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The Liberal Party of Canada's Use of Democratic The Government is Seeking a Mandate: The Liberal Party of Canada’s Use of Democratic Rhetoric in the Interwar years, 1919– 1940 by Adam Coombs B.A., Carleton University, 2010 M.A., The University of British Columbia, 2012 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (History) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (VANCOUVER) July 2021 © Adam Coombs, 2021 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: The Government is Seeking a Mandate: The Liberal Party of Canada’s Use of Democratic Rhetoric in the Interwar years, 1919–1940 submitted by Adam Coombs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Examining Committee: Dr. Michel Ducharme, Associate Professor, History, UBC Supervisor Dr. Tina Loo, Professor, History, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Bradley Miller, Associate Professor, History, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Steven Lee, Associate Professor, History, UBC University Examiner Dr. Barbara Arneil, Professor, Political Science, UBC University Examiner ii Abstract This dissertation seeks to explain how and why the political concepts Canadians value differ substantially from the foundational ideals of the British North America Act 1867. It seeks to answer this question by examining democratic discourses propagated by national political parties during the key years of 1919–1940. In particular, it focuses on the role of the Liberal Party of Canada and its leader William Lyon Mackenzie King in advancing a certain set of democratic discourses as a means of responding to specific challenges the party faced during these years. Ultimately, it argues the Liberals used discourses based on the concept of popular sovereignty to justify centralizing political power in the person of the Prime Minister and creating a centralized political party designed to support the legislative agenda of their leader. While the Liberals were not the only party to employ democratic discourses as a means of advancing their political fortunes, their particular articulation of how Canada should function was uniquely successful in appealing to the popular imagination. Other parties, from the Progressive Party of the early 1920s, who advocated group governance, proportional representation and multi–member constituencies, to the Conservatives, who steadfastly defended British constitutional norms, all were either unable or unwilling to create an effective counter–narrative and so remained in the minority within the House of Commons, leading to a prolonged period of Liberal rule. iii Lay Summary This work focuses on how throughout the 1920s and 30s the Liberal Party of Canada and their leader William Lyon Mackenzie King employed democratic ideas as a means of enhancing their political position vis–a–vie other parties, namely the Progressive Party, the Co–operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Conservative Party. The result of this rhetorical strategy has been to offer a reinterpretation of the Canadian Constitution that Canadians have come to see as fundamental to how their system operates. Fundamentally, this dissertation argues that the way the Liberal Party talked about how the political system should operate shaped peoples’ expectations and subsequent demands for democratic reforms. iv Preface This dissertation is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, A. Coombs. A section of Chapter 3 was published as Adam Coombs. “Marginalizing the Upper House: Canada's Liberal Party, the Senate and Democratic Reform in 1920s Canada.” in Nikolaj Bijleveld, Colin Grittner, David E. Smith, Wybren Verstegen (Eds.). Reforming Senates: Upper Legislative Houses in North Atlantic Small Powers 1800–Present. New York: Routledge, 2019. v Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary ............................................................................................................................... iv Preface .............................................................................................................................................v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... viii Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Mandate Politics and Parliamentary Supremacy ..................................................28 2.1 Practicing Mandate Politics in Opposition ................................................................... 32 2.2 Dealing with a Hostile Senate ....................................................................................... 43 2.3 The King–Byng Crisis .................................................................................................. 57 2.4 Returning Focus to the Senate ...................................................................................... 70 2.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 3: Celebrating the Brokerage Party ............................................................................76 3.1 Justifying the Continued Existence of the Liberal Party .............................................. 85 3.2 Progressive Party Beliefs .............................................................................................. 93 3.3 The Decline of the Progressive Party.......................................................................... 100 3.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 116 Chapter 4: Attacking Autocracy: The Liberal Party and R.B. Bennett ...............................118 4.1 The Conservative Party under R.B. Bennett ............................................................... 122 4.2 Attacking Autocracy and Defending Democracy ....................................................... 136 vi 4.3 In the Aftermath of 1935............................................................................................. 170 4.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 175 Chapter 5: Empowering Party Members ................................................................................178 5.1 Party Organization and Development ......................................................................... 181 5.2 Building the Liberal Extra-Parliamentary Party ......................................................... 186 5.3 The Conservative Party Experience ............................................................................ 208 5.4 Liberal Attacks ............................................................................................................ 217 5.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 226 Chapter 6: Limiting the Power of Private Members ..............................................................229 6.1 Patronage in a Canadian Context ................................................................................ 233 6.2 Patronage after World War I ....................................................................................... 237 6.3 Patronage during the Great Depression ...................................................................... 246 6.4 Opposition to Centralization ....................................................................................... 253 6.5 Patronage in Wartime ................................................................................................. 268 6.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 272 Chapter 7: Conclusion ...............................................................................................................275 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................284 Archival Sources ..................................................................................................................... 284 Newspapers and Periodicals ................................................................................................... 284 Published Sources ................................................................................................................... 286 vii Acknowledgements Completing a dissertation is a massive undertaking and there are too many people to thank individually. There are, however, many people to whom I owe an immense and specific debt of gratitude. First, I am incredibly grateful for all the support, love and time that my wife Carrie Komesch has given me over my entire career as a graduate student. I am also grateful for
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