elected (Winnipeg elected ten members by preferential balloting during this period)
Winnipeg, 1932 (provincial), 1106 votes on the first count, not elected.