George Drew
Encyclopedia
George Alexander Drew, (May 7, 1894 – January 4, 1973) was a Canadian
conservative
politician who founded a Progressive Conservative
dynasty in Ontario
that lasted 42 years. He served as the 14th Premier of Ontario
from 1943 to 1948.
, graduated from the University of Toronto
, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon
fraternity (Alpha Phi chapter). He then studied law at Osgoode Hall Law School
. He served with distinction in World War I
as an officer in the Canadian Field Artillery
. After the war he became lieutenant-colonel of the 11th Field Brigade and later honorary colonel of the 11th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery. He was called to the bar in 1920. He married Fiorenza Johnson (1910–1965), daughter of Edward Johnson, noted opera singer (tenor) and later General Manager (1935–1950) of the Metropolitan Opera House
in New York City
. He remarried and was survived by his second wife at his death.
of the City of Guelph
in 1925 after serving as an alderman. In 1929 he left to become assistant master and then master of the Supreme Court of Ontario
. As a practising lawyer, in 1931, he was appointed the first Chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission
by the provincial Conservative government and was fired by the Liberal government of the colourful Mitch Hepburn after it came to power as a result of the 1934 provincial election
. Drew ran for the leadership of the near moribund Conservative Party of Ontario at the 1936 Conservative leadership convention losing to Earl Rowe who subsequently appointed Drew to the position of provincial organizer for the party. Drew broke with the Tories, however, when they opposed Hepburn's attempt to crush the Congress of Industrial Organizations
attempt to unionize General Motors
in Oshawa
. He ran as an Independent Conservative in Wellington South
during the 1937 provincial election
but was defeated along with the Tories with Rowe failing to win a seat in the legislature and consequently resiging as party leader. Drew ran again for the Conservative leadership in 1938, this time successfully and entered the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
through a 1939 by-election
as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Simcoe East
. In the 1943 provincial election
, he was elected in the Toronto
riding
of High Park
.
The Liberal government went through a series of crises during World War II
due to Hepburn's feud with Prime Minister
William Lyon Mackenzie King
and the federal Liberals
. These crises led to Hepburn's resignation.
, the Tories, now called the "Progressive Conservatives", won a minority government
, narrowly beating the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
(CCF) led by Ted Jolliffe
. (Jolliffe and Drew had attended the same high school in Guelph, Ontario, the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
).
Drew won by responding to the mood of the times, and running on a relatively left-wing
platform, promising such radical reforms as free dental care and universal health care
. While his government did not implement much of its promised platform (including Medicare or denticare), it did establish the basis for the Tory regimes that followed by trying to steer a moderate course. Drew's government also introduced the Drew Regulation in 1944, which made it compulsory for Ontario schools to provide one hour of religious instruction a week.
Drew was strident in his criticism of the federal government of Mackenzie King, attacking its leadership in the Canadian war effort, chastizing it during the Conscription Crisis of 1944
for not instituting full conscription
, and accusing it of attempting to centralize power.
, Premier Drew ran an anti-Semitic, union bashing, Red-baiting
campaign against the CCF's Ontario section. The previous two-years of anti-socialist attacks by the Conservatives and their supporters, like Gladstone Murray and Montague A. Sanderson, were devastatingly effective against the previously popular CCF. Much of the source material for the anti-CCF campaign came from the Ontario Provincial Police
(OPP)'s Special Investigation Branch's agent D-208: Captain William J. Osbourne-Dempster. His office was supposed to be investigating war-time 5th column saboteurs. Instead, starting in November 1943, he was investigating, almost exclusively, Ontario opposition MPPs, mainly focusing on the CCF caucus
. The fact that Jolliffe knew about these 'secret' investigations as early as February 1944 led to one of the most infamous incidents in 20th-century Canadian politics.
