Liberal-Labour (Canada)
Encyclopedia
The Liberal-Labour banner has also been used several times by candidates in Canadian elections:
In the early twentieth century when the idea of trade union
ists running for elected office under their own banner gained ground, several working class
candidates on the provincial or federal level were elected on a Labour ticket. Once elected, in the absence of an organized Labour Party
, an MP elected on a Labour ticket would often support, or join, the Liberal Party of Canada
and would often be described as "Liberal-Labour"
At other times, the Liberal Party, particularly under William Lyon Mackenzie King
would try to co-opt the trade union vote by running Liberal supporters as Labour or Liberal-Labour candidates. These would be official or unofficial "fusion" candidates who would run in the absence of a straight Liberal candidate.
Benidickson was succeeded in that riding by John Mercer Reid
, who was elected as a "Liberal" in 1966 but then sat as a "Liberal-Labour" MP from the 1968 federal election
until the 1972 federal election
, when he changed his desigation back to "Liberal". In the 1988 federal election
, Liberal candidate Bob Nault
identified himself as "Liberal-Labour" on some of his literature (particularly those distributed at plant gates) in his successful attempt to defeat NDP incumbent John Parry
who had defeated Reid in 1984
. Nault was officially listed as a straight Liberal on the ballot and in his official designation when he became an MP.
In the 1926 federal election
, Alexander Jarvis McComber, a barrister, placed second in a field of three candidates in the north-western Ontario
riding of Port Arthur – Thunder Bay, winning 2,990 votes, 26% of the total. No candidate ran as a "Liberal", but the third place candidate ran as a "Labour" candidate.
In a 22 March 1954 by-election in Verdun, Quebec
, Hervé Ferland, an advertising agent, placed fifth in a field of seven candidates, which included one "Liberal" and two "Independent Liberals". He won 2,180 votes, 8.7% of the total.
, the only opponent of the victorious Conservative candidate in the Algoma West riding in northern Ontario
ran as a Liberal Labour Progressive candidate. Albert Ernest Whytall won 4,187 votes, or 37% of the total.
, the Communist Party of Canada
(running as the Labour-Progressive Party
) decided to run several candidates jointly with the Liberal Party of Ontario under Mitchell Hepburn
. This was an attempt to marginalise the Ontario Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
in elections to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
.
The United Auto Workers participated in the effort and ran three Liberal-Labour candidates against CCF incumbents in Windsor including George Burt
, Canadian director of the UAW, Alexander A. Parent, a Communist and president of UAW Local 195 and Arthur Reaume
mayor of Winsor and formerly a Conservative who broke with his party to support UAW workers at Ford in their fight for the Rand Formula
. Parent was elected in Essex North but Burt and Reaume were both defeated though vote-splitting also resulted in the defeat of two CCF incumbents.http://www.caw.ca/whoweare/ourhistory/cawhistory/ch5/p2c5_5.html
The other two Liberal-Labour MPPs elected were James Newman
of Rainy River
and Joseph Meinzinger of Waterloo North
, defeating CCF incumbents George Lockhart and John Henry Cook, respectively. Of the three, only Newman would be re-elected in the 1948 provincial election
.
The decision by the Liberals, UAW members and Communists to collaborate was ironic given Hepburn's vociferous opposition to both Communism and the Congress of Industrial Organizations during his term as Premier of Ontario
. Two pro-labour MPPs, David Croll
and Arthur Roebuck
, had resigned from Hepburn's cabinet
in 1937 to protect to his anti-labour actions during a UAW strike in Oshawa, Ontario
. (George Burt was Treasurer of the UAW's Oshawa local at the time of the strike.)
Another unsuccessful "Liberal-Labour" candidate was Arthur Reaume
, mayor
of Windsor, who had been a long time Tory
and had run for George Drew's Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
in 1943 provincial election
. Reaume ran again as "Liberal-Labour" in the 1948 provincial election
, without success, and was finally elected in the 1951 provincial election
as a "Liberal"
The ridings of Kenora and Rainy River (separate ridings provincially, a single riding federally) continued to nominate "Liberal-Labour" candidates to both the Ontario legislature and the Canadian House of Commons
for decades.
