From Farm to Firm: Canadian Tobacco c. 1860-1950 by Jonathan Robert McQuarrie A Thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History University of Toronto © Copyright by Jonathan Robert McQuarrie 2016 From Farm to Firm: Canadian Tobacco c. 1860-1950 Jonathan McQuarrie Doctor of Philosophy Department of History University of Toronto 2016 Abstract This dissertation examines the transformation of Canadian tobacco cultivation from its roots in local markets and personal consumption to a multi-million dollar concern featuring corporate plantations and multi-acre tobacco farms. It focuses on how tools of agricultural modernization— abstraction, expertise, experimentation, fertilization, government policy, land ownership, and marketing associations—produced unanticipated challenges that complicated any linear development of tobacco cultivation. The dissertation places everyday experiences of tobacco cultivation alongside the broader sweep of agricultural modernization to argue that the deployment of the tools of modernization produced new limitations over expert control of the environment and markets. The dissertation considers cultivation in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, and includes moments of rapid expansion, such as the rise of the flue-cured tobacco “New Belt” in Norfolk and Elgin counties during the late 1920s, and instances of gradual failure, like efforts to encourage commercial tobacco in the Okanagan and Sumas Valley regions of B.C. Various farmer organizations and cooperatives feature in the exploration of the responses and initiative of farmers to the evolving requirements of tobacco companies for their raw material. ii The role of both federal and provincial government officials also receives considerable attention, as they promoted modern, commercial-orientated tobacco cultivation while attempting to remain an intermediary force between farmers and corporations. The records of the federal Tobacco Division and various government investigations collectively demonstrate that this position was not always tenable, as the government would find itself drawn into fierce disputes over farm prices and the monopolistic character of Imperial Tobacco. These disputes illustrate how modernization produced instabilities even as it improved farm revenues. Collectively, this dissertation’s consideration of farm work, environmental change, and markets demonstrate how the possibilities of agricultural innovation produced their own tensions and limitations that are fundamental to understanding the lived experience of capitalism and modernization in rural Canada. iii Acknowledgements Firstly, thanks to anyone who kept listening to me talk about my project after discovering I don’t smoke. The descriptions of the tobacco flavours I encountered during my research occasionally tempted me, but fortunately, whiskey proved a suitable replacement. A number of institutions made this dissertation possible. Thanks must go to the estate of Jeanne Armour and to the Rotenburg fund, which provided money for a research expedition to Britain. I am also grateful for support from two Ontario Graduate Scholarships and the University of Toronto graduate fellowship. While conducting research, I benefited from the work of librarians and archivists at Archives Ontario, the Bibliothèque et Archives Nationale in Montreal, Libraries and Archives Canada, the Canadian Agriculture Library in Ottawa, the Kelowna Museum Public Archives, and the Elgin County Archive. Judy Livingston provided me with some very useful information at the Delhi Tobacco Museum and Heritage Centre. I also gratefully acknowledge the work of BANQ, the Multicultural History Society of Ontario and Our Digital World (previously Our Ontario) for digitizing and making a wide array of newspapers and interviews freely accessible to researchers. Their work made combing through newspapers easier and a lot more comfortable. Institutional support is necessary, but it provides just the bare skeleton. Without professional and personal support from scholars, friends, and families, dissertations do not happen. My initial interest in graduate studies was sparked by a wonderful collection of history, philosophy, and political science professors at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, who provided an excellent learning environment and who have made me a life-long advocate of the importance of smaller universities. I benefited tremendously from the support of a large number of professors at the University of Toronto, where I did my MA and PhD. My master’s supervisor, Lori Loeb, provided a perfect mixture of support and critique to make acquiring master degree a remarkably amendable experience for someone who had moved across the country. Courses with Ritu