This accusation led to Drew ordering the LeBel Royal Commission
to investigate the charges made by Jolliffe. The charges stemmed from Ontario's Official Opposition Leader Jolliffe, during the election campaign. He made these allegations during a campaign radio speech on 24 May 1945. Drew announced in a radio speech on 26 May that he would call an inquiry, and appointed Mr. Justice A. M. LeBel to lead the commission on 28 May. Jolliffe, and Liberal leader Mitchell Hepburn
made offers to withhold from electioneering and have the commission report before the election. Drew refused to either postpone the election, or speed up the commission process. The commission began hearings on 20 June 1945, and heard final arguments on 20 July 1945. The report was issued on 11 October 1945, with LeBel agreeing with much of what Jolliffe charged, but ultimately ruled that the Premier did not have a secret political police reporting to him, mainly due to the lack of direct documented evidence. In the late 1970s, that documented evidence was found, but the provincial government at the time considered the case closed.
The Conservatives got their majority, as they crushed the CCF on 4 June 1945. Drew's party won 66 out the 90 seats in the legislature, and reduced Jolliffe's CCF to just 8 seats, which also meant that they were no longer the Official Opposition. Drew won 20 seats from the CCF directly, including Jolliffe's. The "Gestapo" claims against Drew seemed to do little if any damage, and the CCF got nearly the same percentage in the popular vote as was predicted by a Gallup poll one month earlier.
, Drew himself was defeated in the Toronto riding of High Park by CCFer and temperance
crusader William "Temperance Willie" Temple
who had targeted Drew over his softening of Ontario's liquor laws by legalizing cocktail bars in Ontario. Whereupon Drew blamed a supposed, future Communist takeover of Ontario
on the failure of Ontarians to re-elect him.
Drew's government insisted on spending $400 million dollars in a ten-year program to convert Ontario's electricity system from 25-cyles to 60-cycles bringing it in line with the rest of North America
and allowing the province to join the North American power grid and easily import and export electricity – a necessary prerequisite for the province's industrial development. Drew also helped spur post-war immigration to Ontario from 1947 to 1948 by setting up immigration offices throughout the United Kingdom and initiating cheap charter flights to bring an estimated 20,000 British immigrants to the province in what has been called the world's first mass migration by air. Drew, a committed British imperialist, focussed on attracting British immigrants because he felt they were "the right class of people" to bring to Canada. Drew's government also increased funding for roads and highways and also increased funding for schools by increasing the provincial government's share for education spending from 15% to 50%. Through a government that made investments to modernize Ontario, Drew laid the basis for the province's post-war industrial expansion and for a Progressive Conservative dynasty that lasted 42 years and saw six successive Progressive Conservative premiers.
, Drew decided to enter federal politics. "Colonel Drew" (as he liked to be called) won the 1948 federal Progressive Conservative leadership convention
, defeating John Diefenbaker
on the first ballot.
Drew then contested a by-election
in Carleton
in order to win a seat in the House of Commons
. The federal Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
(CCF) was determined to defeat him, so they ran Eugene Forsey
as their candidate. William Horace Temple was brought up from Toronto to appear at a political meeting with Drew, and accused the Tory leader of being "a tool of the liquor interests" and also made suggestions about Drew's sobriety. Temple's comments so enraged Drew that he had to be restrained from physically attacking his nemesis. However, Drew won the vote and went to Parliament. He ran against Forsey again in the 1949 election
, and beat him again.
As leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party
and a Member of Parliament
, he became Leader of the Opposition
.
In the 1949
and 1953 federal elections
, Drew's Tories were defeated handily by the Liberals
, led by Louis St. Laurent
. As a Federal politician, Drew alienated potential supporters in Quebec
when he called French-Canadians a "defeated race", rhetoric which, when he had been in previous years a Provincial politician in Ontario
, may not have been as damaging among a certain sector of Anglophone
voter, but which was now used against him by his opponents at the Federal level of politics. His support for conscription during World War II
also hurt his prospects among French-Canadian voters. In poor health following a nearly fatal attack of meningitis
Drew resigned as Progressive Conservative leader in 1956 and was succeeded by John Diefenbaker
. From 1957 to 1964 He served as Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and during this period he worked with newspaper baron and fellow Canadian Lord Beaverbrook in an attempt to influence British public opinion against joining the European Common Market
as Drew saw this as a threat to the British Commonwealth.
In 1967, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada
. He served as the first Chancellor
of the University of Guelph
from 1965 until 1971.
from Several Universities including
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
politician who founded a Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
dynasty in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
that lasted 42 years. He served as the 14th Premier of Ontario
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
from 1943 to 1948.
Early career
George Drew was educated at Upper Canada CollegeUpper Canada College
Upper Canada College , located in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is an independent elementary and secondary school for boys between Senior Kindergarten and Grade Twelve, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The secondary school segment is divided into ten houses; eight are...
, graduated from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
fraternity (Alpha Phi chapter). He then studied law at Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
. He served with distinction in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as an officer in the Canadian Field Artillery
Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery is the artillery personnel branch of the Canadian Forces .-History:...
. After the war he became lieutenant-colonel of the 11th Field Brigade and later honorary colonel of the 11th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery. He was called to the bar in 1920. He married Fiorenza Johnson (1910–1965), daughter of Edward Johnson, noted opera singer (tenor) and later General Manager (1935–1950) of the Metropolitan Opera House
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He remarried and was survived by his second wife at his death.
Entering politics
He was elected mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of the City of Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
in 1925 after serving as an alderman. In 1929 he left to become assistant master and then master of the Supreme Court of Ontario
Supreme Court of Ontario
The Supreme Court of Ontario was a superior court of the Canadian province of Ontario. Now defunct, in 1989 the Courts of Justice Amendment Act, 1989 was enacted by the Government to create one large superior trial court for Ontario...
. As a practising lawyer, in 1931, he was appointed the first Chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission
Ontario Securities Commission
The Ontario Securities Commission is a regulatory agency which administers and enforces securities legislation in the Canadian province of Ontario...
by the provincial Conservative government and was fired by the Liberal government of the colourful Mitch Hepburn after it came to power as a result of the 1934 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1934
The Ontario general election, 1934 was the 19th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 19, 1934, to elect the 90 Members of the 19th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
. Drew ran for the leadership of the near moribund Conservative Party of Ontario at the 1936 Conservative leadership convention losing to Earl Rowe who subsequently appointed Drew to the position of provincial organizer for the party. Drew broke with the Tories, however, when they opposed Hepburn's attempt to crush the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
attempt to unionize General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
in Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
. He ran as an Independent Conservative in Wellington South
Wellington South
Wellington South was a Canadian federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 as the "South Riding of the county of Wellington"...
during the 1937 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1937
The Ontario general election, 1937 was held on October 6, 1937, to elect the 90 Members of the 20th Legislative Assembly of Ontario . It was the 20th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada....
but was defeated along with the Tories with Rowe failing to win a seat in the legislature and consequently resiging as party leader. Drew ran again for the Conservative leadership in 1938, this time successfully and entered the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
through a 1939 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Simcoe East
Simcoe East
Simcoe East was a federal electoral district in the province of Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1882 to 1968...
. In the 1943 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1943
The Ontario general election of 1943 was held on August 4, 1943, to elect the 90 Members of the 21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, he was elected in the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of High Park
High Park (electoral district)
High Park was a federal electoral district in the west end of the city of Toronto, in the province of Ontario, Canada...
.
The Liberal government went through a series of crises during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
due to Hepburn's feud with Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
and the federal Liberals
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
. These crises led to Hepburn's resignation.
Premier of Ontario
In the 1943 provincial electionOntario general election, 1943
The Ontario general election of 1943 was held on August 4, 1943, to elect the 90 Members of the 21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, the Tories, now called the "Progressive Conservatives", won a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
, narrowly beating the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section)
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation – The Farmer-Labor Party of Ontario, or more informally and commonly known as The Ontario CCF, was a democratic socialist political party that existed from 1932 to 1961. It was the provincial wing of the National CCF. The party officially had no leader in...
(CCF) led by Ted Jolliffe
Ted Jolliffe
Edward Bigelow "Ted" Jolliffe, QC was a Canadian social democratic politician and lawyer from Ontario. He was the first leader of the Ontario section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and leader of the Official Opposition in the Ontario Legislature during the 1940s and 1950s...
. (Jolliffe and Drew had attended the same high school in Guelph, Ontario, the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
The Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute is a public high school located in the city of Guelph, Ontario, Canada...
).
Drew won by responding to the mood of the times, and running on a relatively left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
platform, promising such radical reforms as free dental care and universal health care
Medicare (Canada)
Medicare is the unofficial name for Canada's publicly funded universal health insurance system. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.Under the terms of the Canada Health...
. While his government did not implement much of its promised platform (including Medicare or denticare), it did establish the basis for the Tory regimes that followed by trying to steer a moderate course. Drew's government also introduced the Drew Regulation in 1944, which made it compulsory for Ontario schools to provide one hour of religious instruction a week.
Drew was strident in his criticism of the federal government of Mackenzie King, attacking its leadership in the Canadian war effort, chastizing it during the Conscription Crisis of 1944
Conscription Crisis of 1944
The Conscription Crisis of 1944 was a political and military crisis following the introduction of forced military service in Canada during World War II. It was similar to the Conscription Crisis of 1917, but was not as politically damaging....
for not instituting full conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
, and accusing it of attempting to centralize power.
1945 Election
During the spring 1945 Ontario electionOntario general election, 1945
The Ontario general election of 1945 was held on June 4, 1945, to elect the 90 members of the 22nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, Premier Drew ran an anti-Semitic, union bashing, Red-baiting
Red-baiting
Red-baiting is the act of accusing, denouncing, attacking or persecuting an individual or group as communist, socialist, or anarchist, or sympathetic toward communism, socialism, or anarchism. The word "red" in "red-baiting" is derived from the red flag signifying radical left-wing politics. In the...
campaign against the CCF's Ontario section. The previous two-years of anti-socialist attacks by the Conservatives and their supporters, like Gladstone Murray and Montague A. Sanderson, were devastatingly effective against the previously popular CCF. Much of the source material for the anti-CCF campaign came from the Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
(OPP)'s Special Investigation Branch's agent D-208: Captain William J. Osbourne-Dempster. His office was supposed to be investigating war-time 5th column saboteurs. Instead, starting in November 1943, he was investigating, almost exclusively, Ontario opposition MPPs, mainly focusing on the CCF caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
. The fact that Jolliffe knew about these 'secret' investigations as early as February 1944 led to one of the most infamous incidents in 20th-century Canadian politics.
This accusation led to Drew ordering the LeBel Royal Commission
LeBel Royal Commission
The LeBel Royal Commission was an Ontario Royal Commission set up on 28 May 1945 to look into charges made against the province's premier George A. Drew that he was operating a secret political police. The charges came from Ontario's Official Opposition Leader Edward Bigelow Jolliffe, during the...
to investigate the charges made by Jolliffe. The charges stemmed from Ontario's Official Opposition Leader Jolliffe, during the election campaign. He made these allegations during a campaign radio speech on 24 May 1945. Drew announced in a radio speech on 26 May that he would call an inquiry, and appointed Mr. Justice A. M. LeBel to lead the commission on 28 May. Jolliffe, and Liberal leader Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn was the 11th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37....
made offers to withhold from electioneering and have the commission report before the election. Drew refused to either postpone the election, or speed up the commission process. The commission began hearings on 20 June 1945, and heard final arguments on 20 July 1945. The report was issued on 11 October 1945, with LeBel agreeing with much of what Jolliffe charged, but ultimately ruled that the Premier did not have a secret political police reporting to him, mainly due to the lack of direct documented evidence. In the late 1970s, that documented evidence was found, but the provincial government at the time considered the case closed.
The Conservatives got their majority, as they crushed the CCF on 4 June 1945. Drew's party won 66 out the 90 seats in the legislature, and reduced Jolliffe's CCF to just 8 seats, which also meant that they were no longer the Official Opposition. Drew won 20 seats from the CCF directly, including Jolliffe's. The "Gestapo" claims against Drew seemed to do little if any damage, and the CCF got nearly the same percentage in the popular vote as was predicted by a Gallup poll one month earlier.
1948 Election
While the Tories won a majority in the legislature in the 1948 electionOntario general election, 1948
The Ontario general election of 1948 was held on June 7, 1948, to elect the 90 members of the 23rd Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, Drew himself was defeated in the Toronto riding of High Park by CCFer and temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
crusader William "Temperance Willie" Temple
William Horace Temple
William Horace Temple , nicknamed "Temperance Bill" or "Temperance Willie", was a Canadian democratic socialist politician, trade union activist, businessman and temperance crusader. As a youth he worked for the railway. During World War I, and World War II he was a soldier in the Royal Naval...
who had targeted Drew over his softening of Ontario's liquor laws by legalizing cocktail bars in Ontario. Whereupon Drew blamed a supposed, future Communist takeover of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
on the failure of Ontarians to re-elect him.
Drew's government insisted on spending $400 million dollars in a ten-year program to convert Ontario's electricity system from 25-cyles to 60-cycles bringing it in line with the rest of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and allowing the province to join the North American power grid and easily import and export electricity – a necessary prerequisite for the province's industrial development. Drew also helped spur post-war immigration to Ontario from 1947 to 1948 by setting up immigration offices throughout the United Kingdom and initiating cheap charter flights to bring an estimated 20,000 British immigrants to the province in what has been called the world's first mass migration by air. Drew, a committed British imperialist, focussed on attracting British immigrants because he felt they were "the right class of people" to bring to Canada. Drew's government also increased funding for roads and highways and also increased funding for schools by increasing the provincial government's share for education spending from 15% to 50%. Through a government that made investments to modernize Ontario, Drew laid the basis for the province's post-war industrial expansion and for a Progressive Conservative dynasty that lasted 42 years and saw six successive Progressive Conservative premiers.
Federal politics
While it would have been easy enough for Drew to re-enter the legislature by running in a by-electionBy-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
, Drew decided to enter federal politics. "Colonel Drew" (as he liked to be called) won the 1948 federal Progressive Conservative leadership convention
Progressive Conservative leadership conventions
The first Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership election was held in 1927, when the party was called the Conservative Party. Prior to then the party's leader was chosen by caucus....
, defeating John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
on the first ballot.
Drew then contested a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in Carleton
Carleton (Ontario electoral district)
Carleton was a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1987...
in order to win a seat in the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
. The federal Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
(CCF) was determined to defeat him, so they ran Eugene Forsey
Eugene Forsey
Eugene Alfred Forsey, served in the Canadian Senate from 1970 to 1979. He was considered to be one of Canada's foremost constitutional experts.- Biography :...
as their candidate. William Horace Temple was brought up from Toronto to appear at a political meeting with Drew, and accused the Tory leader of being "a tool of the liquor interests" and also made suggestions about Drew's sobriety. Temple's comments so enraged Drew that he had to be restrained from physically attacking his nemesis. However, Drew won the vote and went to Parliament. He ran against Forsey again in the 1949 election
Canadian federal election, 1949
The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...
, and beat him again.
As leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
and a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, he became Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (Canada)
The Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , or simply the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of Canada's Official Opposition, the party with the most seats in the House of Commons that is not a member of the government...
.
In the 1949
Canadian federal election, 1949
The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...
and 1953 federal elections
Canadian federal election, 1953
The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...
, Drew's Tories were defeated handily by the Liberals
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
, led by Louis St. Laurent
Louis St. Laurent
Louis Stephen St. Laurent, PC, CC, QC , was the 12th Prime Minister of Canada from 15 November 1948, to 21 June 1957....
. As a Federal politician, Drew alienated potential supporters in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
when he called French-Canadians a "defeated race", rhetoric which, when he had been in previous years a Provincial politician in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, may not have been as damaging among a certain sector of Anglophone
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
voter, but which was now used against him by his opponents at the Federal level of politics. His support for conscription during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
also hurt his prospects among French-Canadian voters. In poor health following a nearly fatal attack of meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
Drew resigned as Progressive Conservative leader in 1956 and was succeeded by John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
. From 1957 to 1964 He served as Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and during this period he worked with newspaper baron and fellow Canadian Lord Beaverbrook in an attempt to influence British public opinion against joining the European Common Market
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
as Drew saw this as a threat to the British Commonwealth.
In 1967, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. He served as the first Chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
from 1965 until 1971.
Honorary Degrees
George Drew received Honorary DegreesHonorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from Several Universities including
- University of TorontoUniversity of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(LL.D) in 1945. http://www.utoronto.ca/govcncl/HonoraryDegreeRecipients1850-Present.pdf - University of Western OntarioUniversity of Western OntarioThe University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
(LL.D) June 11, 1947 http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/senate/honorary_degrees_by_surname.pdf