Kenora
had previously elected Peter Heenan
as a Labour representative in the 1919 election
. Heenan remained one of only four Labour MLAs (as MPPs were still known) re-elected in the 1923 election
and was defeated in the 1926 election
. He then entered federal politics becoming a federal Liberal and joining William Lyon Mackenzie King
's Cabinet as Minister of Labour
. In 1929
Earl Hutchinson
recaptured Kenora as a Labour MLA. He was re-elected in 1934
but was persuaded to resign a few weeks later in order to allow Heenan ran in the subsequent by-election
, this time as a Liberal. Heenan was elected and joined Mitchell Hepburn
's Cabinet
serving as Minister of Mines and Forests (1934-1941) and Minister of Labour (1941-1943) while Hutchinson was appointed vice-chairman of the Workmen's Compensation Board weeks after his resignation. Heenan was later defeated by William Docker of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
in the 1943 provincial election
in which the Liberals were reduced them to third party
status. Subsequently, the Liberals ran Albert Wren
as a "Liberal-Labour" candidate unsuccessfully in the 1948 election
before his victory in the 1951 election
.
More recently, Liberals in Kenora such as former Member of Parliament
Bob Nault
have occasionally used the "Liberal-Labour" tag on some of their campaign literature (such as that handed out at plant gates) though they are listed as straight Liberals on the ballot.
In the early twentieth century when the idea of trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ists running for elected office under their own banner gained ground, several working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
candidates on the provincial or federal level were elected on a Labour ticket. Once elected, in the absence of an organized Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, an MP elected on a Labour ticket would often support, or join, the Liberal Party of Canada
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...
and would often be described as "Liberal-Labour"
At other times, the Liberal Party, particularly under 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...
would try to co-opt the trade union vote by running Liberal supporters as Labour or Liberal-Labour candidates. These would be official or unofficial "fusion" candidates who would run in the absence of a straight Liberal candidate.
- Ralph Smith was a miner who won election to the Legislative Assembly of British ColumbiaLegislative Assembly of British ColumbiaThe Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....
in 1898 on a Liberal-Labour platform. In the 1900 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1900The Canadian federal election of 1900 was held on November 7 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Canada. As a result of the election, the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, was re-elected to a second majority government, defeating the...
he was elected to the Canadian House of CommonsCanadian House of CommonsThe 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...
as a Liberal-Labour candidate defeating the official Liberal candidate. He immediately joined the Liberal Party caucusCaucusA 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:...
of Sir Wilfrid LaurierWilfrid LaurierSir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
and subsequently ran and won re-election as a straight Liberal against Conservative and SocialistSocialismSocialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
opponents.
- Alphonse VervilleAlphonse VervilleAlphonse Verville was a Canadian politician and trade unionist.Born and raised in the Côte-Saint-Paul neighbourhood of Montreal, Verville was a plumber by trade. At the age of 18 he moved to Chicago and joined the International Plumbers' Union. He returned to Montreal in 1893 and worked to...
was president of the Trades and Labour Congress of CanadaTrades and Labour Congress of CanadaThe Trades and Labour Congress of Canada was a Canada-wide central federation of trade unions from 1883 to 1956. It was founded at the initiative of the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the Knights of Labor...
when he was elected as a Labour candidate in a 1906 by-electionBy-electionA by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in Maisonville. Verville was elected by defeating a Liberal opponent, however, in subsequent elections the Liberals ran no candidate in Maisonville and threw their support to Verville who would generally support Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Liberals in the Canadian House of CommonsCanadian House of CommonsThe 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...
. In the 1917 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1917The 1917 Canadian federal election was held on December 17, 1917, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Canada. Described by historian Michael Bliss as the "most bitter election in Canadian history", it was fought mainly over the issue of conscription...
on conscriptionConscriptionConscription 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...
, Verville ran and was re-elected as a Laurier-Liberal.
- Malcolm LangMalcolm LangMalcolm Lang was a Canadian politician, prospector and contractor.He was born in Eagle, Elgin County, Ontario. Lang was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1914 provincial election as the Ontario Liberal Party Member of the Legislative Assembly for Cochrane. He was re-elected in 1919...
, who was elected as a Labour Party of Canada Member of Parliament in the 1926 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1926The Canadian federal election of 1926 was held on September 14 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 16th Parliament of Canada. The election was called following an event known as the King-Byng Affair...
, was re-elected as "Liberal-Labour" in the north-eastern Ontario riding of Timiskaming South in the 1930 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1930The Canadian federal election of 1930 was held on July 28, 1930 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Canada...
.
- Humphrey MitchellHumphrey MitchellHumphrey Mitchell, PC was a Canadian politician and trade unionist.A land surveyor employed with Hamilton Hydro, Mitchell was active with the union movement in the city...
was elected as a Labour MP in a 1931 by-election in Hamilton East. He was unopposed by the Mackenzie King Liberals and generally voted with the Liberal caucus while having a poor relationship with other Labour MPs in parliament. He refused to join the Co-operative Commonwealth FederationCo-operative Commonwealth FederationThe 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...
when it was formed the next year and, in the 1935 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1935The Canadian federal election of 1935 was held on October 14, 1935 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Minister R.B. Bennett's Conservative Party.The central...
ran for re-election as a Labour MP. The Liberals supported Mitchell unofficially and did not run a candidate against him. The CCF, however, did stand a candidate in Hamilton East resulting in the labour vote being split and Mitchell's defeat at the hands of a Conservative in a year where the Conservatives lost dozens of seats. Mitchell returned to parliament during World War IIWorld War IIWorld 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...
as a Liberal MP and cabinet minister.
- From 1949 to 1965, William Moore BenidicksonWilliam Moore BenidicksonWilliam Moore "Bill" Benidickson, PC was a Canadian politician. He was the Liberal-Labour Member of Parliament for Kenora—Rainy River for over twenty years....
represented the north-western Ontario riding of Kenora-Rainy River as a Liberal-Labour Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA 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,...
. Benidickson was elected as a Liberal MP in the 1945 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1945The Canadian federal election of 1945 was the 20th general election in Canadian history. It was held June 11, 1945 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 20th Parliament of Canada...
, but ran subsequently as "Liberal-Labour" as the result of an informal electoral pact between the Labour Progressive Party of Canada (i.e., the Communist Party of CanadaCommunist Party of CanadaThe Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
) and the Liberal Party of CanadaLiberal Party of CanadaThe 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...
(see also Ontario legislature, below.)
Benidickson was succeeded in that riding by John Mercer Reid
John Mercer Reid
John Mercer Reid, PC is the former Information Commissioner of Canada, former president of the Canadian Nuclear Association, and a former politician.-History:...
, who was elected as a "Liberal" in 1966 but then sat as a "Liberal-Labour" MP from the 1968 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
until the 1972 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1972
The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...
, when he changed his desigation back to "Liberal". In the 1988 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
, Liberal candidate Bob Nault
Bob Nault
Robert Daniel "Bob" Nault, PC is a former Canadian politician.A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Nault served as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in the cabinet of Jean Chrétien from 1999 to 2003....
identified himself as "Liberal-Labour" on some of his literature (particularly those distributed at plant gates) in his successful attempt to defeat NDP incumbent John Parry
John Edmund Parry
John Edmund Parry is a Canadian politician. He served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1984 to 1988, as a member of the New Democratic Party....
who had defeated Reid in 1984
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
. Nault was officially listed as a straight Liberal on the ballot and in his official designation when he became an MP.
- In the 1935 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1935The Canadian federal election of 1935 was held on October 14, 1935 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Minister R.B. Bennett's Conservative Party.The central...
, three candidates ran in QuebecQuebecQuebec 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....
ridings, placing last in each case, and drawing no more than 1.5% of the vote in each case. In all three ridings, at least one other candidate ran as a "Liberal".
- In the 1945 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1945The Canadian federal election of 1945 was the 20th general election in Canadian history. It was held June 11, 1945 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 20th Parliament of Canada...
, one candidate ran as a "Liberal Labour" candidate in the Quebec riding of Mercier, placing last in a field of seven, with 345 votes, 1.0% of the total.
- In the 1949 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1949The 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...
, one candidate ran as a "Liberal Labour" candidate in the Quebec riding of Stanstead, placing last in a field of four, with 433 votes, 2.6% of the total.
Liberal Labour Party
The Liberal Labour Party name has been used twice in Canadian elections, though it may have been just a convenient label for those two candidates rather than an organized political party.In the 1926 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1926
The Canadian federal election of 1926 was held on September 14 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 16th Parliament of Canada. The election was called following an event known as the King-Byng Affair...
, Alexander Jarvis McComber, a barrister, placed second in a field of three candidates in the north-western 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....
riding of Port Arthur – Thunder Bay, winning 2,990 votes, 26% of the total. No candidate ran as a "Liberal", but the third place candidate ran as a "Labour" candidate.
In a 22 March 1954 by-election in Verdun, 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....
, Hervé Ferland, an advertising agent, placed fifth in a field of seven candidates, which included one "Liberal" and two "Independent Liberals". He won 2,180 votes, 8.7% of the total.
Liberal Labour Progressive
In the 1926 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1926
The Canadian federal election of 1926 was held on September 14 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 16th Parliament of Canada. The election was called following an event known as the King-Byng Affair...
, the only opponent of the victorious Conservative candidate in the Algoma West riding in northern 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....
ran as a Liberal Labour Progressive candidate. Albert Ernest Whytall won 4,187 votes, or 37% of the total.
Ontario legislature
In the 1945 Ontario provincial 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....
, the Communist Party of Canada
Communist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
(running as the Labour-Progressive Party
Labour-Progressive Party
For the Labour-Progressive Coalition Government in New Zealand see the Fifth Labour Government of New ZealandThe Labor-Progressive Party was the legal political organization of the Communist Party of Canada between 1943 and 1959....
) decided to run several candidates jointly with the Liberal Party of Ontario under 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....
. This was an attempt to marginalise the Ontario Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
in elections to 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...
.
The United Auto Workers participated in the effort and ran three Liberal-Labour candidates against CCF incumbents in Windsor including George Burt
George Burt (Canada)
George Burt was Canadian Director of the United Auto Workers from 1939 to 1968.His father was a brickmaker and active trade unionist. Burt worked as an apprentice plumber before getting a job on the General Motors assembly line in Oshawa, Ontario in 1929...
, Canadian director of the UAW, Alexander A. Parent, a Communist and president of UAW Local 195 and Arthur Reaume
Arthur Reaume
Arthur John Reaume was a Canadian politician.Reaume was the 22nd mayor of the city of Windsor, Ontario in the 1940s and early 1950s. He ran as a candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in the 1943 election but was defeated by the CCF...
mayor of Winsor and formerly a Conservative who broke with his party to support UAW workers at Ford in their fight for the Rand Formula
Rand formula
In Canadian labour law, the Rand formula is a workplace situation where the payment of trade union dues is mandatory regardless of the worker's union status...
. Parent was elected in Essex North but Burt and Reaume were both defeated though vote-splitting also resulted in the defeat of two CCF incumbents.http://www.caw.ca/whoweare/ourhistory/cawhistory/ch5/p2c5_5.html
The other two Liberal-Labour MPPs elected were James Newman
James Newman (Canadian politician)
James Melvin Newman was an Ontario merchant and political figure. He represented Rainy River in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal-Labour member from 1945 to 1951....
of Rainy River
Rainy River, Ontario
The Canadian town of Rainy River is situated on the Ontario-Minnesota border, along the Rainy River opposite Baudette, Minnesota, USA, and southeast of the Lake of the Woods...
and Joseph Meinzinger of Waterloo North
Waterloo North
Waterloo North was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario...
, defeating CCF incumbents George Lockhart and John Henry Cook, respectively. Of the three, only Newman would be re-elected in the 1948 provincial election
Ontario 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....
.
The decision by the Liberals, UAW members and Communists to collaborate was ironic given Hepburn's vociferous opposition to both Communism and the Congress of Industrial Organizations during his term as 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...
. Two pro-labour MPPs, David Croll
David Croll
David Arnold Croll, PC, QC was a Canadian politician.-Early life:Croll was born in a shtetl in Russia's Pale of Settlement and was brought to Canada with his family as a young boy, at which point his name was anglicized...
and Arthur Roebuck
Arthur Roebuck
Arthur Wentworth Roebuck, QC, was a Canadian politician and labour lawyer.Roebuck ran for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1917 federal election as a Laurier Liberal, but was defeated. He was involved with the United Farmers of Ontario and its successor, the Progressive Party, in the...
, had resigned from Hepburn's cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
in 1937 to protect to his anti-labour actions during a UAW strike in Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa, Ontario
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...
. (George Burt was Treasurer of the UAW's Oshawa local at the time of the strike.)
Another unsuccessful "Liberal-Labour" candidate was Arthur Reaume
Arthur Reaume
Arthur John Reaume was a Canadian politician.Reaume was the 22nd mayor of the city of Windsor, Ontario in the 1940s and early 1950s. He ran as a candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in the 1943 election but was defeated by the CCF...
, mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Windsor, who had been a long time Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
and had run for George Drew's Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
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...
in 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....
. Reaume ran again as "Liberal-Labour" in the 1948 provincial election
Ontario 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....
, without success, and was finally elected in the 1951 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1951
The Ontario general election of 1951 was held on November 22, 1951, to elect the 90 members of the 24th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
as a "Liberal"
The ridings of Kenora and Rainy River (separate ridings provincially, a single riding federally) continued to nominate "Liberal-Labour" candidates to both the Ontario legislature and the Canadian 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...
for decades.
Kenora
Kenora (electoral district)
Kenora is a federal and former provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004, and was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from the early twentieth century....
had previously elected Peter Heenan
Peter Heenan
Peter Heenan, PC was a Canadian politician.Born in Tullaree, County Monaghan, Ireland, he was a locomotive engineer before being elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as the Labour candidate for the riding of Kenora in the 1919 election...
as a Labour representative in the 1919 election
Ontario general election, 1919
The Ontario general election, 1919 was the 15th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on October 20, 1919, to elect the 111 Members of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
. Heenan remained one of only four Labour MLAs (as MPPs were still known) re-elected in the 1923 election
Ontario general election, 1923
The Ontario general election, 1923 was the 16th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 25, 1923, to elect the 111 Members of the 16th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
and was defeated in the 1926 election
Ontario general election, 1926
The Ontario general election, 1926 was the 17th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on December 1, 1926, to elect the 112 Members of the 17th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
. He then entered federal politics becoming a federal Liberal and joining 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...
's Cabinet as Minister of Labour
Minister of Labour (Canada)
The Minister of Labour is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for setting national labour standards and federal labour dispute mechanisms...
. In 1929
Ontario general election, 1929
The Ontario general election, 1929 was the 18th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on October 30, 1929, to elect the 112 Members of the 18th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
Earl Hutchinson
Earl Hutchinson
Earl Hutchinson was a railroad engineer and political figure from Ontario, Canada. He represented Kenora in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Labour member from 1929 to 1934. He was re-elected as a "Liberal-Labour" candidate in the 1934 provincial election that brought the Liberals under...
recaptured Kenora as a Labour MLA. He was re-elected in 1934
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 ....
but was persuaded to resign a few weeks later in order to allow Heenan ran in the subsequent by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
, this time as a Liberal. Heenan was elected and joined 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....
