The Ontario Experiment: Hydroelectricity, Public Ownership, and Transnational Progressivism, 1906-1939
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The Ontario Experiment: Hydroelectricity, Public Ownership, and Transnational Progressivism, 1906-1939 by Mark McIntosh Sholdice A thesis presented to the University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In History Guelph, Ontario Canada © Mark Sholdice, January 2019 ABSTRACT THE ONTARIO EXPERIMENT: HYDROELECTRICITY, PUBLIC OWNERSHIP, AND TRANSNATIONAL PROGRESSIVISM, 1906-1939 Mark Sholdice Advisor: University of Guelph, 2019 Professor Alan Gordon The Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPCO) has been studied as a major factor in the province’s economic development and domestic politics, but its central place in international policy debates has been less recognized. This dissertation argues that the HEPCO should be understood within the contexts of progressivism and transnationalism. The commission was a characteristic product of the international Progressive Era, meant to address fears of monopoly capitalism and social inequalities, alongside regional economic underdevelopment. The HEPCO must also be understood in transnational terms, as it came to influence and was influenced by debates over the public ownership and regulation of electricity in the United States during the Progressive Era. This transnational influence was uneven but cumulative: over time, American progressives became more comfortable and familiar with the commission, and increasingly used it as a model for their policy proposals, just as the private electricity industry regularly vilified it. American progressives’ interest in the commission began in the 1910s and 1920s, aided by classic “vectors of diffusion” such as individual promoters, conferences, and fact-finding trips to Ontario. The “Ontario experiment,” as it came to be known, increasingly served as a model, such as in New York State, where it influenced Franklin D. Roosevelt’s hydroelectricity policies. Eventually Roosevelt’s ambitions surpassed the Ontario model, as his New Deal established the Tennessee Valley Authority and Rural Electrification Administration. A reflexive dynamic can also be observed: Ontarians’ awareness of American interest and opposition to the HEPCO came to influence their political behaviour. In particular, American attention helped contribute to the commission’s independent political activity under Sir Adam Beck. The pluralistic progressivism of the Ontario experiment is also seen in its demobilization during the 1930s, as provincial governments brought the commission under greater control and tamed its populist energies. Today, the progressive legacy of the HEPCO can be observed in the ways it has been publicly commemorated and used in contemporary political debates in Ontario. iv Acknowledgements Musa, mihi causas memora… For their mentorship while I was an undergraduate at Queen’s, I would like to thank Michel Beaulieu (now at Lakehead University) and Jamie Paxton (now at Moravian College) who, as young scholars, gave me my start in academic history. In response to an e-mail inquiry, Sid Noel of Western University provided me with valuable advice on studying politics and political culture in early twentieth-century Ontario. The Department of History at the University of Guelph has been a formative influence on me since I arrived as a master’s student in 2007. I would like to especially thank Catherine Carstairs, Peter Goddard, Matthew Hayday, David Murray, Susan Nance, Karen Racine, and Catharine Wilson for their help to me as a graduate student and teaching assistant. I am also grateful to Audra Bolton, Michael Boterman, Barb Mitterer, and other administrative staff members for their indispensable help over the years. In the department and the Tri-University Program in History, I was lucky to get to know fellow students like Ted Cogan, Emily Compton, Gwen Cross, Nicki Darbyson, Sierra Dye, Lisa Gies, Alice Glaze, Anthony Hampton, Paul Laforet, Katie McCullough, Jacqui McIsaac, Sam Sharp, Ryan Stackhouse, Andrew Webb, Jeremy Wiebe, and Elaine Young. My students in the Arts and Science program, Department of History, School of Languages and Literatures, and Writing Services provided an ongoing inspiration to continue my graduate studies. At the Department of History of Princeton University, where I spent the 2012-2013 academic year as a visiting student, I would like to thank Alison Isenberg, Robert Karl, Kevin Kruse, Rebecca Rix, and especially Daniel Rodgers, for allowing me to audit their graduate v seminars. The graduate students in the department were very kind to me during the time I spent there. I would also like to acknowledge the archival and library staff at the Archives of Ontario, City of Toronto Archives, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library, Kitchener Public Library, Library