Hazen Robert Argue (January 6, 1921 – October 2, 1991) 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 A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served in the House of Commons and the Senate. He was first elected as a

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...

(CCF) Member of Parliament (MP) in 1945 and was the last leader of the party, from 1960 to 1961. He crossed the floor to the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in 1962 and was defeated in 1963. In 1966 he was appointed to the Senate. He entered the federal cabinet in 1980, as the only Saskatchewan representative, with responsibilities for the

Canadian Wheat Board The Canadian Wheat Board () was a marketing board for wheat and barley in Western Canada. Established by the Parliament of Canada on 5 July 1935, its operation was governed by the Canadian Wheat Board Act as a mandatory producer marketing syste ...

. He is well known for being a strong proponent of the

proposed Canadian annexation of the Turks and Caicos Islands Proposal(s) or The Proposal may refer to: * Proposal (business) * Research proposal * Marriage proposal * Proposition, a proposal in logic and philosophy Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Proposal'' (album), an album by Ransom & Statik Sel ...

. He was the first senator ever to have been charged with fraud, in 1989. The charges were eventually dropped.

CCF/NDP MP

His family owned a farm, which he worked until he entered the House of Commons. He was first elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

as a member of the

(CCF). At 24 years of age, he was the youngest MP at that time. After the

Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an election v ...

sweep of 1958, Argue was one of only eight CCFers remaining in Parliament and the only one from Saskatchewan. Party leader M. J. Coldwell lost his seat, and the CCF parliamentary caucus chose Argue as their House Leader. After Coldwell resigned as the national CCF leader in 1960, Argue was elected leader at the party's last convention in the summer of 1960. At the time, the CCF was engaged in a three-year plan to create a new party from the union between itself and organized labour forces as represented by the

Canadian Labour Congress The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC ( or ), is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian trade union, labour unions are affiliated. History Formation The CLC was founded on April 23, 1956, thro ...

(CLC). Both the CCF and CLC executives approved going down this route starting in April 1958. Argue, like many grassroot CCFers, was not convinced that this merger was necessarily the best route to revitalizing the party. As an organizing tool during this period, the organization was called the New Party. New Party clubs sprung up around the country between 1958 and 1961. On October 31, 1960,

Walter Pitman Walter George Pitman (May 18, 1929 – June 12, 2018) was an educator and politician in Ontario, Canada. Background Born in Toronto, Ontario, he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1952 and a Master of Arts in 1954 from the University of Toronto. H ...

won a stunning

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 ...

victory in

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under the banner of the New Party. This gave credibility to the forces organizing to remodel the CCF along the

British Labour Party The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been describe ...

model. Argue became a candidate in the race to be the first leader of the newly formed NDP at their August 3, 1961 leadership convention. He was up against long-time Saskatchewan

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

, and CCF favourite-son,

Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as the seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Bap ...

. Douglas had the support of the CLC, its president

Claude Jodoin Claude Jodoin (May 25, 1913 – March 1, 1975) was a Canadian trade unionist and politician. He served as the first president of the Canadian Labour Congress from 1956 to 1966. Background Born in the Montreal suburb of Westmount, Jodoin was e ...

and CCF president David Lewis. Douglas easily defeated him 1,391 votes to 380 votes on a single ballot. In his concession speech, Argue declared, "No matter what my role is in the years ahead, I shall speak for you. I shall work for you, I shall never let you down." He remained in the party's caucus, in the House of Commons, for the rest of the year, having little contact with Douglas in that time.

Liberal Party MP and Senator

Six months later, Argue

crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

to join the

; he argued that divisions were rife in the NDP and that farmers' interests were overwhelmed by those of labour. He was re-elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

but was defeated in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

and again in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

. In 1966, Argue was appointed to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

as a Liberal. After the 1980 election, in which the Liberal Party failed to win any seats west of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

appointed Argue to

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

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( Canada Wheat Board). In 1989, he became the first senator ever charged with misuse of public funds and fraud. The RCMP alleged that he used public funds to help his wife's bid to obtain the Liberal Party nomination in their Ottawa-area riding for the 1988 Canadian federal election. The charges were dropped in 1991 by the crown prosecutor when it became apparent that Argue was near death, as he had been bedridden for most of the year with cancer. He died three months later in Regina, on October 2, 1991.

References and notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Argue, Hazen 1921 births 1991 deaths Canadian senators from Saskatchewan Members of the 22nd Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPs Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators NDP and CCF leaders Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Canadian people of Irish descent Members of the United Church of Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada