Lloyd Stinson
Encyclopedia
Lloyd Stinson was a politician in Manitoba
, Canada
, and the leader of that province's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
(CCF) from 1953 to 1959. Although widely regarded as a capable leader, he was unable to achieve a major electoral breakthrough for his party.
Stinson was born in Treherne, Manitoba
, and received education there and in Winnipeg. He graduated from Theology United College in 1933, and was ordained as a United Church
minister. He received his B.D. in 1935, and took post-graduate courses in history and political science in 1940 and 1941.
Stinson stepped down as an active minister in 1942, and become Provincial Secretary for the provincial CCF the following year. He edited the "Manitoba Commonwealth" newspaper from 1943 to 1946, and served as a Winnipeg alderman from 1943 to 1944. His defeat in 1944 was partly due to vote-splitting with a Communist
candidate.
Unusually for a social democrat, Stinson's base was in the southern part of Winnipeg (after the General Strike of 1919, the north end generally elected socialist and labour candidates while the south supported pro-business figures). Stinson was defeated in Winnipeg South Centre
in the federal election of 1945
, though coming a respectable second to the victorious Liberal candidate. Later in the year, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
as one of ten members for the city of Winnipeg. (Winnipeg elections were determined by prefential balloting, with the entire city as one constituency). Stinson placed second among the CCF candidates, trailing only party leader Seymour J. Farmer
.
The electoral map was redrawn in 1949, with Winnipeg divided into three ridings (each of which elected four members). Stinson was the only CCF candidate elected in Winnipeg South
that year; he came very close to outpolling longtime Liberal-Progressive
cabinet minister J.S. McDiarmid for first position on the first count. The larger election picture was disappointing for the CCF, with the party winning only seven of 57 seats.
Stinson became one of the leading CCF figures in the legislative, often outshining party leader Edwin Hansford
. Hansford resigned as CCF hourse leader in 1952, and Stinson was chosen to replace him on December 19, 1952. He was acclaimed as the official party leader on April 25, 1953 by the CCF council, and was subsequently confirmed without opposition by a provincial convention.
Stinson was a capable politician, and had the ability to reach out to centre-left voters previously alienated from the CCF. He was also a skilled networker, soliciting support from Saskatchewan
Premier Tommy Douglas
in designing his election platform.
He could not, however, bring the CCF above third-party status in the election of 1953. The Liberal
-Conservative
coalition which governed the province from 1940 to 1950 had dissolved, and most of the electorate was polarized between these two parties. The Liberal-Progressives
(or Liberals) won 32 seats and a majority; the CCF were reduced to only five. Stinson fell to third place on Winnipeg South's first count, and had to wait for a later count to be re-elected.
The Liberal-Progressive government of Douglas Campbell
grew unpopular between 1953 and 1958, and the CCF made some gains at Campbell's expense. They climbed to eleven seats in the 1958 election
, and Stinson was elected in the new Winnipeg riding of Osborne. (Winnipeg's multi-member constituencies were replaced by single-seat ridings for this election; Osborne is located in the city's centre.)
The 1958 election resulted in a hung parliament
, with the Progressive Conservatives winning 26 seats and the Liberal-Progressives 19. Campbell initially tried to form an alliance with the CCF (Stinson would have served as Minister of Welfare), but these plans came to nothing. The CCF allowed the Tories under Dufferin Roblin
to form government.
Roblin's government placed the CCF in a paradoxical situation. His Progressive Conservative party was actually to the left of Campbell's Liberals, and introduced many significant reforms. The CCF had little choice but to support Roblin's legislation, thereby giving the Tories the record they needed to win another election the following year. The CCF fell to ten seats in the 1959 election
, and Stinson was personally defeated by Tory candidate Obie Baizley
. He resigned as party leader in 1960, and was replaced by Russell Paulley
.
During Stinson's time as party leader, the CCF was unable to make significant inroads beyond its urban support base (though future Premier Ed Schreyer was elected in a rural constituency). The party made limited gains in the late 1950s, however, and was poised to become the official opposition (if Liberal support continued to decline).
