Fleming Blanchard McCurdy, (February 17, 1875 – August 29, 1952) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician. Born in Old Barns,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, he was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

for the Nova Scotia riding of

Shelburne and Queen's Shelburne and Queen's was a federal electoral district in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1896 to 1925. This riding was created in 1892 from parts of Queens and Shelburne ridi ...

in the 1911 election as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

. He was re-elected in the 1917 election for the riding of

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as a supporter of Sir

Robert Laird Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World ...

's Unionist government. In 1916, he was one of the first parliamentarians to be appointed a Parliamentary Secretary, when he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary of Militia and Defence for

Sam Hughes Sir Samuel Hughes, (January 8, 1853 – August 23, 1921) was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I. After a stormy tenure in the position, he was dismissed by Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden in 1916. Early life H ...

. He was also the Parliamentary Secretary of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment. Upon his appointment to Borden's

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in 1920 as

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he was required by the custom of the time to resign his seat and run in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. By this point it was customary for Cabinet ministers running in by-elections to be acclaimed however, the newly formed United Farmers party contested the by-election with a United-Farmers/ Labour candidate. McCurdy opted to face this challenge by running as a Nationalist Liberal rather than as a Conservative and was re-elected, though narrowly. It is possible he chose this banner as the Unionist Party had formally changed its name to the

National Liberal and Conservative Party The National Liberal and Conservative Party was the name adopted by the Conservative Party of Canada in 1920 after the end of the Unionist government of Robert Borden. The Conservatives, led by Arthur Meighen, adopted the name in the hope of makin ...

by this time or as a means of facing down the threat from a left-wing candidate. In any case, Blanchard ran the following year in the 1921 election as a Conservative and was defeated.

References

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Debates of the Legislative Assembly
1875 births 1952 deaths Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Unionist Party (Canada) MPs 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{NovaScotia-MP-stub