lÒl lHE MAN IlOBA PROVIN CIAL GENERAL ELECTION OF 1945 By A¡thrr Yates, C.0., B.A. A ltesis Sr¡hitted to the FaflúËy of Graô¡ate SttrdÍes in Pa¡tfal F\¡lfillsrt of tåe Requirærcs for the Degree of l{AsIR OF Á8rS Oeparært of Polittcal Sü¡dies üre tln-iversity of DfilÉtoba !ÍirnJpeg, Ìfsrl.toba. (c) Fehruary, L996 Bibliothèque nationale l*I ff{onatunrav du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions et Bibliog raphic Services Branch des services bibliog raphiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellinglon Otiawa, Ontario Ottawa (Ontario) K1A ON4 K1A ON4 Youtlile Volrcélërcnce Ou lile Nolrc têtércnce The author has granted an L'auteur a accordé une licence irrevocable non-exclus¡ve licence irrévocable et non exclus¡ve allowing the National Library of permettant à la Bibliothèque Canada to reproduce, loan, nationale du Canada de distribute or sell cop¡es of reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou his/her thesis by any means and vendre des copies de sa thèse in any form or format, making de quelque manière et sous this thesis available to interested quelque forme que ce soit pour persons. mettre des exemplaires de cette thèse à la disposition des personnes intéressées. The author retains ownership of L'auteur conserve la propriété du the copyright in his/her thesis. droit d'auteur qu¡ protège sa Neither the thesis nor substantial thèse. Ni la thèse ni des extraits extracts from it may be printed or substantiels de celle-ci ne otherwise reproduced without doivent être imprimés ou his/her perm¡ss¡on. autrement reproduits sans son autorisation. ir ISBN 0-612-13587-X C¿nadä l'EE UÁIfITOBA PROVüTCIAL GENENÄL EI,ECTION OT 1945 BY ARIEIIR YAÎES A Thesis subrritted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Ma¡ritoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of }IASITR OF AßTS @ 1996 Perstission has been granted to the LIBRARY OFTffE UNI\¡ERSITY OF MANITOBA to lend or sell copies of this thesis, to the NATIONAL IIBR.â,RY OF C*A,NADA to mic¡ofil¡r this thesis and to lend or sell copies of the ñlm, and LIBRÄRY il/TCROFILMS to pubtish a¡r abstract of this thesis. The author tesen¡es other publication tights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or other-wise reproduced wittrout the autho/s written peratission. \ ii Born the tuentg-seuenth òag of lllag, eighùcen ninctg-f iue, Ànno Domini, úhe honuurable Douglas CanPbell- Àt the ùi¡ne uf the 1945 lllanitoba prouincial election r¡as lllinister sf Àgricullure fsr the prsuince of lllanitoba. frun 1948 ùs 1958, PBEIÌIER 0t nÀNIgoBÀ- I thinh it's tu ùhe public aùuantage ùhat lllr. Àrùhur $ates has chqsen the 1945 lllaniùoba F¡¡uincial elecùisn for his tllaster's ùhesis- 1ù oas a lterg challenging ùirne in historg' ¡rarhing ùhe enù uf sne sf the great Dars' Xt has been a pleasure to ¡ne, to ùiscuss in a general uag ùhis tim¿ eith lhe auth¡r' I haue ùhoruughlg enjsgeù neeting uith lllr. Àrlhur $aùes anù his chan¡ing pife ftelen' Douglas Çanpbell. lllonùag, APril l2th. 1993. /1t ,"r-ttr| t+l.,aalr, t¡ ¡ þt 1_3 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. I wish to express my gratitude to those who have helped me with the realization of this thesis. First of all, it was my wife, Mrs. Helena F. Yates, who, with endless proofreading, tireless suppoñ, patience, and encouragement, has made my university education, and the completion of this thesis possible. Next I must thank Professor Tom Peterson for his diligent scrutiny of my work as it progressed, and his many suggestions for a better way to express a certain point. Without the very valuable encouragement and assistance given me by Tom Petereson, I would have experienced a much greater difficulty in completing this work. A very special "Thank-you" to Mr. Dave Wilkie and his staff at Elections Manitoba Department for locating a very important document which previously seemed to be unobtainable, and their other kind assistance from time to time. My thanks also, to the helpful members of the statf of the Manitoba Legislative Library and the Provincial Archives for the assistance they have atforded me on many occasions. Finally, I wish to thank Catharine Dunlop, and all staff working in and connected with the Political Studies otfice, for information assistance and theír patience with my frequent enquiries. Arthur Yates. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February, 1996. IV The 1945 Manitoba provincial general election took place at an important time in world history, the end of the second Great War. The Coalition government, then led by Premier Stuart Garson, was returned to power with a substantial majority. This thesis will demonstrate that the Co-perative Commonwealth Federation, (C.C.F.) , which was formed from farmer, labour, and socialist parties in August 1932, and which soared to nationwide popularity exceeding that of the other political parties by September 1943, could have replaced the long-enduring Coalition government of Manitoba. lt will be seen that, in spite of an unrepresentative electoral system, and various damaging events and their ramifications, the C.C.F. almost became the party holding the most seats in the Manitoba provincial election of October 15, 1945. At the very least, had there been a "level playing field", in terms, for instance of a fairer system of representation, the C.C.F. might well have gained a significantly higher number of seats. Even so, the fact that it obtained almost a third of the popular vote inspired a confidential memo to Prem¡er Stuart Garson, warning that the Liberal Progressives urgently needed to recruit younger and more energetic candidates to meet the next C.C.F. challenge. v TABT,E OF COI{IM{IS Page No. Title Page Þ<anÍning Conmittee CoÐrright Inforrnation Renarks by the Honourable Douglas Canpbell, Former Prsnier of }4anitoba. ii Acicrowledgsrrcnts iii Abstract iv Table of Contsrts v Chapter One, TLrc }4anitoba Scene. 1 Chapter T\,ro, The Second trrlorld ldar starts, ThsRowell-Sirois Report, The C.C.F. Flood Tide, The 1945 Dom:inion General Electíon. 10 Table One, Dorninicn Election Results. 30 CLrapter Three, The }4anitoba ElecËion Canpaign. 31 Þ<æplars Otae, T\,rro, and Three, Þ<anples of Ner'rspaper Electicn Advertissnents . 65 Chapter Four, Manitoba General Election Results, 1945. 68 Table T\rÍo, ttAtt, ttBtt, ttCtt, tDtt, Ðd tEtt, lulanitoba Electicn Results, and Table Ttrree, Arrned Senrices Vote Result. 78 Ibp One, Provincial Electoral Divisíons, 1945. 84 Chapter Five, Analysis. 85 þpendix "4", l:terview w-ith the Hc¡nourable Douglas Lloyd Carpbell. 92 þpørdíx "8", Ii:teruier¡r Trüith I4r. David Orlfüotv. 99 þpendix "C", Irttenrievs w'ith I4r. I^Iilliam lGrdash. 100 þpendÍx 'D", A Vignette, A Canard by Beresford Richards. L02 Bibliography. 105 CHAPTER ONE state' At the turn of the century Manitoba was still in a raw undeveloped for with dirt roads which were impassable in times of bad weather, excepting of fields was some of the intrepid horse and cart arrangements' Ploughing houses with oil done by hand-guided hoise ploughs, and the lighting of farm lamps. with transportation very limited and elementary, people were accustomed to walking many a weary mile. some had bicycles. The early settlement of Manitoba centered on the south-east and the western side of the province, excepting the northern half' Geological time had left its mark on Manitoba, especially the Pleistocene period of glacial activity' One of the initial bases of the province's class division was the ice uneven O¡sti¡nuìion of good land' When the gla.ciers of the ano age passed over north-êastern Manitoba, they left it scarreq barren. ntóng in" Sn¡"tO's southern edge, extending diagorally from Lake-ol"tñã Woods in the southéast to the Swan River gravel Váiley in the Northwest, are numerous marshes, bogs and ridöéä. Coãrr. stones litter the fields, and the soil is shallow and poõr. Thó area to the south and west, comprising about one beventh of the province, is more attractive'1 at Flin Mining of gold, nickel and iron ore generated a prosperous settlement The town abuts Flon in the north, in the provincial constituency of The Pas. was established the Saskatchewan border, north of Athapapuskow Lake and miles to the around Ross Lake in 1928. A railroad line from The Pas,97 Bay mining and south-east, was completed that same yeat. A Hudson thousand miners smelting plant was built there at about that time. some four ,,Ethnic Canadian Provincial 1 Tom peterson, and Class Politics in Manitoba," in Politics,ed.byM.Robin,(Scarborough:PrenticeHall'1972)'69-70' 2 the usual were employed at Flin Flon, plus smelting plant workers, and employees of the service industry. province, along Further south, farming was the main business of the Winnipeg with farm related industry and livestock marketing. The economy of shipment of included the railways, the wholesale trade, manufacturing, and the plants grain from the farming areas. The city had its abattoirs and processing for farm production. were The railways carried ores and other production of Flin Flon, and ranches steadily occupied with the shipment of livestock. There were cattle agriculture and mixed farming, but grain predominated in rural areels where grain were the other was a way of life. Manitoba was not so dependent on as prairie provinces, for more than half the arable land was devoted to other crops: potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, sunflowers, corn and rape seed' facilities cattle raising was an important foundation for the large meat-packing in Winnipeg. ln the 1g20's the rural areas were already organized into community promoted' groups where public speaking, debating, drama and concerts were groups, headed by especially by the united Farm women of Manitoba' such political and economic the united Farmers, also organized evening classes on prices fell, in 1919' the topics, including the controversial tariff.