Birla, Dan Bender, Paul Cohen, Russ Kazal, Jennifer Mori, and Paul Rutherford all influenced my understanding of the craft and uses of history in different ways. I also thank Brian Gettler and Paula Hastings for agreeing to be reviewers—I particularly thank Paula for a couple years of being a great professor and person to work with as a teaching assistant. iv Many scholars beyond the University of Toronto have also been of great help. Jarrett Rudy’s work on tobacco consumption sparked some early ideas; his participation as an external reviewer is most fitting and appreciated. The Toronto Network of Environmental Historians provided a relaxed and insightful forum to workshop papers—I particularly thank Ben Bradley, Jim Clifford, Colin Coates, Jessica van Horssen, Sean Kheraj, Andrew Watson, Jay Young, and David Zylberberg for their comments on a couple chapters. I also thank Craig Heron for facilitating participation in the Toronto-based Labour History group, and to John Van West for the newspapers. Thanks also go to Jodey Nurse and Catharine Wilson at the Rural History Roundtable based in the University of Guelph. I have benefited from taking a course, a comprehensive field, and being a teaching assistant for Ian Radforth, who has taught me a great deal about immigration, labour, and about how to navigate a balance between criticism and constructiveness, all while being a generous committee member with time (and several post workshop beers). Ruth Sandwell has provided me with insights from her exceptional knowledge of rural Canada, and pushed me to think more deeply about what tobacco means in the larger narrative of Canadian rural life and the limitations of the human capacity to manage the land, particularly within a capitalist context. I knew I wanted to work with my supervisor, Steve Penfold, only a couple classes into a graduate seminar I took with him during my MA. I’m not sure he would admit to it, but he has a great knack for delivering feedback and ideas that, while forcing a considerable amount of rethinking and rewriting, are always valuable. Of course, I didn’t have to listen to him. I was often given that option. However, the final product would have been incalculably weaker. I can’t imagine finishing the dissertation without the many candid and thoughtful conversations we had. I am lucky enough to have made an extraordinary group of friends during my time in Toronto and at the University of Toronto. We chatted, drank, danced, debated, laughed, fretted, and just generally made living in Toronto awesome. As often as not, we would talk about anything but history, which is frankly just as important when getting through the program. To Daniel Bay, Kelly Butler, Stephanie Cavanaugh, Stephanie Corazza, Véronique Church-Duplessis, Bret Edwards, Dustin Harris, Stacy Hushion, Beth Jewett, Brett Lintott, Victoria Loucks, Gabrielle Major, Brad Mallett, Peter Mersereau, Dan Rosenthal, Andrew Robinson, Michael Savage, Elizabeth Shaw, Lindsay Sidders, Mathieu Vallieres, Alexandra Wieland, Caleb Wellum, and v Mike Wilcox—thanks for being such smart, awesome people, and for sharing ups and downs. To my lifelong friends Amanda Olson and James Stevenson—thanks for making the rejuvenating trips back home to B.C. something I treasure. Finally, to my family in Alberta and B.C.—I don’t see you as much as I like, but you have all sustained me during the last few years. Thanks to my brother William (Adam), and to Karen, Kyle, Zack, Cameron, and Lauren; hope to make it to Minburn soon. To my parents, Bill and Angela, thanks for being loving and supporting, and for giving me a place to go to recharge. And to Amanda Brooks, who has been my partner during the entire thing, I dedicate this dissertation. It’s not a great gift, but it’s the least I can do after so many years of conversations, companionship, and love. vi Table of Contents Introduction………………………..................................................................................................1 Chapter 1) The Rich Rewards of the Leaf……………………………………………………….21 Chapter 2) Creating Tobacco Expertise………………………………………………………….53 Chapter 3) Making Soil Modern……………………………………………..…………………..96 Chapter 4) Land and Limits…………………………………………………………………….141 Chapter 5) Tariffs and Trusts: Making and Regulating the Tobacco Market, 1902-1934……..183 Chapter 6) The Search for Stability: Tobacco Marketing, 1920-1958…………………………227 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...265 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………270 vii List of Tables Table 1: Tobacco Production in Ontario, 1871-1891 (in pounds)……………………………..111 Table 2: Production of Tobacco in Selected Districts of Quebec (in pounds)…………………112 Table 3: Fertilizer Elements and their Impact on Flue Cured Tobacco………………………..168