In the late 1950s, Stinson supported the call to transform the national CCF
into a broader party. He campaigned for its merger with the Canadian Labour Congress
to create the New Democratic Party
.
In 1962, Stinson ran as an NDP candidate in Wellington (north-west Winnipeg), but lost to Tory Richard Seaborn
by about 200 votes. In 1963, he ran for the federal NDP in Winnipeg South
and fared poorly (receiving only 7867 votes of about 56,000 cast).
Later in 1963, Stinson was re-elected to Winnipeg's municipal council. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1971. In 1969, he was chosen as chair of Winnipeg's traffice commission.
In 1975, he published a book entitled Political Warriors: Recollections of a Social-Democrat.
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
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...
, and the leader of that province's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation , known informally as the Manitoba CCF, was a provincial branch of the national Canadian party by the same name. The national CCF was the dominant social-democratic party in Canada from the 1930s to the early 1960s, when it merged with the labour movement...
(CCF) from 1953 to 1959. Although widely regarded as a capable leader, he was unable to achieve a major electoral breakthrough for his party.
Stinson was born in Treherne, Manitoba
Treherne, Manitoba
Treherne is a town in southern Manitoba, Canada. It is located halfway between Winnipeg and Brandon on Provincial Highway 2. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of South Norfolk...
, and received education there and in Winnipeg. He graduated from Theology United College in 1933, and was ordained as a United Church
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
minister. He received his B.D. in 1935, and took post-graduate courses in history and political science in 1940 and 1941.
Stinson stepped down as an active minister in 1942, and become Provincial Secretary for the provincial CCF the following year. He edited the "Manitoba Commonwealth" newspaper from 1943 to 1946, and served as a Winnipeg alderman from 1943 to 1944. His defeat in 1944 was partly due to vote-splitting with a Communist
Communist Party of Canada (in Manitoba)
The Communist Party of Canada was founded in 1921. It was an illegal organization for several years, and its meetings were conducted with great secrecy. Until 1924, the "Workers Party" functioned as its public, legal face...
candidate.
Unusually for a social democrat, Stinson's base was in the southern part of Winnipeg (after the General Strike of 1919, the north end generally elected socialist and labour candidates while the south supported pro-business figures). Stinson was defeated in Winnipeg South Centre
Winnipeg South Centre
Winnipeg South Centre is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1979 and since 1988.-Geography:...
in the federal election of 1945
Canadian federal election, 1945
The 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...
, though coming a respectable second to the victorious Liberal candidate. Later in the year, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...
as one of ten members for the city of Winnipeg. (Winnipeg elections were determined by prefential balloting, with the entire city as one constituency). Stinson placed second among the CCF candidates, trailing only party leader Seymour J. Farmer
Seymour J. Farmer
Seymour James Farmer was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as the 30th mayor of Winnipeg from 1923 to 1924, and was later the leader of the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1935 to 1947. In the latter capacity, he became the first socialist politician in Canada to...
.
The electoral map was redrawn in 1949, with Winnipeg divided into three ridings (each of which elected four members). Stinson was the only CCF candidate elected in Winnipeg South
Winnipeg South
Winnipeg South is a Canadian federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1979, and since 1988. It covers the south of the city of Winnipeg...
that year; he came very close to outpolling longtime Liberal-Progressive
Manitoba Liberal Party
The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...
cabinet minister J.S. McDiarmid for first position on the first count. The larger election picture was disappointing for the CCF, with the party winning only seven of 57 seats.
Stinson became one of the leading CCF figures in the legislative, often outshining party leader Edwin Hansford
Edwin Hansford
Edwin A. Hansford was a politician in Manitoba, Canada, and served as leader of that province's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation between 1948 and 1952.Hansford was born in the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia...
. Hansford resigned as CCF hourse leader in 1952, and Stinson was chosen to replace him on December 19, 1952. He was acclaimed as the official party leader on April 25, 1953 by the CCF council, and was subsequently confirmed without opposition by a provincial convention.