and Archives Canada, New York State Archives, Ontario Power Generation, University of Guelph Library, and University of Virginia Library. I would like to thank the Government of Ontario for funding through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship program. Janis Langins, Chris Los, and Richard White were gracious in sharing unpublished research papers on the history of hydroelectricity in Ontario. Andrew Parks and Matt Sharp were generous in hosting me on research trips to Ottawa, and Chris Reynolds was considerate for his journalistic interest. Although I do not have the space here to list all of their names, I have been incredibly lucky to have known many kind people in Guelph, Kingston, London, Princeton, and elsewhere. I was very privileged to have Adam Crerar, Stuart McCook, and David Monod of the Tri- University Program and Daniel Macfarlane of Western Michigan University as committee members. Their comments have immensely improved my understanding of my research, if not my manner of presenting it. Most importantly, I would like to thank Alan Gordon for his guidance over the course of my MA and PhD. Aside from the solid supervision he gave over a formative period of my education (especially in trying to inculcate intellectual moderation in an overconfident young scholar), Alan quietly but firmly supported me through a time of difficulty. He is a model scholar, and I am very indebted to him. vi My sister Anne Sholdice helped with newspaper research and developed her own conclusions about Adam Beck. Anne has been a constant inspiration to me because of her fortitude. Both of my parents sacrificed educational opportunities due to family circumstances, and I am mindful of the fact that I was able to pursue my interests in ways they could not. My father John Sholdice taught me the urgency of social justice, and at an early age instructed me in the possibilities of intellectual and political prudence. My mother Mary Ann McIntosh Sholdice gave me profound lessons in faith, hope, and charity, and she has been immensely supportive of my education. Lastly, I dedicate this work to the memory of my brothers John (1962-1971) and Scott Sholdice (1964-2005). In their short lives they embodied another virtue, which I try to remember every day. Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit. vii List of Abbreviations AO Archives of Ontario C&S Commonwealth and Southern Corporation EDC Electrical Development Company FDRPL Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library FTC Federal Trade Commission HEPCO Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario HERAO Hydro-Electric Railway Association of Ontario hp horsepower IJC International Joint Commission ILP Independent Labor Party of Ontario KPL Kitchener Public Library kWh kilowatt hour LAC Library and Archives Canada LOC Library of Congress MOL Municipal Ownership League MPP Member of Provincial Parliament MUA Municipal Underwriters Association NCA National Conservation Association NELA National Electric Light Association NPGL National Popular Government League OMEA Ontario Municipal Electric Association OPG Ontario Power Generation PASNY Power Authority of the State of New York POL Public Ownership League of America PSC Public Service Commission PWA Public Works Administration QVNPC Queen Victoria Niagara Park Commission REA Rural Electrification Administration TELC Toronto Electric Light Company THES Toronto Hydro-Electric System TRC Toronto Railway Company TVA Tennessee Valley Authority UFO United Farmers of Ontario Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv List of Abbreviations vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The Emergence of Public Power Movements in New York State and 44 Ontario, 1890-1910 Chapter 2: “Among the People of Hydro Land”: American Debates about Ontario’s 90 Hydro Commission during the 1910s and 1920s Chapter 3: Adam Beck, Progressivism, and the Internationalization of Ontario 151 Hydro Politics, 1910-1925 Chapter 4: “But a duplicate in essence of the great Ontario hydro development”: 196 The Background to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Power Policy as Governor and President (1926-1937) Chapter 5: The Demobilization of the HEPCO (1925-1943) 241 Conclusion: Remembering the Public Power Movement 260 Epilogue: The Legacy of the Public Power Movement 270 Bibliography 278 1 Introduction Standing at the busy intersection of Queen Street West and University Avenue in Toronto is a monument to Sir Adam Beck, founding chairman of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. A municipal project completed in 1934, the statue sits on a granite plinth emblazoned with the names of the commission’s hydroelectric stations and inscribed with a commemoration of Beck: whose labours have ensured that the citizens of his native province under co-operative municipal ownership shall enjoy the benefits