's Cabinet
Executive Council of Ontario
The Executive Council of Ontario plays an important role in theGovernment of Ontario, in accordance with the Westminster system....
serving as Minister of Mines and Forests (1934-1941) and Minister of Labour (1941-1943) while Hutchinson was appointed vice-chairman of the Workmen's Compensation Board weeks after his resignation. Heenan was later defeated by William Docker of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
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....
in which the Liberals were reduced them to third party
Third party (politics)
In a two-party system of politics, the term third party is sometimes applied to a party other than the two dominant ones. While technically the term is limited to the third largest party or third oldest party, it is common, though innumerate, shorthand for any smaller party.For instance, in the...
status. Subsequently, the Liberals ran Albert Wren
Albert Wren
Albert Wren was an Ontario politician. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature as the Liberal-Labour MPP for Kenora in the 1951 provincial election. He had also run as a Liberal-Labour candidate in 1948 but was unsuccessful...
as a "Liberal-Labour" candidate unsuccessfully in the 1948 election
Ontario 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....
before his victory in the 1951 election
Ontario general election, 1951
The Ontario general election of 1951 was held on November 22, 1951, to elect the 90 members of the 24th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
.
- Albert WrenAlbert WrenAlbert Wren was an Ontario politician. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature as the Liberal-Labour MPP for Kenora in the 1951 provincial election. He had also run as a Liberal-Labour candidate in 1948 but was unsuccessful...
of Kenora was the longest serving "Liberal-Labour" MPP, sitting in the Ontario legislature from 1951 until his death in 1961. He ran for the leadershipOntario Liberal leadership conventionsBallot-by-ballot results of leadership elections in the Ontario Liberal Party, a political party in the Province of Ontario, Canada.Note: Before 1919, the leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party were chosen by the party's elected Members of the Legislative Assembly...
of the Ontario Liberal PartyOntario Liberal PartyThe Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
in 1954, coming in second, and again in 1958, coming in last. Robert Gibson succeeded Wren as the "Liberal-Labour" MPP for Kenora and served until just prior to the 1967 provincial electionOntario general election, 1967The Ontario general election of 1967 was held on October 17, 1967, to elect the 117 members of the 28th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
.
- T. Patrick ReidT. Patrick ReidThomas Patrick Reid is a businessman and former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1984....
was elected "Liberal-Labour" MPP for the neighbouring riding of Rainy River in the 1967 provincial electionOntario general election, 1967The Ontario general election of 1967 was held on October 17, 1967, to elect the 117 members of the 28th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
He ran as a "Liberal" in the 1971 provincial electionOntario general election, 1971The Ontario general election of 1971 was held on October 21, 1971, to elect the 117 members of the 29th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, and 1975 provincial electionOntario general election, 1975The Ontario general election of 1975 was held on September 18, 1975, to elect the 125 members of the 30th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
. He reverted to the "Liberal-Labour" label for the 1977 provincial electionOntario general election, 1977The Ontario general election of 1977 was held on June 9, 1977, to elect the 125 members of the 31st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, and returned to being a "Liberal" MPP in 1981 provincial electionOntario general election, 1981The Ontario general election of 1981 was held on March 19, 1981, to elect members of the 32nd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, and left politics in 1984.
More recently, Liberals in Kenora such as former 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,...
Bob Nault
Bob Nault
Robert Daniel "Bob" Nault, PC is a former Canadian politician.A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Nault served as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in the cabinet of Jean Chrétien from 1999 to 2003....
have occasionally used the "Liberal-Labour" tag on some of their campaign literature (such as that handed out at plant gates) though they are listed as straight Liberals on the ballot.
See also
- Labour candidates and parties in CanadaLabour candidates and parties in CanadaThere have been various groups in Canada that have nominated candidates under the label Labour Party or Independent Labour Party or other variations from the 1870s until the 1960s...
- List of articles about Labour MPs (Canada)
- List of Canadian political parties
- Parliament of Canada History of the Federal Electoral Ridings since 1867