Stinson was a capable politician, and had the ability to reach out to centre-left voters previously alienated from the CCF. He was also a skilled networker, soliciting support from Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
Premier Tommy Douglas
Tommy Douglas
Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...
in designing his election platform.
He could not, however, bring the CCF above third-party status in the election of 1953. The Liberal
Manitoba Liberal Party
The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...
-Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is the only right wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is also the official opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.-Origins and early years:...
coalition which governed the province from 1940 to 1950 had dissolved, and most of the electorate was polarized between these two parties. The Liberal-Progressives
Manitoba Liberal Party
The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...
(or Liberals) won 32 seats and a majority; the CCF were reduced to only five. Stinson fell to third place on Winnipeg South's first count, and had to wait for a later count to be re-elected.
The Liberal-Progressive government of Douglas Campbell
Douglas Lloyd Campbell
Douglas Lloyd Campbell, OC was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as the 13th Premier of Manitoba from 1948 to 1958...
grew unpopular between 1953 and 1958, and the CCF made some gains at Campbell's expense. They climbed to eleven seats in the 1958 election
Manitoba general election, 1958
Manitoba's general election of June 16, 1958 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This election was the first to be held in Manitoba after a comprehensive electoral redistribution in 1956...
, and Stinson was elected in the new Winnipeg riding of Osborne. (Winnipeg's multi-member constituencies were replaced by single-seat ridings for this election; Osborne is located in the city's centre.)
The 1958 election resulted in a hung parliament
Hung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
, with the Progressive Conservatives winning 26 seats and the Liberal-Progressives 19. Campbell initially tried to form an alliance with the CCF (Stinson would have served as Minister of Welfare), but these plans came to nothing. The CCF allowed the Tories under Dufferin Roblin
Dufferin Roblin
Dufferin "Duff" Roblin, PC, CC, OM was a Canadian businessman and politician. Known as "Duff," he served as the 14th Premier of Manitoba from 1958 to 1967. Roblin was appointed to the Canadian Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In the government of Brian Mulroney, he served as...
to form government.
Roblin's government placed the CCF in a paradoxical situation. His Progressive Conservative party was actually to the left of Campbell's Liberals, and introduced many significant reforms. The CCF had little choice but to support Roblin's legislation, thereby giving the Tories the record they needed to win another election the following year. The CCF fell to ten seats in the 1959 election
Manitoba general election, 1959
Manitoba's general election of May 14, 1959 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a majority victory for the Progressive Conservative Party under the leadership of Dufferin Roblin...
, and Stinson was personally defeated by Tory candidate Obie Baizley
Obie Baizley
William Obadiah Baizley was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1959 to 1969, and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Dufferin Roblin and Walter Weir.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Baizley was educated...
. He resigned as party leader in 1960, and was replaced by Russell Paulley
Russell Paulley
Andrew Russell Paulley was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as leader of the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1959 to 1961, and its successor, the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, from 1961 to 1969.Paulley was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba...
.
During Stinson's time as party leader, the CCF was unable to make significant inroads beyond its urban support base (though future Premier Ed Schreyer was elected in a rural constituency). The party made limited gains in the late 1950s, however, and was poised to become the official opposition (if Liberal support continued to decline).
In the late 1950s, Stinson supported the call to transform the national CCF
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...
into a broader party. He campaigned for its merger with the Canadian Labour Congress
Canadian Labour Congress
The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...
to create the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
.
In 1962, Stinson ran as an NDP candidate in Wellington (north-west Winnipeg), but lost to Tory Richard Seaborn
Richard Seaborn
Richard Harry Seaborn was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1958 to 1966....
by about 200 votes. In 1963, he ran for the federal NDP in Winnipeg South
Winnipeg South
Winnipeg South is a Canadian federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1979, and since 1988. It covers the south of the city of Winnipeg...
and fared poorly (receiving only 7867 votes of about 56,000 cast).
Later in 1963, Stinson was re-elected to Winnipeg's municipal council. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1971. In 1969, he was chosen as chair of Winnipeg's traffice commission.
In 1975, he published a book entitled Political Warriors: Recollections of a Social-Democrat.