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Simon Fraser Tolmie : the Last Conservative Premier of British Columbia

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Simon Fraser Tolmie : the Last Conservative Premier of British Columbia Simon Fraser Tolmie : The Last Conservative Premier of British Columbia IAN D. PARKER In 1928, Simon Fraser Tolmie became the twenty-first premier of British Columbia. As a popular native son and an experienced politician leading a Conservative party with a massive legislative majority in a period of economic prosperity, he seemed assured of a prolonged term of office. Within five years, however, the province was mired in economic depres­ sion, the Conservative party and its legislative majority had disintegrated and Tolmie had suffered an ignominious rejection by the voters. The economic crisis of the nineteen thirties, Tolmie's personal deficiencies, and the unstable nature of the Conservative party were contributing factors in this reversal of political fortune. Simon Fraser Tolmie was the son of pioneer British Columbia families. On his mother's side, he was the grandson of John Work, Hudson's Bay factor, member of the Executive Council of Vancouver Island and early Esquimalt farmer.1 His father, William Fraser Tolmie, had come to the province in 1833, rising to positions as a Hudson's Bay factor, a director of the Puget's Sound Agriculture Company, a member of the Legislative Council of Vancouver Island and the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as well as a prominent cattle breeder.2 The Tolmie family was clearly part of the "Family-Company-Compact" which was a dominant influence in the development of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Born January 25, 1867, the youngest of twelve children, S. F. Tolmie trained as a veterinary surgeon. After his graduation in 1891, he returned to Victoria, taking over his father's farm and acting as municipal cattle inspector. In the following years, he held similar positions with the pro­ vincial and federal departments of agriculture while breeding prize cattle on his Cloverdale farm. Tolmie entered politics more by accident than from ambition. When Sir Robert Borden formed the federal Union Government in 1917, Tolmie 1 J. B. Kerr, Biographical Dictionary of Well-Known British Columbians (Vancouver: Kerr & Begg, 1910), p. 362. 2 Joan Mitchell (ed.) The Journal of William Fraser Tolmie (Vancouver: Mitchell Press, 1963), p. 385. 21 BG STUDIES, no. ii, Fall 1971 22 BG STUDIES was drafted, against his personal inclination, as the Victoria candidate.3 He was elected easily. Two years later when T. A. Grerar left the federal cabinet to lead the National Progressive Party, Tolmie replaced him as Minister of Agriculture. Although a practising farmer, Tolmie was not an outstanding agricul­ ture minister. His major accomplishment was the elimination of a thirty- year old cattle mange problem, thus enabling Canadian beef to enter the British market. Generally he acted as a public relations man for the de­ partment, travelling around the country opening fairs, judging livestock and making bucolic speeches. Administrative detail was left in the hands of his deputy. After the defeat of Arthur Meighen's Conservative government in 1921, Tolmie accepted his relegation to the opposition benches with equanimity. He retained his popularity and wide circle of acquaintances on both sides of the House while giving complete loyalty to his party and leader. Though he did little of note, he was regularly returned to his seat and was regarded as a competent representative of his Victoria riding. Perhaps because of his loyalty and affability, Tolmie was appointed by Meighen in 1925 as Dominion organizer of the Conservative party. This position, the exclusive prerogative of the party leader, called for a man who could coordinate the needs of the federal candidates with the activi­ ties of the autonomous provincial party organizations. This required tact more than administrative ability, particularly in view of the post's lack of formal authority. The results of the 1925 federal election suggest that Tolmie was not unsuccessful as Dominion organizer but the Conservative defeat in 1926 overshadowed the earlier gains. With the retirement of Meighen and the selection of R. B. Bennett as leader, Tolmie was re­ placed. In 1926, the provincial Conservative party was rent with dissension and in dire need of rejuvenation. Since Sir Richard McBride's retirement in 1915, it had lost three consecutive elections. Discontent with the leader­ ship of W. J. Bowser had reached its peak in 1924, leading to the forma­ tion of the Provincial Party, the re-election of the Liberals with a minor­ ity, and the personal defeat and resignation of Bowser.4 At that time, the legislative caucus had offered Tolmie the party leadership.5 He had re- 3 Percy Sangster to S. F. Tolmie, Nov. 22, 1932 in S. F. Tolmie Papers (Vancouver: Special Collections, University of British Columbia Library). Cited hereafter as Tolmie Papers. 4 I. D. Parker, "The Provincial Party," B C Studies VII (Winter 1970-71), p. 17. 5 J. H. Scholfield to S. F. Tolmie, June 27, 1924, Tolmie Papers. Simon Fraser Tolmie 23 fused, pleading a lack of interest and his increased duties with the federal party. For the next two years, the provincial Conservatives drifted under the interim control of R. H. Pooley, unable to call a leadership conven­ tion because of the intense federal political activity. Such a situation could not be allowed to continue if the British Colum­ bia Conservative party was to remain a political force. Immediately following the 1926 federal election, the party called a provincial conven­ tion to select a new leader. Tolmie was subjected to increased personal and political pressure to become a candidate but he remained adamant. As the convention date drew near, two candidates, Bowser and Leon J. Ladner, seemed equally strong. Bowser was the candidate of the regular party organization. He had been a member of the Legislative Assembly since 1903, Attorney-General and second in command to McBride from 1907, Premier in 1915-16 and party leader from 1915-24. To many Conservatives in the province, he was the party's most experienced legislator, McBride's heir, controller of the party organization and dispenser of patronage. Leon Ladner, though a relative newcomer to politics, possessed attri­ butes likely to improve the party's image and reduce its internal conflicts. Like Tolmie, he was a native of British Columbia, and had been the member of parliament for South Vancouver since 1921. A younger man, his selection would give a new look to a party too long identified with professional politicians. While acquainted with the leaders of the schism that produced the Provincial Party, Ladner had not been involved in the conflict and so antagonized neither the party regulars nor the reformers. Openly supported by the legislative caucus and tacitly backed by Tolmie, Ladner was also the candidate of those who, for a number of reasons, opposed Bowser. By the start of the convention, neither man had the necessary support to win the leadership. Even Bowser's sudden withdrawal and the switch­ ing of his support to Senator J. D. Taylor did not dissolve the deadlock. After seven ballots, though constantly in the lead, Ladner could not obtain the necessary 60% majority required for victory. Facing a possible split which would end the effective life of the provincial Conservative party, Ladner, with the backing of his own supporters and Taylor, proposed that the convention unanimously offer the leadership to Tolmie.6 Tolmie, obviously surprised and dismayed, refused, repeating his argu­ ments that he was not financially capable, personally suited, or interested 6 Letter from L. J. Ladner, Feb. 5, 1969. 24 BG STUDIES in becoming premier of the province. The frustrated delegates, seeing a solution to their dilemma, would not listen. After an hour long meeting of the party executive, M.P.'s and M.L.A.'s, at which he was offered finan­ cial support and appealed to as a loyal British Columbian, Tolmie's very real reluctance was overcome. He accepted the post and the convention dissolved with a massive demonstration of approval, convinced that the Conservative party would form the next government of British Columbia. In retrospect, the enthusiasm can be understood. The selection of Tolmie had ended the immediate danger of a permanent party split. He was a popular and well-known political figure throughout the province. But the convention had evaded the party's real problem. Since the forma­ tion of the British Columbia Conservative party, it had been held together, not by principle, but by power, patronage and personality. As the collapse of the Bowser government in 1916 had shown, these tenuous bonds were insufficient to maintain unity in a crisis. Over the ensuing years, the party had become increasingly fragmented, as the deadlock of the leadership contest demonstrated. Tolmie's election created a superficial unity consist­ ing of no more than the time-honoured desire for office. He was now the head of a party lacking both personal loyalty to him and a distinctive single set of principles. Unfortunately, lulled by the convention's enthusi­ asm, neither he nor any other Conservative seemed to recognize this weakness or took any concrete steps to remedy it.7 In the short term, however, the convention result was satisfactory. Though Tolmie retained his federal seat and seldom exerted his leader­ ship, the party's internal conflicts subsided. Convinced that victory was near, the Conservatives forgot the animosities of the convention and strengthened their organization. At the same time, their political opposi­ tion began to decay. The Provincial Party which had so damaged the Conservative cause in 1924 officially disbanded early in 1928. One of its three M.L.A.'s, George Walkem, joined the Conservatives while the other two retired. Labour, which had split the vote in numerous provincial elec­ tions, was locked in an internal dispute between its Communist and non- Communist wings and could offer little electoral competition.
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