Canadian Election Series - 1931

[DC Al Fine]

The 1927 election resulted in a collapse of the Progressive vote. The Liberals surged, picking off several Progressive seats, but unfortunately for them, Progressive strength held up enough in Ontario to split the vote and ensure many Tory wins. While the Unionist attempt at a majority failed, they only fell short by a few seats, allowing Meighen to govern as if he had a majority. After losing three consecutive elections and barely matching Laurier’s defeat in 1917, MacKenzie King resigned the leadership of the Liberal party and moved to the private sector.

Unionist: 46% (+1%), 118 seats (+10)
Liberal: 39% (+9%), 85 seats (+11)
Progressive: 7% (-10%), 28 seats (-21)
Dominion Labour: 7% (nc), 14 seats (nc)

In 1929, the Liberals had a leadership convention where Charles Stewart, a Western leftist and the former Premier Alberta narrowly defeated establishment candidate Ernest LaPointe. Soon after, the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began. Arthur Meighen implemented program of austerity and declared that any relief programs should be left to the provinces. Meanwhile, several Prairie and Maritime provinces teetered on the edge of bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, the Progressive Party was facing more internal strife. While Henry Wise Wood’s agrarian socialism and refusal to co-operate with “Eastern Establishment” parties was popular with Progressive partisans, Progressive MP’s reported increasing frustration that refused to work with a Liberal party led by a Western left winger.

Stewart saw an opportunity, and contacted former Progressive leader Thomas Crerar, who still held the allegiance of moderates within the Progressive ranks. In the spring of 1931, Crerar and Stewart engineered a mass defection of Progressive MPs to the Liberals by promising to implement the Progressive’s main promise (price controls on freight rates). Wise Wood furiously railed against the “traitors” and “reactionaries”, but it was to no avail. The Liberals surged in the polls while the Progressives continued to struggle.

In 1931, Meighen called an election, hoping for another mandate for his austerity agenda. With the economy in shambles, Progressive and Dominion Labour candidates agreed to caucus together, and pool resources for the upcoming election campaign. The Liberals capitalized on a relatively united left, and the new Unionist weakness on the economic front. Shortly after the election was called, Stewart showed clear left wing tendencies by offering a new comprehensive platform to voters called the “Fair Shake”, which included vast amount of public relief for the unemployed, public works projects for underdeveloped areas, and a universal old age pension.

Unionist: Meighen is the Unionist Prime Minister, seeking a fourth term. He is running on a program of austerity, and low taxes, arguing that the Liberals and leftists would bankrupt the state with permanent deficits, and it’s citizens with high taxes. While the Unionists are the weakest they have ever been in their Anglo-Protestant bases in Ontario and the Maritimes, the Liberals leftward turn has given them some room for growth in socially conservative Quebec. Some of the Liberals’ ex Progressive MPs are from the Social Gospel movement. Meighen is calling on Quebecers to reject the “atheistic” Liberals and vote Unionist.

Liberal: New leader Stewart has taken his party hard to the left, implementing several Progressive promises into his platform, and introducing the “Fair Shake” program to stimulate the economy and help the poor. Stewart is promising mass unemployment relief, universal old age pensions, and public works projects to stimulate the economy. The Liberals are also attacking Meighen's refusal to help poor promises and are promising to use federal tax money to assist bankrupt provinces. With the left relatively united, the Liberals have their best chance to win power since Laurier. However, the Liberals’ leftward turn has left them somewhat vulnerable in Quebec.

Ginger Group: An informal name given to the alliance between the Progressives and Dominion Labour. The alliance is not quite a formal party yet, and candidates are running with a variety of names such as Progressive, United Farmers, Dominion Labour, Socialist Party of Canada, and Communist Party of Canada. The movement is promising to nationalize most big businesses with a focus on railways (Progressives), utilities (Labour), and banks (everyone). The Ginger Group has no formal leader, with Wise Wood and Woodsworth sharing leadership duties and heading up campaigns in their areas of strength. The Depression has hit the Ginger Groups working class and small farmer base hard, and the group is struggling to field candidates, running a mere 60 candidates or so. However they still possess formidable strength in some areas thanks to Wise Wood’s control of the United Farmers of Alberta machine and the trade union movement in some cities.

7 days

[DavidB.]

All Unionist, all the time.

[Murica!]

Labour-Progressive.

[RogueBeaver]

Ugh, switching from Liberal to Unionist for the first time.

[DC Al Fine]

Hump de bump.

[TDAS04]

Liberal

[Njall]

Liberal

[DC Al Fine]

Bump

[Boston Bread]

Liberal, although I'd vote strategically for Gingers.

[PPT Spiral]

RL Meighen would be proud that OTL Meighen has stuck around this long.

[SNJ1985]

Unionists