The Manitoba Social Credit Party (originally the Manitoba Social Credit League) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. In its early years, it espoused the monetary reform theories of

social credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

. It was formed in the 1935–1936, shortly after

William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his radio sermons about the Bible, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first le ...

's supporters formed a

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

government in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. While the party never won many seats in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

, it maintained a presence in the legislature for most of the period from 1936 to 1973.

Origins

In its earliest years, the Social Credit League took the form of a

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

protest movement. Like other Social Credit parties in Canada, it eventually became as a party of

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

while retaining an anti-establishment message. The party's leadership was consistently anti-

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. The Social Credit Party ran 19 candidates in the provincial election of 1936, five of whom were elected. It did not have a leader during the election, but chose Stanley Fox to lead the parliamentary group shortly thereafter. During this period, the party supported the monetary reforms of Major Douglas, which Aberhart had been promoting in Alberta for several years. The 1936 election produced a minority government, with 23 Liberal-Progressives, 16

Conservatives 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 civilizati ...

, 7

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

members, the 5 Social Crediters and 4 others. After early talks for a Liberal-Progressive/Conservative coalition broke down, the Social Crediters made a surprise offer to keep the outgoing Liberal-Progressive government of

John Bracken John Bracken (22 June 1883 – 18 March 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–194 ...

in power. Some party members may have hoped for a formal coalition, but this came to nothing and the party supported the government from the outside for the next four years. Fox stepped down as party leader in 1937, and was replaced by S.E. Rogers.

World War II and coalition

After the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Bracken promoted a "non-partisan government" for Manitoba, in which all four major parties would hold cabinet portfolios in a demonstration of provincial unity. The plan was approved by the other parties, and Social Credit joined the government in late 1940. Social Credit

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA)

Norman Turnbull Norman Leslie Turnbull (August 24, 1900 in Binscarth, Manitoba – January 12, 1986) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1936 to 1949 as a representative of the Social Credit League, an ...

was sworn in as a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

on November 4, 1940, and served in this capacity until February 14, 1946. The decision to join government caused a split in the party. Salome Halldorson crossed the floor to sit as an Opposition Social Credit MLA and won the support of Alberta Socred Premier

Ernest Manning Ernest Charles Manning (September 20, 1908 – February 19, 1996) was a Canadian politician and the eighth premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any other premier in the province' ...

as well as the Manitoba Social Credit League which officially expelled the four Social Credit MLAs who supported the government. Nevertheless, in the election of 1941, several Social Credit candidates ran in opposition to the coalition, while coalition supporters continued to call themselves Social Credit candidates. This division damaged the party's credibility with the electorate, and only three Social Credit candidates were elected: Fox, Turnbull and Rogers (all government supporters).

Decline

The party does not seem to have had a leader in the parliament which followed, and in fact became little more than an appendage of the Liberal-Conservative coalition as the 1940s progressed. Fox and Turnbull were re-elected in the 1945 election, but the party ran only two other candidates in the rest of the province. It completely lost its coherence as a parliamentary force in the late 1940s, and did not run any candidates in the 1949 election. The Social Credit Party re-emerged for the election of 1953:

William Bullmore William Lewis Bullmore (October 10, 1912 in Minnedosa, Manitoba – August 23, 1972) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1953 to 1958, initially as a Social Credit representative and late ...

was elected in the

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Dauphin, and Gilbert Hutton won in Minnedosa. The party was again marginalized in the parliament which followed, however, and none of its candidates were elected in the provincial elections of

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

and

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

. Although the Social Credit parties of Alberta and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

had largely abandoned their monetary policies by this time, Bullmore and Hutton continued to promote social credit during their time in parliament. During the late 1940s and the 1950s, the President of the Manitoba Social Credit League was Wilbert James Tinkler. He was the closest that the party had to an official leader in this period, as neither Bullmore nor Hutton held an official role in the legislature. Tinkler ran for federal and provincial office on six occasions. Tinkler became the president of the Social Credit league at a time when it had only a minimal presence in the legislature, and a weak provincial organization. The party had joined the governing coalition of

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 ...

in 1940, and its parliamentary representation was subsequently regarded as little more than an adjunct to the province's

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

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 ...

government. Several figures within the party had campaigned against the alliance in 1941, but all were defeated. The party's organization subsequently collapsed, and it offered no candidates for election in 1949. Social Credit did not have an official political leader between 1941 and at least 1959. Tinkler, as its leading official for most of this period, was not a prominent public figure, though he did help reconstruct some semblance of a provincial network for the party. He was replaced as party president by S.S. Hunt of Dauphin in late June 1953, but appears to have regained this title later in the decade. Tinkler continued to work in the party after

Jacob Froese Jacob M. Froese (November 28, 1917 – June 14, 2003) was a politician in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. He was the province's only Manitoba Social Credit Party, Social Credit MLA between 1959 and 1973, and ...

became its official leader following the 1959 election.

Later years

The party received another lease on life in November 1959, when

won a by-election in the riding of

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

. Froese remained a member of the legislature until the 1973 election, when he was defeated by a Progressive Conservative candidate. The party was unable to win any other seats, however, and Froese effectively acted as an independent MLA during his time in parliament. He served as party leader for most, if not all of the period from 1959 to 1977. Froese was sometimes called the "conscience of parliament", and does not appear to have endorsed his party's original views on monetary reform. The Manitoba Social Credit Party ran five candidates in the 1977 election, all of whom fared poorly. Even Froese was reduced to a fourth-place finish in Rhineland. In the 1981 election, the party announced that it would not run any candidates. Froese was by this time a member of Sidney Green's Progressive Party. The party seems to have dissolved itself shortly thereafter.

References

{{Authority control Social credit parties in Canada Political parties established in 1935 Provincial political parties in Manitoba 1935 establishments in Manitoba