The polymerization of olefins in aqueous media by late transition metal catalysts has created new opportunities to produce latex particles based on ethylene and its olefinic derivatives. In this work, we have concentrated on creating water-based latices from the strained cyclic olefin, norbomene. This has been done as ab initio batch emulsion vinyl polymerizations using allyl palladium catalysts and a lithium-based activator, supported by a variety of surfactants. The role of surfactants in traditional emulsion polymerization is to assist in particle nucleation and/or to stabilize latex particles. We studied the role of several classes of surfactants in the emulsion vinyl polymerization of norbornene with Pd catalysts, both with and without the activator LiFABA. In the catalytic emulsion polymerization of norbomene, some of these surfactant classes were found to act as weakly coordinating anions with the Pd-based catalysts to promote vinyl polymerization. When the base latex recipe already contains an activator specifically designed to work effectively with Pd in organic media (e.g., LiFABA), certain classes of surfactants (e.g., sulfates) act to provide an alternative pathway for polymerization and latex particle formation. Other surfactants (e.g., cationics) can actually suppress all or part of the polymerization by destructively interfering with either the catalyst or the separately added activator. Alkyl sulfates and sulfonates were both effective activators of allyl Pd catalysts and produced latex particles (ca. 40-50 nm) without significant amounts of coagulum. This activity is significantly dependent on the alkyl chain length, and alkyl sulfate anions are more active than the equivalent alkyl sulfonate anions. Cationic, fatty acid, and nonionic surfactants produced. variable, but ineffective, results in our studies.