Frederick Charles Alderdice (November 10, 1871 – February 26, 1936) was a Newfoundland businessman, politician and the last

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

Early life

Alderdice was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and was educated at

Methodist College Belfast Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of e ...

. He moved to

in 1886 to work for his uncle Moses Monroe, and he became a prominent businessman in his own right.

Opposition leader (1928–1932)

Alderdice was appointed to the

Legislative Council of Newfoundland The Legislative Council of Newfoundland was the upper house of the General Assembly of Newfoundland from 1833 to 1934. The Legislative Council was appointed by the governor of Newfoundland, not elected. Bills were submitted by the House of Asse ...

in 1924. He became involved in electoral politics when he succeeded his cousin Walter Monroe as Prime Minister and leader of the

Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party The Conservative Party of Newfoundland was a political party in the Dominion of Newfoundland prior to confederation with Canada in 1949. The party was formed by members and supporters of the establishment around 1832. In the 1840s, they opposed ...

on August 15, 1928. Alderdice's first term as prime minister was short-lived, however, as his government lost that year's

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

to the Liberals led by Sir

Richard Squires Sir Richard Anderson Squires KCMG (January 18, 1880 – March 26, 1940) was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1919 to 1923 and from 1928 to 1932. As prime minister, Squires attempted to reform Newfoundland's fishing industry, but failed ...

. Alderdice joined with Liberals dissatisfied with Squires to form the

United Newfoundland Party The United Newfoundland Party was the name of two conservative parties in Newfoundland. Pre-Confederation The first UNP was a conservative party in the Dominion of Newfoundland led by Frederick C. Alderdice from 1928 to 1934. It was organized by ...

with himself as leader. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

embroiled the dominion in a severe economic crisis which was compounded by corruption in the Squires government taking the dominion to the brink of

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

. Widespread unemployment added to the crisis and resulted in an anti-government

riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

in St. John's on April 5, 1932. The Squires government collapsed and Alderdice swept to power in the ensuing June election on the promise that if elected, his government would examine the possibility of suspending the constitution and having a commission administer the country until conditions improved. His United Newfoundland Party won 24 seats to only two for the Liberals.

Prime Minister (1932–1934)

The Alderdice government was unable to deal with the economic crisis and proposed a partial default on the dominion's debts. Britain and Canada (whose currency was shared by Newfoundland) agreed to give the dominion financial aid in exchange for the creation of an Imperial

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

to investigate the dominion's future. The Commission recommended the suspension of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

and the institution of an appointed

Commission of Government The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the Great Depression, it was dissolved when the dominion became ...

to rule the dominion. Alderdice was pressured by the British to accept the recommendations without calling a new election or submitting the proposals to a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

. Alderdice agreed and, at the end of 1933, the legislature voted to accept the recommendations and voted itself out of existence.

Commission of Government (1934–1936)

Alderdice was appointed to the

when it was established in February 1934 and served as Commissioner for Home Affairs and Education in the new Commission of Government as well as Vice-Chairman until his death in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alderdice, Frederick C. 1871 births 1936 deaths Prime ministers of the Dominion of Newfoundland Politicians from Belfast Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador People educated at Methodist College Belfast United Newfoundland Party MHAs Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Newfoundland Members of the Newfoundland Commission of Government Businesspeople from Belfast Businesspeople from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador 20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly